Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey scored a contender for goal of the season when he blasted home a 30m volley to help his team cruise past Galatasaray 4-1 and finish second in their UEFA Champions League group on Tuesday.
The Wales international scored twice for Arsenal, as did Germany forward Lukas Podolski, whose opener — a brilliantly taken left-footed shot after three minutes — set them on the way to an easy win over the already-eliminated hosts.
The Gunners had to win and hope that Borussia Dortmund lost at home to RSC Anderlecht in the other Group D clash to finish in first place, but the Bundeslga side drew with the Belgian club, meaning the Londoners needed to have triumphed by six goals to take top spot.
Photo: AFP
Dortmund and Arsenal both finished with 13 points, but the German side topped the group with a better goal-difference. However, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger still praised his side’s performance on the night.
“Unfortunately it wasn’t enough [to finish first], but we finished with 13 points and did a job tonight. We came out strong and that’s what I wanted from the players. This group has a good dynamic and they showed that from the start,” he said.
The Frenchman said he had wondered what Ramsey was doing when he set himself up for his shot.
Photo: AFP
“I thought maybe that’s not the best of ideas, but the way it went in was absolutely unbelievable,” he told Sky Sports. “There’s a little bit of frustration that we have finished runners-up, but we knew at halftime we needed to score six goals without conceding.”
“We won four games, lost one and had one draw. Looking back, we can maybe regret that point at home to Anderlecht,” he added, referring to a match in which the Gunners led 3-0 at home with half an hour to play, but were pegged back to 3-3 in the last minute.
Arsenal were already assured of a place in the last 16 for the 15th successive season and the outcome at the Turk Telecom Arena in Istanbul was virtually settled inside the first 11 minutes after Podolski and Ramsey both scored their first goals.
Ramsey’s great strike for his second goal came after 29 minutes and the scoreline stayed at 3-0 until Wesley Sneijder scored a consolation for the Turkish side with a beautifully struck free-kick after 88 minutes.
Podolski made it 4-1 with the last kick of the game after weaving through the leaky home defense.
After Arsenal’s 3-2 loss to Stoke City in the Premier League on Saturday reignited demands from disgruntled fans that the long-serving Wenger leave the club, the Frenchman needed a good win in Istanbul and wasted no time in securing it.
Galatasaray, who knew they would finish last, should have canceled Podolski’s early strike after six minutes, but Hakan Balta shot wide with the goal gaping.
In the final Group A matches, Juventus did the bare minimum as they scraped into the knockout stage by drawing Atletico Madrid 0-0 a home, a result that also suited the Spanish champions, who topped the group.
The first half was reasonably intense, with sporadic chances at either end, but the last half hour was a non-event, with both teams clearly happy to stay put.
“It’s never to easy to play against Atletico, they defend very well and it’s never simple to find a way through,” Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri, whose side needed a point to make sure of a last-16 place, told Sky Sports Italia.
“Given the situation, we didn’t want to take any risks,” said the phlegmatic coach, who succeeded where predecessor Antonio Conte failed last season by getting the Bianconeri past the group stage.
Juventus, who lost two of their first three games in Group A, finished with 10 points, one ahead of Olympiakos, who beat Malmo FF 4-2 on Tuesday. Had the Serie A giants lost, they would have finished below the Greek side on the head-to-head record.
“We were in a complicated situation after the first three games and I think we’ve done very well to get back on our feet,” goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said.
Juve had most of the possession, but were short on ideas for breaking down a typically resolute Atletico defense and it was the already-qualified Madrid club who looked more dangerous venturing forward.
Juve had a chance in the opening minutes when they won a free-kick on the edge of the area — a perfect position for specialist Andrea Pirlo — but he sent a strangely lame effort into the wall.
Buffon made a superb early stop to deny Koke, then had to tip a Jose Maria Gimenez header over the crossbar before denying Raul Garcia twice in quick succession.
Juve had another escape early in the second when Gabi’s inswinging corner curled onto the near post, but the game petered out after that.
Despite enjoying 68 percent of possession, the hosts were clearly in no hurry; their buildups labored and their attacks restricted to crosses into the area and long-range shots.
It was a relief for everyone when the final whistle went.
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