Champions League Wrap: Mourinho's Madrid Stomp Over Galatasaray, Solid Malaga Holds Dortmund

Ronaldo's 9th minute goal turned out to be the eventual winner for Real Madrid.
Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

MATCH RESULTS:

Real Madrid 3 : 0 Galatasaray Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid	Malaga 0 : 0 Dortmund La Rosaleda, Malaga
Ronaldo 9'                  --   Benzema 29'       Higuain 73'	--                 --

The history of football is full of miracles - Mourinho
Fatih Terim's Galatasaray were completely overpowered by Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid at the Bernabeu yesterday evening, with three different goal-scorers for Los Blancos and none for the Turkish giants.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck early in the first-half, smartly collecting a Mesut Ozil pass and chipping the ball past Gala keeper Fernando Muslera into the back of the net. Twenty minutes later, it was Frenchman Karim Benzema who got a goal, collecting a cross from Michael Essien. Galatasaray, for their part, couldn't quite string a decent chance as all but two of their efforts in the first half were off-target.
Any chance of Fatih Terim's side getting something out of the game disappeared in the second half, when Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain pounced on a loose ball created by a Xabi Alonso free-kick to score the coup-de-grace.

Gonzalo Higuain's glancing header puts the ball past Fernando Muslera into the back of the net Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK

But Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho refused to be carried away by their dominating finish. "If we score a goal [in the second leg] they have to score five, but in football I have seen so many incredible things that nothing can surprise me.

"They will do everything to do something historic and I know Fatih Terim will try. The history of football is full of miracles."

Turkish boss Fatih Terim admitted that his side were clearly outgunned. "We faced a massive team who are aiming to win the UEFA Champions League. You just have to congratulate them. The quality between the sides wasn't equal

"Real Madrid were the dominant side and I accept that."

The tie is absolutely open - Pellegrini

Despite their chances, Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund are held goalless at La Rosaleda yesterday evening thanks to Malaga's goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero.

Mario Gotze went one-on-one with the Argentine keeper three times, but the German forward just can't seem to get the ball past Caballero. Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski also had their chances to put Dortmund ahead, but the sturdy Malaga back-line, coupled with Caballero's brilliant saving capabilities made sure Jurgen Klopp's men had no goal to celebrate in Spain.

Malaga's goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero saves the ball from Dortmund's Lewandowski

Image retrieved from the UEFA official website

Manuel Pellegrini's men had chances of their own. Once they shook off the rapid-fire pace of the defending Bundesliga champions in the first half, Malaga got to their groove and started putting pressure on the visitors. Julio Baptista, Jeremy Toulalan and Isco were all on target for the home side, but none managed to score.

"It was an open game and the tie is absolutely open," Malaga boss Pellegrini said. "It was a very good game from both teams, who each tried to get into the opposition box. The crowd were happy."

Klopp was also satisfied with his side's performance, saying, "We gave a good performance against a good team. We had the better chances and a 0-0 draw is a result we can live with."

Triumph in Transylvania: CFR Cluj 1 Manchester United 2

The business of Rooney-RVP partnership finally picks up, generating two goals for United against Cluj

Image retrieved from The Telegraph UK

Goals of the game

CFR Cluj: Kapetanos (14')

Manchester United: Van Persie (29', 49')

The Red Devils have once again come from behind to win 2-1 against CFR Cluj. United seemed to have started a not-so-comfortable trend for their side, as their recent run of games saw them give the lead to their opponents early in the match. And yet, United managed to win a good majority of those games, thanks to their marquee signing, Robin Van Persie.

United lost the lead early on in the first half. Cluj winger Sougou was allowed an easy run by left-back Evra. The Cluj winger would then make an excellent pass to fellow player Kapetanos, who sinks in the opening goal for his side. A quarter of an hour later, Wayne Rooney would attempt to make a pass to Robin Van Persie. The ball bounces of the shoulder of the Netherlands international, straight into the back of the net for the fortunate (perhaps lucky) equalizer.

