By Giulio Ricciardi
Champions League Round-Up: Roma stun Manchester City at home, Paris Saint-Germain shock Barcelona in victory, Atletico Madrid show experience in Juve victory, and Danny Welbeck hat-trick leads Arsenal over Galatasaray.
Manchester City 1-1 Roma:
In Roma’s first Champions League match since 2008/09, captain Francesco Totti became the oldest scorer in Champions League history at 38 years old, allowing Roma to get a point away from home. The match started off with a controversial penalty call when Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero seemed to have fell to the ground easily to the challenge of Roma defender Douglas Maicon. The penalty was coolly converted by Aguero, giving the hosts an early 4th minute lead. Later in the first half, Totti managed to sweetly finish off a shot around Manchester City keeper Joe Hart, giving the away side a level game and the draw at the end of the game.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 Barcelona:
Paris Saint-Germain managed to stun giants Barcelona in Paris, giving them a crucial win and control over the group. The deadlock was opened in the 10th minute when summer signing and Brazil center-back David Luiz scored off a corner to give the home side a dream start. Barcelona managed to respond quickly through Leo Messi, who scored a fantastic goal inside the box. The hosts responded again in the first half off a corner where young Italian midfielder Marco Verratti headed home an easy cross, making it 2-1. During the second half, PSG increased their lead to three goals off a goal from Blaise Matuidi, setting up the hosts for a dream second half. Barcelona managed a response through Brazilian star Neymar on a beautifully curved goal. Despite this, PSG managed to hold up for a classic win at home.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Juventus:
Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid managed to pull out a tough win vs Serie A champions Juventus. The game was dominated by Juventus with long spells of possession. Despite this possession, Juventus didn’t manage to get a single shot on target. Atletico Madrid showed their pose by allowing Juventus to gain possession of the game, then countered and pounced when they had the ball. Late in the second half, Ateltico forward Arda Turan scored off a cross the give the hosts the win.
Arsenal 4-1 Galatasaray:
Hat-trick scorer Danny Welbeck led the way in Arsenal’s rout of Turkish side Galatasaray. Arsenal started off early through two quick Welbeck goals, giving them an early home lead. Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez scored a curling goal to put the hosts in full control at the half. Welbeck then scored another one in the second half to secure the victory, capping off a wonderful performance. Later in the second half, Arsenal keeper Wojtek Szczesny got a straight red for fouling in the box, leading to a penalty. David Ospina scored the penalty, giving Galatasaray a late consolation goal.
