UEFA Champions League 2011, Matchday 4: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid And The Manchesters All Win

After the halftime whistle, Bayern Munich supporters experienced a nasty shock, as star Schweinsteiger writhed in agony on the pitch, clutching his shoulder. He was removed in the 53rd minute, replaced by Anatoliy Tymoshchuk. The midfielder was taken to hospital, with later reports confirming a broken collarbone and an absence of 4-6 weeks.

For the final, dramatic end to what turned out the be a thrilling match, De Sanctis came out of goal to assist on a corner. Unfortunately for Napoli, Bayern pounced, and Mario Gomez sent in a shot from distance. As it rolled, seemingly in slow motion, Holy Goalkeeper came tearing up the pitch, sliding in to knock the ball safely around the post. A fitting end to a compelling match.

The result, incidentally, sees that Madrid qualify for the knockout rounds, and with twelve points out of twelve it would be a major shock if they failed to top their group. Now it’s simply a battle between Ajax and Lyon for second.

Benfica also won their match against FC Basel, and are behind United by one goal, tied on points. The two sides meet at Old Trafford on Matchday 5 of the competition.

Meanwhile, the match has gone a bit feisty. Zuniga collected two yellow cards within two minutes, bringing Napoli down to ten men after a high kick on Franck Ribery. Less than ten minutes later, Holger Badstuber picked up his second yellow of the match after a foul on Edinson Cavani. With both teams down to ten men, Federico Fernandez was able to get his second goal, yet another header caused by Bayern Munich’s poor set piece defending. I’m going to start calling them the Aston Villa of the Bundesliga.

United have been on the front foot all game, but haven’t created much in the way of clear-cut chances beyond the goal. The central defense pairing of Ferdinand and Johnny Evans isn’t exactly the most consistent and error-free pair that Alex Ferguson could pick, so his team really could use an insurance goal.

Villarreal vs. Manchester City kicks off at 3:45 pm ET, 7:45 pm GMT, 8:45 pm local. We’ll have coverage of all of Wednesday’s Champions League action in our UEFA Champions League Wednesday, Matchday 4 StoryStream. For more on the entire world of football, check out SB Nation Soccer.

Benfica vs. FC Basel kicks off at 3:45 pm ET, 7:45 pm GMT. We’ll have coverage of all of Wednesday’s Champions League action in our UEFA Champions League Wednesday, Matchday 4 StoryStream. For more on the entire world of football, check out SB Nation Soccer.

On October 18, Bayern Munich and Napoli faced off in Naples with the top spot in Group A of the UEFA Champions League on the line. With Manchester City sitting behind both teams with unbelievable talent and questionable form, a loss would be crippling to either team. Both teams grabbed a point in a physical 1-1 draw, but that hardly tells the story.

If Walter Mazzarri sticks with his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation, his front three are going to have to create a high volume of goal-scoring opportunities and his central midfielders, arguably his team’s weakest point, will have to have terrific games. There is an inherent disadvantage in playing a back three against one and three striker systems like Bayern’s, so the performances of the individual players will have to be spectacular for Napoli to get points in Munich.

Coming into their UEFA Champions League matchup, both Inter Milan and Lille are coming off intense games in their respective national leagues. Inter is coming off a 2-1 loss to arch-rival Juventus, putting them 17th in Serie A. However, they still lead their Champions League group. On the other hand, Lille is coming off a 0-0 draw against regional opponent, Valenciennes, and still hold 3rd place in Ligue 1. Unfortunately for the Ligue 1 champion, they need a win to keep their Champions League knockout stage hopes alive.

Having lost Maicon, an importance piece of its offence and defence, Inter Milan will be looking to have a strong defensive basis to counter a young offensive LOSC team lead by Belgian prodigy Eden Hazard and English veteran Joe Cole.