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On Wednesday, the second round of matches in Groups A-D of the UEFA Champions League took place.
In the so-called "group of death" D, luck smiled upon the "Man City" players - Roberto Mancini's team managed to snatch a 1-1 draw at home against Dortmund's "Borussia."
The German champions created dangerous opportunities near the opponent's goal, but until the 61st minute when Marco Reus scored, Joe Hart miraculously saved the English team.
The charismatic Jurgen Klopp's team, which controlled the initiative, could have pushed "Man City" to the edge, but Robert Lewandowski and Reus missed great chances to double the lead.
In the 90th minute, like manna from heaven, the Premier League winners had the opportunity to equalize - Neven Subotic handled the ball in the penalty area, leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty, which was coldly converted by Mario Balotelli, who came on as a substitute.
In another match, Madrid's "Real" players easily defeated Amsterdam's "Ajax" team 4-1 away and became the sole leaders of Group D.
Among the winners, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, but the most beautiful goal of the evening undoubtedly belonged to Karim Benzema.
The big summer investments for PSG did not bring victory in Portugal against the local "Porto" team - the hosts triumphed with a minimal score of 1-0.
"Arsenal" from London secured three points in front of their own fans by defeating Piraeus' "Olympiacos" 3-1, despite being level at halftime.
Football fans should also take note of "Malaga" defender Eliseu scoring the first goal like a cannonball into the Brussels "Anderlecht" goal. The Spanish team won 3-0 away.
Results:
Group A:
Kiev "Dynamo" 2 - 0 Zagreb "Dinamo" 3' [1 - 0] O. Gusev 33' [2 - 0] J. Pivaric (own goal)
"Porto" 1 - 0 PSG 83' [1 - 0] J. Rodriguez
Group A standings: (place, team, matches, wins, draws, losses, goal difference, points)
1. "Porto" 2 2 0 0 3-0 6 2. PSG 2 1 0 1 4-2 3 3. "Dynamo" 2 1 0 1 3-4 3 4. "Dinamo" 2 0 0 2 0-4 0
Group B:
London "Arsenal" 3 - 1 Piraeus "Olympiacos" 42' [1 - 0] Gervinho 45' [1 - 1] K. Mitroglou 56' [2 - 1] L. Podolski 90' [3 - 1] A. Ramsey
Gelsenkirchen "Schalke" 2 - 2 "Montpellier" 13' [0 - 1] K.A. Fana 26' [1 - 1] J. Draxler 53' [2 - 1] K.J. Huntelaar (from the penalty spot) 90' [2 - 2] S. Camara 52' G. Bocaly ("Montpellier") sent off
Group B standings: 1. "Arsenal" 2 2 0 0 5-2 6 2. "Schalke" 2 1 1 0 4-3 4 3. "Montpellier" 2 0 1 1 3-4 1 4. "Olympiacos" 2 0 0 2 2-5 0
Group C:
St. Petersburg "Zenit" 2 - 3 "Milan" 13' [0 - 1] U. Emanuelson 16' [0 - 2] S.E. Shaarawy 45' [1 - 2] Hulk 49' [2 - 2] R. Shirokov 75' [2 - 3] T. Hubocan (own goal)
Brussels "Anderlecht" 0 - 3 "Malaga" 45' [0 - 1] Eliseu 56' [0 - 2] Joaquin (from the penalty spot) 64' [0 - 3] Eliseu
Group C standings: 1. "Malaga" 2 2 0 0 6-0 6 2. "Milan" 2 1 1 0 3-2 4 3. "Anderlecht" 2 0 1 1 0-3 1 4. "Zenit" 2 0 0 2 2-6 0
Group D:
Amsterdam "Ajax" 1 - 4 Madrid "Real" 42' [0 - 1] C. Ronaldo 48' [0 - 2] K. Benzema 56' [1 - 2] N. Moisander 79' [1 - 3] C. Ronaldo 81' [1 - 4] C. Ronaldo
"Man City" 1 - 1 Dortmund "Borussia" 61' [0 - 1] M. Reus 90' [1 - 1] M. Balotelli (from the penalty spot)
Group D standings: 1. "Real" 2 2 0 0 7-3 6 2. "Borussia" 2 1 1 0 2-1 4 3. "Man City" 2 0 1 1 3-4 1 4. "Ajax" 2 0 0 2 1-5 0
