“I told you before that it would be the greatest escape”, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.
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Both Arsenal and Chelsea were trying to avoid following in the footsteps of fellow Premier League club Manchester United, which was eliminated on Tuesday.
That’s because Roma secured second spot in Group E with a goalless draw against Bate Borisov. And the Barcelona captain came through again, scoring his 80th Champions League goal.
Chelsea had some good fortune when Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas saved Diego Costa’s shot and the ball ricocheted in off Ivan Marcano for their opening goal at Stamford Bridge.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Javier Hernandez and Julian Brandt after the match. When you do that, it creates a positive memory for the rest of the season.
Olympiakos survived a late burst from Panthrakikos at the end of the game, and despite conceding twice in the last five minutes they managed to salvage the win.
Arsenal needed an emphatic win to leapfrog Olympiakos into second place in Group F and reach the competition’s last 16 and had Giroud to thank for leading the cavalry charge in a 3-0 romp.
Giroud opened scoring in the 29 minute with an header off an Aaron Ramsey cross. “When we look at who we lost [to injuries] in the last three weeks – Coquelin, Cazorla and Sánchez – and we came here with all the other players who were already out, not many people gave us a chance”, Wenger added. These games make the team stronger and this one certainly will.
“It’s disappointing. Obviously we wanted to win the game, but we have no complaints”, said Neville.
Olympiakos, which beat Arsenal 3-2 in London, would have advanced with a draw. It is quite the run of form from a player who could quite reasonably have expected to leave the club in the summer, on loan or otherwise.
The visitors from the Primera Liga are level with their English hosts, while Dynamo Kiev sit two points back, and the Ukrainian side is expected to win at home against Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Giroud, remember, had been the main focus for blame when Arsenal suffered the 3-1 defeat against Monaco in February that ended their Champions League hopes last season. It is a special night for us because, as we said before the game, we were in escape mode. “We’re really pleased to go through”.
Prior to their loss to Gent, Zenit were poised to be the only club to win all six of their matches.
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Maxwell Cornet put Lyon in front eight minutes before the break and Alexandre Lacazette sealed all three points for the French side in the 76th minute with a solo breakaway effort.
