A look back at Tuesday's wild UEFA action:

Return of the Brazilians 

Milan 1 – Barcelona 1

Remember this? 

Brazil’s national team in 2006 played team soccer to the upmost degree. Fueled purely by the passion of the sport, the goals that team produced (like the last one in this video) were a culmination of a special understanding of playing with their teammates that was truly fun to watch. Robinho and Kaka, who both played on that team, found themselves back on the pitch together today. While their jerseys differed, sporting the black and red stripes of AC Milan instead of the Brazilian yellow and green, the understanding of playing with one another didn’t. The two Brazilians, who had both been out of a staring job for some time now, revisited the glory days of their careers, playing high caliber soccer and producing against a top team like Barcelona. The two connected on a perfect counter attack goal that gave Milan an impressive start, giving the home crowd hope that they would finally pull out a victory against the Catalan giants. 

Yet, in a mental lapse during a simple passing sequence coming out of the back, Milan gave away possession to Inesta who found Messi with five yards of space in the box, a fatal mistake against a player of his caliber. Messi was able to score the equalizing goal that would culminate in a 1-1 draw between the two teams. 

Mourinho’s Revival and Torres’ Luck 

Chelsea 3 – Shalke 0

No. You won’t convince me that Fernando Torres is “back.” I’ve bought into it before and I’m always disappointed with the result. The reality is he is a decent striker, far from the world-class player he once was with Liverpool. Yet, with that said, like a decent striker should, there are times when Torres is in the right place at the right time and today he was rewarded for that. 

The Spaniard’s two scrappy goals put the Blues in great contention for advancing out of the group as things are beginning to look up for Mourinho and his side. Yet, with their recent success Mourinho has also managed to continue the perpetual decline of his likability. This team is slowly adopting the characteristics that the coach wanted to see earlier in the season [See Also] and have shown they are willing to do anything to win a game (like knock the ball out of the keeper’s hands to beat Cardiff City by three goals). 

Dortmund Impresses 

Dortmund 2 - Arsenal 1

Dortmund consistently proves to be one of my favorite teams in European football. Capable of recognizing talent and consistently putting together a quality side, they never fail to impress. This is a team who lost their best player in Mario Gotze last season. No problem. The Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan has replaced him wonderfully, scoring the opening goal today. Dortmund were also playing with their head coach in the stands. Also no problem. Jurgen Klopp is loud enough to be heard from there anyway. 

Dortmund also has a flair for the dramatic and when it comes down to winning a game it seems like Robert Lewandowski is always the one to answer the call. The Polish international, who was rummored to be leaving the club in the summer, seems to have settled his disputes with the club, scoring nine goals in his twelve apperances this season.

Not to mention, Dortmund has the best fans in the world. 

Other Results

Steaua Bucuresti 1 - FC Basel 1 (highlights)

Athletico Madrid 3 - Austria Vienna 0 (highlights)

Napoli 2 - Marseille 1 (highlights)

Zenit 1 - FC Porto 0 (highlights)

Celtic 2 - Ajax 1 (highlights)

Reach Staff Writer Gabe Quintela here.