A Historic Day in Cyprus

It was a historic day in Nicosia yesterday as Cypriot champions APOEL took down Porto 2-1 on a 90th minute winner by Gustavo Manduca. Porto had a majority of the chances and an edge in possession, but unlike 2009, APOEL did not look overmatched. Now sitting atop Group G with two wins and two draws from four games, APOEL is on the edge of being the first team from the small island country to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League. This win was not only impressive because of the quality of opponent, but for the style of play. The winner was a fabulous move, with passing through the midfield, a world-class ball from Charalambides, and a cool left-footed finish by Manduca. I love the underdogs in the group stages of the Champions League, and I've kept a close eye on Cypriot teams in the past - Anorthosis and APOEL both showed well in their prior appearances. However, these types of results are completely unprecedented. If APOEL can avoid defeat in their final two games, or win one of the two fixures (away to Zenit and home to Shakhtar) they will be through. While APOEL would likely be overmatched against the elite sides in Europe, they are a great story and have been very entertaining to watch this year.

Other than the thriller in Cyprus, yesterday's games were disappointing, lacking goals and excitement alike. Milan and Chelsea both stuttered against inferior opposition on the road, while Barcelona and Valencia both took care of business. There are quite a few ties which are difficult to project - Manchester City head to Villarreal on a tear of form, but that form has not translated to Champions League success so far. If Napoli can avoid defeat in Munich today they will be in great shape to reach the knockout round,  but Bayern look very strong now. That looks like the game of the day. Another important game is in Group B between Trabzonspor and CSKA in Turkey. CSKA won the last game 3-0 but the game was closer than the score, and the Turks are strong at home. Here are my projections for today:

Ajax - Dinamo Zagreb: HOME WIN
Bayern Munich - Napoli: HOME WIN
Benfica - Basel: HOME WIN
Inter - Lille: DRAW
Lyon - Real Madrid: DRAW
Manchester United - Otelul Galati: HOME WIN
Trabzonspor - CSKA Moscow: DRAW
Villarreal - Manchester City: AWAY WIN