Published 9/30/2011 11:52:56 AM by Shane Barrow from soccermogul

To say the Champions League season is off to a surprising start would be an understatement.  Only three sides have come through the opening two matchdays of 2011 Champions League play with a perfect two wins.  None of the English powerhouses survived unscathed.  The three sides to grab two wins were Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and surprising Marseilles.

Looking down the tables there are surprising leaders everywhere.  In Group B Trabzonspor sits on top of Inter Milan.  In Group C FC Basel leads Benfica and Manchester United.  In Group F Marseille is atop ARsenal and Dortmund.  In Group G tiny Apoel Nicosia leads Porto and Zenit.

Don't expect this to last long.  Over the long haul the big boys should rise to the top, but wouldn't it be great to have a couple of cinderellas running around later in the Champions League?

The big disapointment so far must be big spenders Manchester City.  Expecting to blast onto the scene in their first ever Champions League appearance, City has arrived with nothing more than a whimper.  Opening with a disappointing home draw to Napoli followed by taking a thumping in Germany to Bayern Munich.  Their whole Champions League campaign now rests on beating Villareal and getting back into the mix.

Manchester United cannot be happy either as they have a pair of draws so far.  A baffling 3-3 draw at Old Trafford this week was the latest head scratcher.  United squandered a seemingly comfortable 2-0 lead only to have to claw a goal back at the death to get away with a point.

Luckily for the slow-starters there is plenty of Champions League soccer left to play.  Four more rounds lie ahead, but another slipup from these will have them looking at a steep hill to make the knockout rounds.  As for the cinderellas, another surprise win and lookout as that slipper might be fitting better and better.

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