Champions' League, day 6

At last some joy for Spanish clubs this week as Real Madrid beat Roma 0-3 behind closed doors to make it through to the knock-out stage. Deportivo exit Europe by the back door though after they were beaten 0-5 at the Riazor stadium by Monaco. (08.12.04)

Roma 0 - Real Madrid 3

Real Madrid made it through to the last sixteen of the competition after beating Roma 0-3 on the last day of the league stage. A draw against Leverkusen a fortnight ago left the Galacticos needing a victory in a match which was played behind closed doors against a depleted Italian side who had nothing left to play for but pride. Even so it was not a foregone conclusion, and although Ronaldo opened the scoring in the ninth minute, Candela could have levelled the scores with a free kick against the bar soon afterwards. Figo wrapped things up though with two goals after the break, the first from the penalty spot after Ronaldo was pulled down by Dellas, and the second after controlling a pass in from the right wing.. (08.12.04)

Deportivo 0 - Monaco 5

A Champions League to forget for Deportivo La Coruña, who were hammered 0-5 by Monaco in their last match and bow out of Europe with the humiliating record of being the first club to fail to score in all six matches of the league stage. Monaco needed a win to be sure of reaching the knock out stage, and by half time they were well on the way, Saviola setting up Chevantón for first goal, Givet adding a second following a corner and Saviola rounding Pablo Amo to beat reserve keeper Munúa for a third goal. Irureta had rested some of his key players at the start, but even with Valerón and Luque on the park in the second half things didn't improve, Maicón and Adebayor scoring two more to complete the final rout. (08.12.04)

Defeats for both Spanish sides in Tuesday's matches on the last day of the league stage. Valencia crashed out of the competition after losing 0-2 to Werder Bremen, and now have to make do with a place in the UEFA cup. And with classification for the next round already assured, a depleted Barcelona side lost 2-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk. (07.12.04)

Valencia 0 - Werder Bremen 2

Valencia are out of the Champions League after losing at home to Werder Bremen. Ranieri's side struggled to get going at the beginning, and Cañizares had to be on his toes to keep out early efforts from the German attack. Mista wasted a couple of efforts to put his side in front either side of half time, and substitute Di Vaio rattled the crossbar with a long volley soon after coming on. But Bremen were always dangerous on the breakaway, and with eight minutes to go Valdez picked up a long pass from Ismael to score. Nerves started to fray, and Angulo got himself sent off with a reckless tackle and then spat at Borowski, setting off a brawl amongst the players. And when things died down, a distracted defence stood and watched as Valdez picked up Borowski's free kick to score a second goal in injury time. Valencia were out, and now have to make do with defending their title in the UEFA cup. (07.12.04)

Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - Barcelona 0

A depleted Barcelona side were defeated by Shakhtar Donetsk in their last group match, but still go into the next round draw as second in their mini-league. With qualification for the next stage already guaranteed, Frank Rijkaard decided to leave his star players on the bench and give a run out to some of his youngsters. But they were caught out by the rapid local forwards early on, and found themselves two goals down midway through the first half after Aghahowa picked up a long ball from Matusalem to beat Víctor Valdés, and then added a second after Lewandowski played on Brandao's cross. Only some good goalkeeping by Valdés kept the score decent after that, although Iniesta missed the chance to narrow the gap to one goal when keeper Lastuvka saved his penalty kick in injury time. (07.12.04)