If you are not a member yet, you can sign up here

News Archive

Champions League group stage, day 5

Four wins out of four for Spanish teams this week, Atlético Madrid making sure of their place in the last sixteen with a resounding 4-0 victory over Olympiacos. A defeat to the Greek side in the first group match had left things in the balance, but Raúl García opened the scoring early on after a bad mistake by the visiting keeper, and Mandzukic helped himself to a hat-trick after that. Atleti now go to Juventus in the last match looking to tie up top spot in their group. Real Madrid have already done that though after beating Basel 0-1, their fifth straight win in the group stage and their fifteenth in a row in all competitions. Ronaldo got the only goal after a good run by Benzema late on in the first half, taking him level as well with Raúl’s total, and Ancelotti’s side could have won by a bigger margin had Bale and Ronaldo not hit the woodwork in the second half. (26.11.14)

A comfortable 0-4 victory for Barcelona at APOEL Nicosia on Tuesday evening, although Luis Enrique’s side stay in second spot in their group after leaders PSG also won. For the second time in four days Leo Messi scored a hat-trick and broke an all-time record, this time passing Raúl’s 71 goals in the Champions League. Messi also set up Luis Suárez for the opener, the Uruguayan striker’s first goal for his new team. Barça need to beat PSG though in their last group game in a fortnight’s time to ensure top spot of their group. Athletic Bilbao were knocked out of the competition three weeks’ ago, but they are now in pole position for the consolation prize of a Europa League spot after a 0-1 win at Shakhtar Donetsk. San José got the only goal from a Beñat free kick midway through the second half, and a draw against BATE Borisov in their last game will now be enough for them to qualify. (25.11.14)

Basel 0 - Real Madrid 1

Real Madrid had already done enough to make sure of a place in the knock-out rounds before their game at Basel, but a 0-1 victory in Switzerland gave Ancelotti’s side their fifth straight win in the group stage and their fifteenth in a row in all competitions. Ronaldo got the only goal after a good run by Benzema late on in the first half, taking him level with Raúl’s total of 71 goals for the competition, and only a good save by Vaclik prevented him from making it two with a long free kick soon after the restart. Gashi came close to equalizing a couple of times after that however, the first a shot over the bar and the second a looping header just wide of the mark, and Keylor Navas had to be on his toes to keep out Embolo later on in the first half. But Bale could have increased the lead when he crashed a shot against the crossbar, and Ronaldo also hit the outside of the post with another shot in the dying minutes. (26.11.14)

Atlético Madrid 4 – Olympiacos 0

Atlético Madrid made sure of their place in the last sixteen with a resounding 4-0 victory over Olympiacos on Wednesday evening. A defeat to the Greek side in the first group match had left things in the balance, but Raúl García opened the scoring early on after a bad mistake by visiting keeper Roberto (formerly on Atlético’s books), who inexplicably passed to Juanfran instead of clearing the ball. Later on in the first half Mandzukic scored the second after Botía failed to clear Ansaldi’s cross, and the Croatian striker completed his hat-trick with two more goals in the second half, both headers from Turan’s cross and Gabi’s wide free kick. Griezmann thought he had scored a fifth when he headed past the keeper, but the referee ruled it out for the positional offside of Raúl Jiménez. The game was already over by then though, and Atleti now go to Juventus in the last match looking to tie up top spot in their group. (26.11.14)

APOEL Nicosia 0 - Barcelona 4

A comfortable 0-4 victory for Barcelona at APOEL Nicosia on Tuesday evening, although Luis Enrique’s side stay in second spot in their group after leaders Paris Saint Germain also won. For the second time in four days Leo Messi scored a hat-trick and broke an all-time record, this time passing Raúl’s 71 goals in the Champions League. Messi and Luis Suárez both brought good saves out of Spanish keeper Urko Pardo before Messi slipped the ball through for Suárez to turn past his marker and score, the Uruguayan striker’s first goal for his new team. Messi made it two shortly before half time when he deflected a wayward shot by Rafinha in to the net, thereby breaking Raúl’s record, and Suárez, Pedro and Rakitic all went close either side of the break. With just under an hour on the clock Messi picked up a Dani Alves through ball before turning a shot past Pardo, and after Rafinha and then Guilherme were sent off for second bookable offences, the little man rode the offside trap to wait for Pedro to turn back a Mascherano pass for him to score his own third and his team’s fourth. Barça need to beat PSG though in their last group game in a fortnight’s time to ensure top spot of their group. (25.11.14)

Shakhtar Donetsk 0 - Athletic Bilbao 1

Athletic Bilbao were knocked out of the Champions League three weeks’ ago, but they are now in pole position for the consolation prize of a Europa League spot after a 0-1 win at Shakhtar Donetsk in their fifth group game. A return to form recently had boosted their confidence, and although Iraizoz had to save from Alex Teixeira early on, Viguera, San José, Mikel Rico and Muniain all went close before the break. Midway through the second half San José scored what was to prove the only goal when he got free of his markers to turn a Beñat free kick past Pyatov, but in the end the Basque side were lucky to come away with the three points after English referee Mark Clattenburg failed to spot that Balenziaga deflected a shot by Bernard wide of the post with his arm. The victory takes them a point above their next and final opponents BATE Borisov, and a draw against the Belarus side in San Mamés will now be enough for them to carry on in European competitions. (25.11.14)