2008-2009 UEFA Champions League Matchday 5 Results
November 28th 2008 16:11
Group A
Bordeaux – Chelsea: 1-1What is going with the Blues lately? Not only they are slowing down in the Premiership, their Champions League latest performances are leaving a lot to be desired. After convincingly defeating Bordeaux 4-0 in Matchday 1, they could only get a draw in the return match. Are they simply exhausted or are other teams figuring them out? Thanks to this draw, Bordeaux still have a chance to qualify. They'll have to defeat Roma on Matchday 6 to get through.
Group B
Inter Milan – Panathinaikos: 0-1Chelsea aren't the only ones struggling. Lately, Mourinho's men have had trouble finding the back of the net. That explains their 1-0 defeat against Panathinaikos.
Anorthosis have been surprising a lot of people in this competition. They have only one win, but their three draws leave them hanging on to the two leaders. A win on Matchday 6 will send them through to next stage.
Group C
Shakhtar Donetsk – Basel: 5-0Sporting – Barcelona: 2-5
With Lionel Messi in the line-up, Barcelona are virtually unstoppable. One has to wonder who will stop them from going all the way.
Group D
Atletico Madrid – PSV: 2-1Liverpool – Marseille: 1-0
One goal was enough for Liverpool to dispatch Marseille, but the win comes with a cost as they lost Torres to an injury for the second time this season.
Group E
Villareal – Manchester United: 0-0Both teams needed only one point to qualify for the next round, so the atmosphere on the pitch was a bit subdued Tuesday night. Not taking any risks, Sir Alex Ferguson clogged up the middle of the park with a five-man midfield with Carrick and Fletcher in defensive roles while Anderson supported Rooney who was alone in front. The game opened up a bit in the second half when Senna was replaced due to an injury. Still, I was disappointed by the performance of Villareal's wingers – Cazorla looked dangerous only on one play while Robert Pires was conspicuously invisible. Villareal's strength comes from their midfield, and on that night, they were dominated by Manchester's wingers on that front. As a matter of fact, both Rooney and Ronaldo came close to scoring, but Lopez's stood tall on Ronaldo's opportunity, deflecting the winger's shot on the crossbar while Rooney's deflected cross turned into a lob and was saved off the line by defender Capdevila who was later sent off for a dangerous tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo. In the end, both confrontations between the two teams finished on a 0-0 draw, and their identical run in the group stage will send both teams to the next round.
AaB – Celtic: 2-1
Group F
Bayern Munich – Steaua: 3-0Fiorentina – Lyon: 1-2
Group G
Fenerbahce – Porto: 1-2
Arsenal – Dynamo Kyiv: 1-0
About a week after William Gallas' incendiary comments on his teammates, the French veteran was stripped off his Arsenal captaincy which was given to Cesc Fabregas. The young midfielder showed why he deserved this title by being the architect of the match's lone goal, sending a superbly lofted pass straight in the path of Nicklas Bendtner who hammered in the winner at the 87th minute. The win sees both Arsenal and Porto go through to the next stage.
Group H
Zenit – Juventus: 0-0In the infamous group of death, Juventus have been the most consistent club, and after a two-year absence from the competition they now go on to the next stage.
BATE – Real Madrid: 0-1
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