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Champions League, day 6

Barcelona made sure of first place in their group after a crushing 6-1 victory over Celtic on Wednesday. Tata Martino's side needed a point to be sure of first place, and Piqué gave them an early lead after Forster saved from Alexis. Neymar set up Pedro for a second later on in the first half, and the Brazilian striker helped himself to a hat-trick in a twelve minute period either side of the break, his first goals in the competition. With twenty minute to go substitute Tello also got in the act, and Samaras headed a late consolation for the visitors near the end. Meanwhile Atlético Madrid clocked up their fifth victory of the league stage after beating Porto 2-0. Raúl García scored an impressive first with a shot on the turn from a wide angle, and Diego Costa ran on to an Oliver Torres through ball to make it two a few minutes before half time. They did not have it all their own way though, Aranzubia having to save a first half penalty, and the Portuguese side hitting the woodwork no less than four times during the match. (11.12.13)

The four Spanish sides have virtually nothing to play for on the last day of the league stage, the big three already through to the next round and Real Sociedad out of the European competitions. The Basque team's opponents Bayer Leverkusen were looking to tie up second spot in their group though, and their greater ambition came through as they ran out 0-1 winners in the Anoeta stadium. Toprak got the only goal following a Castro corner at the beginning of the second half to take the Germans in to the knock-out stage and leave their hosts with only one point from their six games. Real Madrid's rivals Copenhagen were also in with a chance of taking the Europa League spot in their group, but Ancelotti's team gave them little chance, Modric opening the scoring in the first half and Cristiano Ronaldo making it 0-2 after the restart. Ronaldo set a new record of nine goals in the league stage, although he could have bettered that had he not fired a last minute penalty straight at the keeper. (10.12.13)

Barcelona 6 - Glasgow Celtic 1

Barcelona made sure of first place in their group after a crushing 6-1 victory over Celtic on Wednesday! Tata Martino's side needed a point to be sure of first place, and Piqué gave them the lead midway through the first half after Forster saved a deflected shot from Alexis. Neymar set up Pedro for a second a few minutes later after Piqué had won the ball in midfield, and the Brazilian striker helped himself to a hat-trick in a twelve minute period either side of the break, his first goal in the competition coming after Montoya latched on to an Alexis lofted pass to slide the ball across the front of the goal. Two minutes in to the second half Neymar finished off a quick passing move with a shot wide of the visiting keeper, and ten minutes after that he rolled the ball through the legs of Ambrose before firing in a shot which Mathews deflected in to his own net. Substitute Tello got the sixth with a deflected shot after picking up an assist from Adriano, and Samaras headed a late consolation for the visitors near the end. (11.12.13)

Atlético Madrid 2 - Porto 0

Atlético Madrid clocked up their fifth victory of the league stage after beating Porto 2-0 in the Calderón stadium. Raúl García scored an impressive first with a shot on the turn from a wide angle after picking up a long throw-in, and Diego Costa ran on to an Oliver Torres through ball to run on past Helton and make it two a few minutes before half time. They did not have it all their own way though, the Portuguese side hitting the woodwork no less than four times during the match, Jackson Martínez turning a shot against the crossbar early on, and then hitting the post a couple of times before the break. Midway through the first half Aranzubia also saved a Josue penalty after the keeper had brought down Martínez in the area, and after the restart Lica fired another shot against the foot of the upright with Aranzubia beaten. The defeat meant that Porto only finished third in the group, Zenit going through with Atlético despite only picking up six points in their six mini-league matches. (11.12.13)

Real Sociedad 0 - Bayer Leverkusen 1

Real Sociedad have had a Champions League campaign to forget this year, and they ended the group stage in bottom spot with only one point to their names in six games. The Basque team's opponents Bayer Leverkusen were looking to tie up second spot in their group though, and their greater ambition came through as they ran out 0-1 winners in the Anoeta stadium. With no hope of even making third place, Jagoba Arrasate rested several key players, and only a couple of efforts by Griezmann caused any problems for Leno in the visiting goal. Gonzalo Castro hit the post with a free kick and Zubikarai had to tip a Kiessling header over the bar, and just four minutes in to the second half Toprak got the only goal following a Castro corner. Kiesling could have increased the lead after that when he headed against the upright, but Bayer had already done enough to tie up a win which, with Shakhtar Donetsk losing at Manchester United, gave them a place in the last sixteen. (10.12.13)

Copenhagen 0 - Real Madrid 2

Real Madrid had already made sure of first place in their group before they kicked off against Copenhagen, but with their hosts in with a chance of taking the Europa League spot, Ancelotti put out a strong line up. Midway through the first half Modric opened the scoring with a shot in to the top corner of the net after Isco passed in from the right, and few minutes later Wiland did well to push a shot from Ronaldo round the post. With half time approaching Delaney got the ball in the net only for the referee to belatedly rule out the strike for hands (and probably for a foul on Casillas), but just three minutes after the restart Ronaldo made it two after Pepe's header fell kindly for him, a Champions League record ninth goal at the group stage. Ronaldo hit the post after that and Bale missed two sitters, and Ronaldo himself could have bettered his own record had he not fired a last minute penalty softly straight at the keeper. (10.12.13)