Champions League: Borussia Dortmund Beat Real Madrid on Night of Upsets

On a night that will be remembered for upsets, Borussia Dortmund's win over Real Madrid might have been the mildest surprise.

But it was still a surprise.

Marcel Schmelzer scored the match-winner in the 64th minute as Dortmund overcame a Cristiano Ronaldo goal to extend Real Madrid's poor record in Germany. The 2-1 victory sent Dortmund to the top of Group D with seven points.

Real are now second in the group with six points.

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for Dortmund in the 36th minute, but Ronaldo equalized for Real two minutes later with a deft chip.

It was hardly the only eye-catching result. Elsewhere in Group D, Ajax defeated English champions Manchester City 3-1 in Amsterdam. And in Group B, Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to Schalke.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay scored the goals for Schalke. For Arsenal it was the first home European loss in the Emirates Stadium and the second straight in all competitions after a shocking 1-0 defeat at Norwich in the Premier League over the weekend.


The result leaves Arsenal second in Group B with six points. Schalke are first with seven.

City took the lead against Ajax through Samir Nasri but fell victim to three unanswered goals by the hosts. Siem De Jong equalized in the 45th minute before Niklas Moisander and Chrisian Eriksen grabbed second-half goals.

With the win, Ajax moved off the foot of the Group D table with three points. City are now last with just one point from three matches.

And with a repeat performance two weeks from now, Roberto Mancini's team will be out of the competition.

Tito Vilanova: Nobody does what Messi does

The Blaugrana boss has once again praised the Argentine magician as his team prepare ahead of their Champions League clash against the Bhoys

 

 Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has expressed his delight with star striker Lionel Messi, as he spoke to reporters ahead of their next European fixture.
The 44-year-old took the time to share his views on the current form of the Ballon d'Or nominated forward before Barca's match against Scottish Premier League champions Celtic.

A pulsating encounter on Saturday saw the Blaugrana come out on top against Deportivo 5-4, with Messi grabbing a sublime hat-trick in the process, with his first goal being particularly impressive, as he smashed the ball into the top corner with little backlift. And the attacker's trainer continues to be impressed.

"I do not know what else can be said of Leo," Vilanova told reporters at a press conference.

"The other day he came back from travelling and he still made efforts both offensively and defensively. We'll enjoy him as long as we can. I don't think it's just the other day, but throughout the year.

"I do not want to do any campaigning [ahead of the Ballon d'Or award], I think Messi's success shows every day. Nobody does what he does," the Spanish tactician concluded.


Barcelona meet Celtic at Camp Nou on Tuesday evening at 20.45CET. z

Cristiano Ronaldo always delivers for Real Madrid, says Subotic

The towering defender has voiced his admiration for the prolific attacker, while stressing that the Spanish champions could struggle to deal with Marco Reus

Neven Subotic has taken the time to praise Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Borussia Dortmund's Champions League match against Real Madrid this week.

The Serbia international believes Ronaldo always delivers when his team needs him, and sees the Portuguese attacker as Madrid's undisputed star performer.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is a superb player. He's Madrid's go-to-guy, as the Americans say," Subotic was quoted as saying by Kicker.

"When you need something, you approach him. If there's something happening, they are looking toward Cristiano. They all know that he's always ready."

The defender then went on say that the Madrid defence will face a tough task to contain Marco Reus on Wednesday.

"Marco is a fantastic player. I honestly think there's no defender - so no-one at Madrid either - who can shut him out for an entire game. It's impossible to completely eliminate him."

Wednesday's match at the Signal Iduna Park kicks off at 20:45CET. 

 

Stephen Keshi: We are not afraid of any team in Afcon draw

The Nigeria coach has said his side will not be looking to avoid any of the big teams during Wednesday’s Afcon draw in South Africa 

EXCLUSIVE

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has said that he is not afraid of facing any of the continent’s major teams when the draw is held for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday in South Africa.

The Super Eagles are placed in Pot 2 and will be facing one of continental giants Cote D’Ivoire or Ghana, the top seeds for the competition. Hosts South Africa and defending champions Zambia are also in Pot 1.

“We are not afraid of any team, anybody that comes that’s fine with me,” Keshi told Goal.com ahead of his trip to Johannesburg for the draw.

The coach said that he will be planning for the tournament once the opponents in the group stages are unveiled in the anticipated draw to be held by Caf and the local organising committee.

“We will plan our strategy for our opponents once we know who we will play against,” he said.

Nigeria return to the Nations Cup after missing out on the 2012 edition hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea following their 8-3 aggregate defeat of Liberia.

Many fans are already talking about a revival in fortunes for the Super Eagles after their 6-1 victory in Calabar a fortnight ago, the highest score margin that the Nigerians have had in almost two decades. It is re-echoing a period of domination held by the national team when they last won the African title and qualified for their first World Cup.

But the coach still thinks that this is premature and will still be tinkering with his team by inviting new players into the squad ahead of January’s tournament. West Bromwich’s Peter Odemwingie, Everton’s Victor Anichebe and Levante’s Obafemi Martins are some of the players that could be making a return to the side in the nearest future.

“We’re still building and nobody is excluded from my team. I’ll give opportunity to any of those guys to play,” Keshi concluded.

 

Di Matteo backs Terry as Chelsea captain but Kick It Out chief angry at decision

The Blues boss insists the former England captain should still be seen as the club's leader providing he is not embroiled in any further controversy, but Lord Ouseley disagrees

Roberto Di Matteo insists John Terry should still be viewed as the "leader" of Chelsea, but Kick It Out chairman Lord Ouseley admits he is not happy with the club's decision to keep him as captain.Terry will don the armband, embroided with the motto 'Unite against Racism', in Tuesday's Champions League clash with Shaktar Donetsk as part of with UEFA's Fight against Racism Europe campaign.

It will also be a year to the day since the fracas with QPR defender Anton Ferdinand that landed the 31-year-old a £220,000 fine from the FA, saw him handed a four match ban and docked two weeks wages by the Blues.And Ouseley has questioned whether the former England defender should be leading the west London club out in the Donbass Arena tonight.

"I'm not happy with Terry being captain," said Ouseley.

"It doesn't please me, but I'm irrelevant in that process. That is a matter for Chelsea. It will please some people and it won't please others."

Chelsea boss Di Matteo insists he has no qualms regarding Terry holding onto the captaincy, but admits that he has been warned that there will be grave consequences should he step out of line in the future.
"I think he has realised that he used language that was inappropriate and has apologised for that and has certainly learned from that,' the Italian said.

"With good performances and good behaviour he should still be looked upon as the leader for our club.

"I've never been concerned about picking him. He's been able to focus on the games.

"Everybody's different, dealing with issues, but what is common for players is that, even if they have family problems or issues in private life, they tend to be able to focus on the football because it kind of helps them."