• Champions League round-up

Ramsey robs the points for Arsenal at the death

ESPN staff
October 19, 2011
Aaron Ramsey is mobbed by team-mates after scoring a late goal © PA Photos
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Champions League Wednesday - Gallery

Aaron Ramsey's coolly-taken strike two minutes into injury time gave Arsenal a much-needed 1-0 win against Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Ramsey, a second half substitute, was in the right place at the right time to collect a deflected cross and fire a low drive beyond the despairing Steve Mandanda, as Arsene Wenger's side jumped to the top of Group F.

It was a difficult game for the Gunners in an intimidating atmosphere in the Stade Velodrome, although they arguably had the better of the second half prior to Ramsey's all-important intervention.

The home side were perhaps lucky to avoid giving away a penalty after two dubious handballs in the first half, although Carl Jenkinson was also guilty of a similar offence that probably should have been penalised.

Robin van Persie saw his looped header cleared off the line, but it wasn't until the second half that the Premier League side exerted more control, with Theo Walcott unlucky in front of goal. But it was Ramsey who had the vital intervention, running onto the ball after it had deflected off Gervinho to give the visitors a win they were clearly delighted with.

Chelsea cruised to an emphatic 5-0 win against Genk in Group E, as Fernando Torres found the net twice in an impressive performance.

The game was not even ten minutes old when midfielder Raul Meireles put the Blues ahead with a long-range strike, before Torres struck twice before the half-hour mark to put Andre Villas-Boas' men firmly in control. Branislav Ivanovic's header on the verge of half-time effectively secured the points, although substitute Salomon Kalou added some extra emphasis to the final scoreline with his close-range finish with 18 minutes remaining.

Chelsea players surround Raul Meireles after his opening goal © PA Photos
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Belgian side Genk were given little hope of victory before the match, and the pessimism surrounding their chances was proven to be well placed when some shocking defending gave Meireles all the time in the world to take the ball on from midfield and fire a right-footed drive past goalkeeper Laszlo Koteles from 25-yards.

Three minutes later it was 2-0, as Torres latched onto Frank Lampard's ball to prod home - before the Spaniard, currently suspended from Premier League action, again showed his goalscoring touch has returned after a glorious header from Meireles' cross.

Ivanovic then made it four in similar fashion, this time from Malouda's cross, before Koteles came to the fore to keep the scoreline from getting out of hand. Nevertheless he was eventually beaten for a fifth time, as Kalou found himself in the right place at the right time to put the Blues on course for qualification for the next phase.

Chelsea are close to qualification after Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to defeat Valencia in Germany. Sidney Sam completed the turnaround for the home side, just five minutes after rising star Andre Schurrle had cancelled out Jonas's first-half strike.

Arsenal are similarly close to the knockout stages, after Borussia Dortmund slumped to a 3-1 defeat to Olympiakos. Robert Lewandowski had cancelled out Jose Holebas's opener for the German champions, but Rafik Djebbour and then Francois Modesto got their names on the scoresheet to snatch all three points for the Greek side.

Elsewhere, AC Milan did enough to beat BATE Borisov 2-0 thanks to goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kevin-Prince Boateng, while Barcelona breezed past Viktoria Plzen by the scoreline thanks to Andres Iniesta and David Villa.

Shakhtar Donetsk drew 2-2 with Zenit St Petersburg - Willian and Luiz Adriano's efforts being cancelled out by efforts from Roman Shirokov and Viktor Faizulin - as group rivals APOEL Nicosia stayed at the top of the table after claiming an impressive 1-1 draw with FC Porto, as Hulk and Ailton Almeida got the goals.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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