Europe's top tier competition provided us with scintillating clashes this past midweek. The Champions League group stage never ceases to produce enthralling encounters and a bit of shock every now and then. As the group stage draws to a close, we have a clearer picture of the standings as some teams have confirmed their progress to the next round, some drop to the lower competition (Europa League), a few others have already been eliminated entirely.
CSKA Moscow and Bayer Leverkusen played out a 1-1 draw, a result which was good enough for Leverkusen to progress to the knockout stage. Kevin Volland gave the Germans the lead, Bibras Natcho converted from 12 yards to draw the game level. Leverkusen are through to the next round as runners-up due to Tottenham's loss at Monaco later in the day.
The Monaco Tottenham match eneded in disappointment for spurs, losing 2-1 and subsequently eliminated from the Champions League. It was yet another lackluster display from Tottenham, deservedly beaten by Monaco on the night. Sidibe headed Monaco in front, Kane equalized, Lemar had the final say with an emphatic finish. Tottenham's capitulation in the group stage can be attributed to several factors such as Mauricio Pochettino's bewildering decision to rest players, decision to play home games at Wembley or simply maybe they were not good enough when it mattered most.
Leicester city are through to the next round as group winners after defeating Club Brugge 2-1 at the King power stadium. Okazaki opened the scoring, Mahrez doubled Leicester's lead from the spot before Izquierdo pulled one back for the visitors to ensure a tense finale to the game. The fairy-tale continues for Leicester.
Ronaldo returned to his old stomping ground in the Sporting Lisbon vs Real Madrid clash. Raphael Varane had earlier given Madrid the lead before Adrien Silva drew Sporting level by converting from the spot. Benzema had the final say, expertly heading in from a Ramos cross 5 minutes from time. Sporting did a good job of keeping Ronaldo fairly quiet on the night. With the result, battle for top spot is still up for grabs between Madrid and Dortmund.
It was an intense encounter at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium between Sevilla and Juventus. Juventus triumphed 3-1 but it was not all smooth sailing. Sevilla took the lead through Nico Pareja and Sampaoli's men where on top in the early exchange thanks to their intensity. Then things turned sour as Franco Vazquez picked up 2 yellow cards to earn his matching orders. Bonucci equalized from the spot on the stroke of half time. In the 2nd period, Juve pressed on and eventually won it late on through strikes from Bonucci and Mandzukic.
The most thrilling encounter of match day 5 played out at the Signal Iduna Park in the match between Borussia Dortmund and Legia Warzsawa. A scarcely believable scoreline of 8-4 ensued. The match was definitely fun for the neutrals but not one Tuchel would have been too pleased with. Conceding 4 goals is never a good thing, the defence would have to tighten up if Dortmund are to make it into the deep end of the competition. Records were shattered left right and center such as Most goals scored in a single Champions League match, first time an away team scored 4 goals and still lost, quickest double in Champions League history by Kagawa etc. This was as open and end to end as a football match can be.
The Besiktas and Benfica clash was definitely not low on entertainment. Besiktas found themselves 3-0 down after just 31 minutes. Few could have foreseen what came next. Reminiscent of the great clash at Istanbul between Ac Milan and Liverpool, a great turn around was in store. A resurgent Besiktas emerged for the 2nd period and successfully turned it around and they did it in quite some style. Tosun started the comeback with an acrobatic volley, Queresma converted a spotkick and produced a rabona cross for Aboubakar to net the 3rd and equalizing goal a minute from time. 3-3 it ended.
Rostov provided us with the biggest shock of the round. The Russians edging a five goal thriller. Douglas Costa opened the scoring for Bayern, his loose ball led to Azmoun leveling for Rostov, Poloz turned the game on it head by converting a penalty kick, Bernat responded for the Bavarians but it would be Noboa that would ultimately have the final say. Winning it in style by curling a spectacular freekick. As a result, Bayern will finish in 2nd place, behind Atletico Madrid. Back to the drawing board for Ancelotti and Bayern.
Arsenal and Psg's match ended in a 2-2 draw. Cavani deservedly opened the scoring for Psg, Giroud drew Arsenal level from the spot just before the half time break. An own goal from Marco Verratti put Arsenal infront. Lucas struck the bar with a wonderful freekick, he eventually leveled matters for Psg via a deflection from Iwobi. Cavani spurned 2 glorious opportunities to seal victory. Consequently Psg top the pool due to a superior head to head. A point was the least Psg deserved, clearly superior to the Gunners on the night.
Atletico Madrid seal top spot with a 2-0 victory over Psv. They are the only team with a 100% record in the champions league this season.Kevin Gameiro produced an emphatic finish, and Griezmann doubled the lead to give Atletico Madrid a deserved win and a moral booster after the defeat in the derby to Real Madrid.
Manchester city were held at Borussia Monchengladbach. Pep Guardiola tinkered with his tactics, deploying an interesting looking 3-2-4-1 formation. Nevertheless it did not have the desired effect with Monchengladbach taking the lead through Raffael. David Silva slid home for the equaliser. This result sees Manchester City through to the next round but as runners up behind Barcelona.
Messi at the double, as Barcelona see off Celtic 2-0. The Argentine international made his comeback from illness and immediately made his presence felt with his 8th and 9th goal in the group stage. He opened the scoring with a volley courtesy of Neymar's perfectly weighted lobbed pass. In the 2nd period he put the game to bed, converting a penalty kick won by Suarez. As a result, Barcelona advance as group winners.
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