Sporting Braga Stuns Arsenal 2-0 … Real Routs Ajax In Amsterdam

AC Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi rounding up a goalkeeper

Arsenal last night suffered a second consecutive defeat on an European night this season after going down 0-2 to Sporting Braga in Group H of the European Champions League.

Needing a victory to guarantee qualification to the knock out stage and banish the 2-1 loss to Shakhtar Donesk last time out, Arsneal Wenger put out a shuffled side to the team that got humiliated home by Tottenham at the weekend.

The Gunners started brightly but found in Braga a resolute opponent. They were denied time and space and Fabregas and his mates found the going tough.

After a barren first half, Arsenal paid the price for poor defending in the second as Matheus scored a brace to brighten their prospects of qualifying for the next round and put Arsenal under pressure.

With the group’s other game seeing Shakhat Donesk 3-0 winners over Partizan Belgrade to lead group H on 12 points, Braga 6-0 losers to Arsenal in the first leg are now level on nine points with the Gunners.

Shakhtar have now qualified leaving Arsenal and Braga’s fate to be decided in the final group match.

In Holland, Cristiano Rolaldo led Real Madrid to a dramatic 4-0 victory over Ajax in a match that saw the Spanish giants ending the game with nine men.