UEFA Champions League: Giants fall on upset-loaded Wednesday

Malaga were the agressors from the start as Milan’s 3-4-3 setup turned into more of a 5-4-1, content to absorb pressure. That pleased Isco, who found time to pull the strings for Malaga, who looked threatening from the start and should have been up in the first half, but Joaquin’s penalty kick rattled the crossbar and went over.

Malaga’s dominance only increased as the match went on and finally paid off after the hour mark when Manuel Iturra hit a lovely chip over the MIlan defense for Joaquin, who timed his run perfectly. With his first touch, Joaquin slotted the ball home and Malaga had the goal that would push them past Milan.

In the 86th minute, Jefferson Farfan made a run down the right flank and hit a low cross to the back post. Waiting there, in the place Jenkinson probably would have been if he was on the pitch, was Afellay to apply a simple tap-in and seal victory for the visitors.

Arsenal have now lost twice and failed to score in two straight matches in all competitions.

Shortly afterwards, with Real Madrid’s defence all at sea, it was Robert Lewandowski who gave the hosts the lead. A poor pass from Pepe allowed the waiting Kehl to intercept, and the Dortmund captain played in Lewandowski, who had escaped into an ocean of space between Madrid’s dawdling centre-backs. A smart finish past Iker Casillas’ near post put Dortmund 1-0 up.

Their lead didn’t last long, however, with Cristiano Ronaldo equalising at the other end. Mesut Ozil was also given a criminal amount of space in midfield, and punished the hosts with a perfectly-weighted pass to Ronaldo, who finishe with a gorgeous chip to cancel out Dortmund’s lead.

Montpellier wasted multiple first half chances and blew a 1-0 lead late thanks to some shocking defending as Olympiakos left France with the full three points, winning 2-1.

The match was all Montpellier in the first half, at least in terms of effort and possession. The French champions all but set-up camp in the Olympiakos final third, but never looked dangerous. They only managed two shots on goal and only one of those really troubled goalkeeper Roy Carroll. It was an annoying combination of effective defending from the Greek side and a bunch of Montpellier players waiting around for someone to do something with the ridiculous amount of possession they had.

Paris Saint-Germain were wasteful on the attack but it really didn’t matter as they rolled past Dinamo Zagreb 3-0. Jérémy Menez scored a goal and assisted on another to lead Les Parisiens.

It took a little over 30 minutes for PSG to break through, but it really was inevitable as Zagreb knew they had to defend like crazy, but were still willing to try to attack on the counter. Those forays in to PSG’s half opened things up for the inevitable counters from PSG.

Max Allegri sent his AC Milan team out in what appeared to be an attacking 3-4-3, but true to current form, it instead morphed into a conservative 5-4-1 and Milan spent much of the first half on the back foot as Malaga grabbed control. Luckily for Milan, Joaquin hit the crossbar on a penalty and the visitors are still scoreless at the break, but Milan will have to get better or Malaga will surely come away with three points.

Milan only had one really good foray forward and it resulted in Stephan El Shaarawy getting a golden opportunity off of a pass from Urby Emanuelson, but the 19-year-old couldn’t convert.

Malaga will be looking to prove their strong start to the Champions League is not a fluke as they face their apparent biggest rival in the group. Milan have been up and down this year and will be looking build off their win over Zenit.

Malaga’s main adjustment in Ignacio Camacho dropping from the midfield to fullback with Nacho Monreal unavailable to to injury. Otherwise, it’s essentially the same lineup that has rolled through Malaga’s first two Champions League matches.

The Portuguese club have made use of their extensive array of options to rotate for tonight’s match, although Steven Defour does not return to the starting lineup, despite having been rested on the bench for the past two games.

Porto: Helton, Danilo, Maicon, Eliaquim Mangala, Nicolas Otamendi, Lucho Gonzalez, Joao Moutinho, Fernando, Jackson Martinez, James Rodriguez, Silvestre Varela.

This one is pretty simple. City need a win and Ajax can all but ruin the English club’s Champions League campaign by denying them full points.

Zenit spent a ton of money in the summer to bolster their side for the Champions League. Unfortunately, the move hasn’t paid off and the Russian side is desperate for three points today against Anderlecht.

Luciano Spalletti has only made one change from the side that lost to AC Milan in the last round of group stage matches. Sergei Semak replaces Vladimir Bystrov in the midfield, but it shouldn’t change the team’s shape at all.

FC Porto are in control of their own destiny and appear to be in good position to top Group A after their win over Paris Saint-Germain in the last round of fixtures. Coming off that surprise victory, they’ll expect another three points at home against Dynamo Kiev.

Dynamo are coming off a win against Dinamo Zagreb in the last round, but have lost their last two Ukrainian Premier League matches since then. It’s a bit tough for them to make the case that they’re one of the top two teams in this group when they currently look like the fourth best side in their own country.

Arsenal and Schalke look like the clear class of Group B and heavy favorites to advance to the knockout round of the Champions League, but both Montpellier and Olympiakos have a chance to turn around their campaigns on Wednesday. If either side can grab all three points, they’ll be back in the running for a place in the round of 16.

Montpellier pulled off a surprising comeback draw against Schalke in their last game, but were poor in the first half of that match. They’re also coming off two straight losses in Ligue 1 and appear to be closer to relegation than European places. Olympiakos have looked good domestically, but with two losses already in Champions League, their prospects of making the knockout stage won’t look good if they fail to beat Montpellier.

By this point in the Champions League, Zenit St. Petersburg probably expected to have four points and one of the top two positions in their group. Instead, they have two losses from two matches, and nothing but a win will do for Luciano Spalletti’s side on Wednesday night.

Their opponents, Anderlecht, put in a good showing against AC Milan but were handily beaten by Malaga last time out. They’re a strong side, but they’re suffering with a number of injuries to key forward players and might lack the firepower to score away from home.

It will be a battle between two teams still looking for their first group stage wins as Manchester City travel to Amsterdam to face Ajax.

Ajax have no major injury concerns as they look for their first home victory over an English club since 1980 against Nottingham Forest. They did help knock Manchester United out of the group stages last season with their victory at Old Trafford. A repeat of that performance by the Dutch side could spell doom for City’s hopes of advancing to the next round.