News Archive

Champions League group stage, day six

Spain will have four teams in Monday’s round of sixteen draw, although Real Madrid and Sevilla will go in to the bowl as group runners up after both drew their games on Wednesday. Already qualified, Real Madrid needed to beat leaders Borussia Dortmund to finish top of their group, and two goals by Benzema appeared to have put them on the right track. However Aubameyang got one back on the hour mark, and with two minutes to go the striker set up Reus to make it 2-2 on the night. Sevilla could afford to lose by one goal at Olympique Lyon and still qualify in second place behind Juventus, but in the end a 0-0 draw took them through with margin to spare. Vitolo hit the post early on, but Tolisso and Valbueno both struck the bar for the French side, and only a couple of good saves by Sergio Rico kept the scoreline unmoved . (07.12.16)

The last round of group stage games are taking place this week, although for Barcelona and Atlético Madrid this was a bit of a formality as both had already made sure of top spot in their respective groups. Barcelona in any case had few problems beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-0, Messi combining with Arda Turan to put the Catalans one up at the break. Turan then helped himself to a hat-trick in the first twenty minutes of the second half with assists from Denis Suárez, Aleix Vidal and Paco Alcácer, and after that it was a question of saving energy for the upcoming fixtures.Atlético though saw their 100% record go to pot after they lost 1-0 at Bayern Munich, Lewandowski getting the only goal on the half hour mark with a well struck free kick past Oblak. (06.12.16)

Real Madrid 2 – Borussia Dortmund 2

Real Madrid had to settle for second place in their group after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday evening. Zidane’s side had to beat the German team to overtake them in the table, and Benzema and James both brought good saves out of Weidenfeller before Benzema forced a Carvajal cross past him with just under half an hour gone. Keylor Navas had to keep out Pilisic, Schürrle and Gonzalo Castro before the break though, but soon after the restart Benzema got on the end of a James centre to head home his second of the night. Aubameyang got one back however after Schmelzer cushioned a long ball in to his path soon afterwards, and although Ronaldo hit the post at the other end, substitute Reus connected with Aubameyang’s cross to level the scores with two minutes to go. (07.12.16)

Olympique Lyon 0 - Sevilla 0

Sevilla made it through to the knock-out stage of the competition for the first time in six years after drawing 0-0 at Olympique Lyon in their last group game. The Andalusians could afford to lose by one goal and still qualify as runners-up behind Juventus, and Sampaoli put out a line-up without a recognised striker in the starting eleven. Sergio Rico was in action early on to keep out Valbuena, but soon afterwards Vitolo steered a shot against the upright in reply. Both teams had penalty claims turned down, and Tolisso and Valbuena hit the bar as the French side pushed forward before the break. After the restart though the game slowed down, and Rico made further saves from Lacazette and Gonalons to keep the scoreline unmoved to the end. (07.12.16)

Barcelona 4 – Borussia Mönchengladbach 0

Barcelona came in to their last game against Borussia Mönchengladbach having already tied up top spot in the group, and although Luis Enrique made several changes to his line-up, they still clocked up a comfortable 4-0 victory. There was an early scare when Hahn was pulled up for a questionable offside decision, but soon afterwards Messi combined with Arda Turan to score his tenth goal of the group stage. Soon after the restart Turan headed a second after a Denis Suárez looped over to him off a defender, and in the next fifteen minutes or so he added two more to complete his hat-trick, the first after Aleix Vidal laid the ball back, and the second from a Paco Alcácer cross. Messi came close to matching Ronaldo’s record of eleven goals when Sommer got a hand to his diving header, but after that it was a question of saving energy for the upcoming fixtures. (06.12.16)

Bayern Munich 1 - Atlético Madrid 0

Atlético saw their 100% record go to pot after they lost 1-0 at Bayern Munich in their last group game, although it didn’t matter too much as Simeone’s side had already ensured top spot in their group three weeks’ ago. The coach still put out a relatively strong line-up, and Carrasco brought a couple of good saves out of Neuer early on. Oblak had to save from Douglas Costa though soon afterwards, and with just under half an hour gone Lewandowski curled a free kick past the visiting keeper to open the scoring. After the interval substitutes Thomas, Correa and Gameiro all tried their luck, but Oblak had to keep out Douglas again, and Thiago somehow managed to turn the ball over the bar from just a couple of yards out when free on goal near the end. (06.12.16)