SOCCER - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
2012/13
Group D - Manchester City (2) @ (3) Real Madrid - In their opening group game, Real Madrid won a shootout to beat visiting Manchester City. Real cameback from 1-0 and 2-1 to win on a last minute goal by star forward Cristiano Ronaldo. All the goals were scored in the final 21 minutes. The other Real Madrid goals came from Marcelo and Karim Benzema. The Manchester City goals came from Edin Dzeko and Alexsandar Kolarov (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Group E - Chelsea (0) @ (3) Juventus - On a night when Chelsea needed a result to stay in contention to progress through the group stages, Juventus upset the reigning Champions with a comprehensive win in Turin. Juve goals from Fabio Quagliarella, Arturo Vidal and Sebastian Giovinco did the damage as Juventus created the better chances and dominated possession. Chelsea were missing Frank Lampard and John Terry and rested striker Fernando Torres until the final 20 minutes, but even his introduction failed to turn the game around. The next day, coach Roberto Di Matteo was fired (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Last 16, 2nd Leg - Real Madrid (2) @ (1) Manchester United - On an emotional night at Old Trafford, Real Madrid cameback from a 1-0 deficit to advance to the Quarter Finals. Both teams were level at 1-1 after the 1st leg, and United seized the initiative in the 2nd leg with an own goal from Real defender Sergio Ramos. The tie turned when the referee controversially sent off United midfielder Nani which led to 2 quick goals for Real, scored by Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite late pressure, Real Madrid hung on for the win. United also featured Ryan Giggs who was making his 1,000th professional appearance (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Last 16, 2nd Leg - AC Milan (0) @ (4) Barcelona - Barcelona booked their place in the Quarter Finals with a sensational comeback win at the Nou Camp. AC Milan held a 2-0 advantage after the 1st leg but Barcelona took the win with goals from Lionel Messi (2), David Villa and Jordi Alba. The result was the first time a team had overturned a 2-0 deficit from the 1st leg to win (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Quarter Final, 1st Leg - Barcelona (2) @ (2) Paris St.Germain - In a shootout at the Stade de France, PSG twice came back from a deficit to send the tie back to Barcelona all-even. Lionel Messi gave Barca a 1 goal lead at the half before leaving at the break with an injury. Zlatan Ibrahimovic replied in the 2nd half before Barca took a 2-1 lead in the 90th minute with a penalty from Xavi. But with the final kick of the game, Blaise Matuidi equalised to end the game honours even. PSG also featured David Beckham in his final Champions League start before retirement (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Quarter Final, 2nd Leg - Malaga (2) @ (3) Borussia Dortmund - In a sensational finish in the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund used 2 injury time goals to book their place in the Semi-Finals. After a goal-less 1st leg, Malaga took control of the 2nd leg and held a 2-1 lead as the game entered injury time. But Dortmund continued to press and scored 2 goals in 2 minutes to turn the game around and claim the win. The Dortmund goals came from Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus and Felipe Santana. The Malaga goals came from Joaquín and Eliseu (10, 2 Discs, SKY - Weaver/Smith, PAL)
Semi-Final, 1st Leg - Barcelona (0) @ (4) Bayern Munich - Bayern Munich put 1 foot firmly in the final with a huge win in front of their home fans. Barcelona dominated possession (55% to 45%) but Bayern dominated the shot-count (14-4), taking their chances when they arrived. Bayern led 1-0 at the half and finished the game off with 2 goals in the final 17 minutes. The goals came from Thomas Mueller (2), Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben who had arguably his best ever game for Bayern. Barcelona featured Lionel Messi but he had a quiet game. Disc 2 also includes 5 minute hi-lites of the 2nd leg (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Semi-Final, 1st Leg - Real Madrid (1) @ (4) Borussia Dortmund - Dortmund upset the odds with a dominating win in the Westfalenstadion. Robert Lewandowski was the hero, scoring all 4 goals, with 3 coming in a 17 minute spell in the 2nd half. The lone Real Madrid goal came from Cristiano Ronaldo (10, 2 Discs, SKY - Parry/Neville, PAL)
Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Borussia Dortmund (0) @ (2) Real Madrid - Borussia Dortmund survived a furious comeback by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium to reach their 2nd Champions League Final. Dortmund held a 4-1 lead after the 1st leg and Madrid needed 3 unanswered goals to go through to the Final. Madrid started strong but poor finishing kept the game scoreless until they scored 2 goals in the final 8 minutes from Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos. But Dortmund held on and took the aggregate victory (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Final - Bayern Munich (2) v (1) Borussia Dortmund - Bayern Munich exorcised the demons of the 2012 Final with a tight win over their German rivals, Dortmund, at Wembley Stadium. After a scoreless 1st half, Bayern opened the scoring with a goal from Mario Mandzukic. But Dortmund equalised 7 minutes later through a penalty from Ilkay Gundogan. With the game drifting towards extra-time, Bayern's Arjen Robben became the hero, scoring the game-winner in the last minute of normal time to win the Cup. The win gave Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes his 2nd Champions League title in his final game for the club. Coverage includes ITV, ESPN and SKY Sports News Previews (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)