United, now having a grip on the game, asked a lot of questions in the beginning of the second half. Cluj sat deeper on their half of the pitch, and the Red Devils, through Van Persie once again, would get their eventual winning goal. Rooney makes a fabulous through ball towards Van Persie. Cluj keeper Felgueiras tried to race towards the ball but was outrunned by RVP, who stuck with  his left boot to net his second goal.

Robin van Persie hits his brace as he collects Rooney's pass and powers in the winning goal past Cluj goalie Felgueiras

Image retrieved from The Telegraph UK

It was a rather nervy game for the Reds, whose patchy defense is proving dangerous. Evra is losing his touch, and his recent string of bad performances warrant him in losing his starting berth.

The Ferdinand-Evans partnership is still to take hold, and United fans can only hope that the duo find their form soon.

On the bright side, the Reds' forward line is capable of compensating. United's midfield tonight, in their 4-3-1-2 looked very fluid. Anderson and Cleverley did well, and Fletcher, too, who had just come back from a debilitating bowel condition.

And perhaps the highlight of United's starting XI tonight is the Rooney-RVP combo, bagging two goals and the victory. Thanks to a spectacular striker in RVP and a driven Rooney, United come home from Transylvania the victors and top of Champions League Group H. Things are looking bright for Sir Alex Ferguson and his team.

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Carried by Carrick: Manchester United 1 Galatasaray 0

United midfielder Michael Carrick gets fouled and felled but still managed to get the winning goal for his team

Image retrieved from the official UEFA Champions League website

Goals of the Game

Manchester United: Carrick (7')

Galatasaray: --

It was a nervy and lucky night for the Reds at Old Trafford as they faced Turkish giants Galatasaray, with Carrick's goal holding the lead for the English team. The win kick-starts United's Champions League campaign for this season.

Manchester United looked primed and ready for another dominating performance in the very first minutes of the game, with Carrick clinching in the goal as early as the seventh minute, as he made brilliant ball play with team-mate Shinji Kagawa.

After that, United lost its flair and was quick to go shift to defense mode as Galatasaray looked hungry in the counter-attack. The Reds still asked questions and knocked on the door of Galatasaray keeper Muslera's net, but the first-half certainly could've gone better.

United upped the ante in the first minutes of the second-half, with Nani and Evra doing wonderful exchanges in the Galatasaray half, but the Turkish grit and defensive strength proved solid. It was until Paul Scholes made a brilliant pass to Rafael, who was geared to make the goal but was fouled Burak Yilmaz inside the box. A penalty was called.

With the Southampton penalty fiasco fresh in United's memories, it was decided that Nani should take the penalty. The cushion lead that United needed was nowhere to be found when the Portuguese winger horribly failed to take the penalty shot and was easily saved.

Nani falters on his penalty shot, making way for an easy save for Galatasaray keeper Muslera

Image retrieved from the official UEFA Champions League website

From that point, Galatasaray knew there was a great chance to at least share a point with the Reds. The Turkish team went into overdrive and made attack after attack. Questionable referee decisions, apart from United's sheer luck and periods of great defense, made sure the visitors didn't net any goals, giving United the win.

Looking at the game in hindsight, United looked once again to be setting the stage for a repeat of last year's CL campaign. Long periods of sloppy defense plus poor finishing at some points tinge doubt in the Reds ability to progress in the tournament.

Carrick was great for his team once again, as he did great hold of the ball and had stints of brilliant defending, apart from his winning goal.

Evra and Nani had good link-up, but their finishing was a bit poor.

Robin van Persie failed to make his mark in the European stage for his team. Perhaps he's still adjusting to his new club.

A special mention had to be said for Captain Nemanja Vidic, who was United's stalwart defender, neutralizing a lot of Galatasaray's chances.

In the end, it was the scoreline that mattered and United get the full three-points against Galatasaray, who could've easily equalized or won the game. Having said that, the Reds need to better their preparation and performance in their next meeting, for if Galatasaray proved formidable at Old Trafford, who knows what they could do on their own turf?

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