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The UEFA Champions League group stage second round matches have begun - no surprises were recorded on the first day, and practically all favorites secured victories. The only memorable victory was achieved by the debutant team "Thun", while "Werder" suffered their second consecutive defeat and "Man Utd" only broke the resistance of "Benfica" at the end of the match.
For the second year in a row, Munich's "Bayern" and Turin's "Juventus" dominate the group stage together. Both teams in Group A secured their second victories. "Bayern" played for the first time in the "Allianz" arena in Europe and defeated "Brugge" with a minimal lead thanks to M.Demichelis' goal from a corner. Meanwhile, "Juve" easily won against Vienna's "Rapid" with goals from D.Trezeguet, A.Mutu, and Z.Ibrahimovic.
In Group B, London's "Arsenal" became the sole leader after defeating "Ajax" in Amsterdam, despite a depleted attack. The visitors took the lead in the second minute with a goal from F.Ljungberg, and R.Pires doubled the lead in the second half from the penalty spot, with M.Rosenberg's goal not enough for the Dutch team. Swiss team "Thun" secured their first three points in the history of the Champions League by defeating Prague's "Sparta" with a goal from S.Hodzic in the penultimate minute.
The tournament continues to be unsuccessful for Bremen's "Werder", this time losing to "Panathinaikos" in Athens. The hosts took the lead convincingly by scoring two goals in the first eight minutes, and although M.Klose later reduced the deficit, the Greek team had better chances in the second half, with E.Gonzalez hitting the goal frame twice. "Barcelona" once again demonstrated beautiful football by defeating "Udinese" 4-1. Brazilian Ronaldinho scored a hat-trick, once from open play, a penalty, and a penalty kick, while Deco also scored from a penalty, with Felipe scoring the only goal for the visitors.
Fierce competition is ongoing in Group D, where "Lille" and "Villarreal" failed to score and settled for a goalless draw in their match, while "Man Utd" narrowly defeated Lisbon's "Benfica". The A.Ferguson-coached team took the lead in the 39th minute after an unusual goal from R.Giggs, but 59 minutes in, Simao equalized with a great penalty. The English club secured victory with a goal from R.van Nistelrooy five minutes before the end of the match.
Tuesday's results
Group A
"Bayern 1 - 0 "Brugge" 32` [1 - 0] Martin Demichelis
"Juventus" 3 - 0 "Rapid" 27` [1 - 0] David Trezeguet 82` [2 - 0] Adrian Mutu 85` [3 - 0] Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Group B
"Ajax" 1 - 2 "Arsenal" 2` [0 - 1] Fredrik Ljungberg 69` [0 - 2] Robert Pires (pen.) 71` [1 - 2] Markus Rosenberg
"Thun" 1 - 0 "Sparta" 89` [1 - 0] Selver Hodzic
Group C
"Panathinaikos" 2 - 1 "Werder" 5` [1 - 0] Ezequiel Gonzalez (pen.) 8` [2 - 0] Evangelos Mantzios 41` [2 - 1] Miroslav Klose
86` Ivan Klasnic ("Werder") sent off
"Barcelona" 4 - 1 "Udinese" 13` [1 - 0] Ronaldinho 24` [1 - 1] Felipe 32` [2 - 1] Ronaldinho 41` [3 - 1] Deco 90` [4 - 1] Ronaldinho (pen.)
49` Jose Luis Vidigal ("Udinese") sent off
Group D
"Man Utd" 2 - 1 "Benfica" 39` [1 - 0] Ryan Giggs 59` [1 - 1] Simao Sabrosa 85` [2 - 1] Ruud van Nistelrooy
"Lille" 0 - 0 "Villarreal"
