Champions Lague Matchday 1: Barcelona v Lyon

First things first: Lyon is a damn good team and showed it for 80 minutes against what could well be the most talented team in Europe. They gave up an own goal off a Messi shot in the 21st minute and did a strong job of blocking the middle while not permitting Barca to attack easily down the flanks. That said, their excellent defense broke down for the final ten minutes and allowed Barcelona the space to create, leading to the two cushioning goals, by Messi in the 82nd minute and Henry in the 90th. Interestingly, Barca looked their best without Ronaldinho, who was removed in favor of Andres Iniesta in the 64th minute. For the most part, Henry and Messi were held in check by the Lyon defense, through hard tackling and offside traps. Henry looked sluggish and unable to control the ball or work well in the post. Messi continues to develop as one of the world's most exciting players and created space for himself and his teammates. In this game, he occassionally looked like he was trying to do too much, but in the end he created two goals and led his team to success. Messi has to be considered the man of the match in this game.

In the Manchester United v Sporting Lisbon match, again the underdog did a strong job defending goal and the box, forcing United to look wide for their chances. In the end, Cristiano Ronaldo was the difference as he scored the decisive goal against his former club. Ronaldo looked great with the ball at his feet but Rooney apparently wasnt ready for the game. Additionally, it was good to see Vidic and Ferdinand together at center-back. Van der Sar saved an almost-certain goal in the 79th minute with a fingertip save. United will have to improve their form if they expect to perform as they did last year in this tournament.