CSKA Moskva 1 - 0 Arsenal London
Match report
http://www.uefa.com/competitions/UCL/FixturesResults/Round=2357/match=1116358/Report=RP.html
Historic win takes CSKA top
Tuesday, 17 October 2006
PFC CSKA Moskva replaced Arsenal FC at the top of Group G after recording a memorable 1-0 win against last season's finalists at the Lokomotiv Stadium.
Carvalho clincher
A stunning 24th-minute free-kick from Daniel Carvalho was enough to hand the Russian Premier-Liga leaders their second victory of the campaign and their first against English opposition, leaving them on course to qualify for the knockout rounds for the first time. The defeat ended Arsenal's six-match winning streak and, fielding a conservative 4-5-1 formation, the visitors lacked their usual sparkle and fluency, Thierry Henry cutting a isolated figure in attack.
Early possession
Arsène Wenger had made two changes to the side that overwhelmed Watford FC on Saturday, with Robin van Persie and Aleksandr Hleb brought in to provide width in the five-man midfield. The extra man enabled the Londoners to enjoy a monopoly on possession and they started the match as if they were the home side. However, for all their slick interplay in the first 20 minutes, they failed to seriously trouble Igor Akinfeev, the CSKA keeper seeking a third successive clean sheet in the competition.
Shock opener
Indeed, it was the home team who opened the scoring on 24 minutes with a blockbuster of a free-kick from Carvalho. The set-piece on the edge of the Arsenal area was back-heeled by Sergei Ignashevich into the path of the Brazilian who lashed the ball left-footed past Jens Lehmann. The goal brought the crowd to life on a freezing night in Moscow and they were out of their seats again six minutes later when Carvalho forced Lehmann to back-pedal and tip over a dipping long-range strike.
Disallowed goal
Prompted by the clever wing play of Yuri Zhirkov, Valeri Gazzaev's well-organised team had their tails up and they thought they had a second goal soon after, only for Vágner Love's effort to be ruled out for offside. Arsenal improved towards the end of the half and their best chance came on 42 minutes, Van Persie failing to cut the ball back for the supporting William Gallas following a slip by Deividas Šemberas. Gilberto Silva was then unable to connect with a teasing centre from Tomáš Rosický.
Attacking change
The Gunners began the second half as they had finished the first - on the front foot - but an inability to engineer opportunities of note prompted Wenger to introduce Emmanuel Adebayor and switch to a more conventional 4-4-2 for the last 22 minutes. Shortly after Justin Hoyte had hit the post following a misjudgment by Akinfeev and the outstanding Kolo Touré had a goal disallowed for offside, Wenger went for broke by introducing Theo Walcott. Yet the teenage sensation never looked like becoming the youngest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history and a disappointing night for Arsenal was complete when the otherwise subdued Henry was booked for handball when he thought he had scored after 86 minutes.
