Champions League holders Barcelona slumped to a stunning 2-1 defeat at home on Tuesday to Russian champions Rubin Kazan — their first in the competition in 10 months — on a night when seven of the away sides came away with a point or better.
Liverpool were another side to suffer as having gone 1-0 up before half-time they slumped to their fourth successive defeat — their worst run in 22-and-a-half years — 2-1 to Lyon, with Cesar Delgado netting in time added on.
Despite the alarming run Liverpool’s Spanish manager Rafael Benitez was defiant even in the light of the boos ringing out when he replaced goalscorer Yossi Benayoun.
PHOTO: AFP
“We have done it before and we have to do the same,” Benitez said, referring to having bounced back before.
“We have to be ready for the next game, try and win that, then the same with the other two. We have done it before, we have to have the confidence we can do it again,” he said.
Lyon now look as good as in the next stage, although coach Claude Puel was suitably eager to downplay over-confidence.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“There is still a lot of work to do,” he insisted. “We are going to savor the victory tonight and enjoy the moment, it’s a great feeling. It is great to put in a good performance at this historic stadium. You can sense the history as soon as you walk in here and it was superb.”
Both Barca’s domestic rivals Sevilla and English Premier League giants Arsenal all but assured themselves of a place in the knockout stages as Sevilla romped to a 3-1 victory away at German side Stuttgart with Sebastien Squillaci notching a double.
“We know how to suffer,” Sevilla coach Manolo Jimenez said.
“We were leaders and we knew we had to win if we were to stay leaders,” added Jimenez, whose side have nine points from a possible nine.
Group G rivals Rangers look down and out after suffering their second successive heavy home defeat — 4-1 to Romanian debutants Unirea Urziceni, coached by former Chelsea star Dan Petrescu.
Rangers manager Walter Smith was left deeply frustrated by the hammering which included two own goals.
“We, after getting off to a great start, didn’t really impose ourselves on the game,” Smith said. “After that we lost three goals which at any level of football we shouldn’t be losing. All-in-all it was a disappointing evening for us.”
Arsenal, meanwhile, were held at 1-1 in the Netherlands by AZ Alkmaar — whose owner’s bank went bankrupt on Monday — failing to give manager Arsene Wenger an early 60th birthday present.
Wenger’s side top Group H with seven points from three matches, a point clear of Olympiakos, who were the only home side to buck the trend by winning — a 2-1 victory at home to Standard Liege.
However, while Wenger — whose birthday is today — may be upset to have conceded the late equalizer, AZ have just two points and Standard a point.
“It is frustrating because we felt superior to this team and had a good performance but couldn’t take advantage of our chances,” Wenger said. “In the final minutes we got caught. That is the Champions League. We need focus for 93 minutes. We made one mistake and we paid for it.”
Both Inter Milan and Barcelona were behind early on.
Inter Milan twice had to equalize with Argentinian defender Walter Samuel getting their second shortly after half-time after his team-mate Lucio had scored an own goal to give Dynamo Kiev a 2-1 lead at half-time.
Inter’s coach Jose Mourinho refused to be cowed by dropping the two points.
“The equality in this group is a positive thing. The Rubin result is good because it leaves everything open,” he said. “It means that when we get to the last match we won’t know who has qualified so when Barca play Dynamo at the end it will be a decisive game for them too.”
Barcelona had former Inter hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic to thank for putting them back on level terms with Rubin Kazan shortly after half-time as the Swedish star netted to rub out Alexander Ryazantsev’s second-minute effort.
However, it was the visitors who appeared to take strength from this and struck with a second goal through Gokdeniz Karadeniz 17 minutes from the final whistle.
Barca coach Pep Guardiola was philosophical about the defeat, which sees them sharing top spot with Rubin and Dynamo while Inter are a point behind.
“Any team can beat another one in football,” Guardiola said. “It is a strong group with four league champions and we have to fight until the end to progress.”
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