Walcott 65,
Ramsey 84
At last the Champions League has kicked off well and truly with the first match of the group stage now completed! Getting an away win in the very first game certainly puts us in a brilliant position to qualify, but there is still many games to be played, meaning many points to play for.
The game started with Walcott getting a couple of chances, his header was cleared by a defender and he had a shot saved by the Marseille 'keeper Mandanda. Marseille had a couple of chances themselves, Szczesny was called into action early, making a comfortable save, and later on in the game Ayew headed the ball wide for the home side.
In general, the first half was quite tight with no team creating particularly clear chances. Towards the end of the half Ramsey got a shot away, but it was cleared by a defender. The very last chance of the half, however, went to Marseille. Fortunately for us, Mertesacker was there to make the vital clearance right in front of the goal-line!
Right at the start of the second half Marseille got inches away from scoring again, this time through a slightly wide shot from Fanni. From that moment on, however, our domination became a fact. Özil's cross was cleared by a defender instead of reaching the intended target right in front of the goal, Walcott. The German midfielder would almost create another goal minutes later, as Gibbs passed the ball to him in the box, continued his run and received a clever back-heel back from Özil, only to have the shot saved by Mandanda.
On the other side of the pitch Szczesny had to remain vary, and did well to prevent a low, powerful shot from reaching the back of the net. Minutes later Gibbs headed the ball clear right on the goal-line as Mertesacker and Szczesny had a misunderstanding, the Polish 'keeper caught the header from Gibbs, though.
Nevertheless, one could tell that we were getting closer and closer to a goal. Sagna found Wilshere with a brilliant cross and the Englishman did get a decent shot away, but Mandanda made yet another save. We did find a way past the Marseille 'keeper eventually, and got the long over-due lead. Gibbs created a great cross that found its way to Theo Walcott, who fired on the volley with a brilliant strike past the 'keeper!
After the goal the game opened up considerably, with chances for both teams. Szczesny had to continue making good saves, one particularly dangerous shot came from outside the 18-yard-box with approximately twenty minutes to go. Then Giroud saw a powerful header go wide while Valbuena fired a shot over the bar the following minute. Özil also fired wide, from quite a steep angle.
The game was more or less over, though, when a certain Welsh midfielder scored yet another goal for us this season, granting us the 2-0 lead. Aaron Ramsey put on a brilliant solo effort, shrugging off Marseille players as he advanced towards the goal to fire into the back of the net! He has certainly been the centre of attention recently, and for good reason, proving to be the talent Wenger always saw in him!
However, right before the end of the game Marseille got a penalty as Ramsey brought a player down in the box. The replay showed that the midfielder got to the ball first, but this was not noticed by the ref and Ayew scored from the penalty spot.
Although the very last action of the game was a bit bitter, it does not remove the relief and importance of getting the three points away from home. We have a tough group and will need all the points we can get to qualify!
Injury Update:
- Mertesacker was back in the starting XI this evening, recovering from a previous illness.
No comments:
Post a Comment