Arsenal Rally From Two Down To Beat Ludogorets 3-2 Thanks To Mesut Ozil’s Late Goal

Mesut Ozil scored an incredible late winner as Arsenal struck back from two goals down to defeat Bulgarian club Ludogorets 3-2 on the road on Tuesday.

Arsenal Rally From Two Down To Beat Ludogorets 3-2 Thanks To Mesut Ozil’s Late Goal

Arsenal have now secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with two games to spare.

The English club, who reached the tournament’s knockout stages for the 17th consecutive time, and Paris Saint Germain, who also qualified following a 2-1 road victory over Basel, are joint top in Group A with 10 points from four matches. Ludogorets and Basel each have one point.

The Bulgarian hosts led 2-0 after just 15 minutes of play. Brazilian Jonathan Cafu opened the scoring from close range with his second Champions League goal, giving Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina no opportunity from a precise Wanderson free kick.

Three minutes later, Cafu maneuvered around Kieran Gibbs and sent a tempting cross to Romanian striker Claudiu Keseru, who fired home to double Ludogorets’ lead and draw loud cheers from the crowd at the Vasil Levski stadium.

Arsenal responded with a pair of their own goals before halftime, nonetheless. Granit Xhaka, who returned to the Gunners’ starting lineup after serving a domestic ban, scored in the 20th minute. Then, French striker Olivier Giroud marked his first start of the season by reaching the ball ahead of goalkeeper Milan Borjan from Aaron Ramsey’s cross and heading the ball in to make it 2-2 three minutes before the break.

Ludogorets nearly regained their lead early in the second half, but Ospina did well to block two of Wanderson’s shots but it was ultimately Ozil, who scored a hat-trick in Arsenal’s 6-0 win over the Bulgarian team two weeks ago, who secured the win for the visitors with his 88th-minute goal.

Ozil took the ball in Ludogorets’ half, lifted it over an advancing Borjan before edging past two defenders and calmly tapping into an empty net.

Before Sunday’s visit to local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger chose to leave several key players, including Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal, in London. The Gunners are second in the Premier League.

Wenger also made changes to his lineup for Tuesday’s game, with Giroud replacing Alexis Sanchez as striker, while Sanchez moved back to the left wing with Ramsey on the right.

Ludogorets will next face CSKA Sofia in the Bulgarian league on Saturday.

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 19: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal scores his team’s sixth goal of the game during the UEFA Champions League group A match between Arsenal FC and PFC Ludogorets Razgrad at the Emirates Stadium on October 19, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena