Wednesday, November 4, 2009

UEFA Champions League Update 11/4



UEFA Champions League Round 4 of group play concluded this evening after two action packed days. The top 32 teams in European leagues faced off Tuesday and Wednesday and we witnessed some historically top teams continue to falter, while a few surprise teams are making a push for the knock out rounds. There are 8 groups, consisting of 4 teams a piece. Each team plays a home-and-away series with the other 3 group members and after the 6 matches the top two teams from each group advance. Here is a recap of this week's matches and the current tables.

Group A:
  • Bordeaux (FRA) 2-0 Bayern Munich (GER) - Last year's French champions took the full 3 points from Germany's most popular team, behind an early goal from surging international star Yoaan Gourcuff. 
  • Juventus (ITA) 1-0 Maccabi Haifa (ISR) - Play was even throughout this match, but the Italian club got the better of the result right before half time. 
  • Current Table: Bordeaux (10 pts), Juventus (8 pts), Bayern Munich (4 pts), Maccabi Haifa (0 pts) - Bordeaux have already clinched a spot in the final 16. 
Group B:
  • Wolfsburg (GER) 3-0 Besiktas (TUR) - The German champions showed their quality in this match behind striker Dzeko. 
  • Manchester United (ENG) 3-3 CSKA Moscow (RUS) - ManU barely managed the point in this match, with their final two goals coming in the 84th and 90th minutes. 
  • Current Table: ManU (10 pts), Wolfsburg (7 pts), CSKA Moscow (4 pts), & Besiktas (1 pt) - Manchester United have already clinched a spot in the final 16. 
Group C:
  • Real Madrid (ESP) 1-1 AC Milan (ITA) - Following a surprising upset last week in Madrid, AC Milan welcomed back their former star, Kaka, with a draw. 
  • FC Zurich (SWI) 1-6 Marseille (FRA) - The French squad had 6 different goal scorers on the night, while Zurich only managed 2 shots on goal all night. 
  • Current Table: AC Milan (7 pts), Real Madrid (7 pts), Marseille (6 pts), & FC Zurich (3 pts) - Both knockout round spots remain open.
Group D:
  • FC Porto (POR) 1-0 APOEL(CYP) - The underdog from Cyprus held their own against former European champions Porto, until the 84th minute.
  • Chelsea (ENG) 2-2 Atletico Madrid (ESP) - Two of the games best strikers in the world put on a clinic against each other Tuesday night as both Drogba and Aguero scored two goals a piece. Three of the four goals came within the last 10 minutes.
  • Current Table: Chelsea (10 pts), Porto (9 pts), Atletico Madrid (2 pts), APOEL (1 pt) - Chelsea and Porto have won Group D's spots in the final 16.
Group E: 
  • Debrecen (HUN) 2-5 Fiorentina (ITA) - Mutu started the route which saw 5 different goal scorers. 
  • Liverpool (ENG) 1-1 Lyon (FRA) - The marque match-up of Wednesday saw two goals in the final minutes of the match. A match in which Liverpool needed to win. 
  • Current Table: Lyon (10 pts), Fiorentina (9 pts), Liverpool (4 pts), Debrecen (0 pts) - Lyon have advanced to the knock out rounds. 
Group F:
  • Barcelona (ESP) 0-0 Rubin Kazan (RUS) - After shocking the soccer world last week, Rubin faced off against the 08-09 European Champions again, earning a draw and winning the series. Seriously?
  • Inter Milan (ITA) 2-1 Dynamo Kiev (UKR) - The newly acquired Sneijder knocked in the winner at the 89th minute.
  • Current Table: Inter Milan (6 pts), Rubin Kazan (5 pts), Barcelona (4 pts), Dynamo Kiev (4 pts) - The top two spots remain open. If group play were to end today Barcelona would be eliminated and in the Europa League. 
Group G:
  • Stuttgart (GER) 1-1 Sevilla (ESP) - Stuttgart should enjoy this moment, because if they keep playing along their current league form (14th) they won't be here next year.
  • Rangers (SCO) 1-1 Unirea Urziceni (ROM) - The Romanian clubs first appearance in the group stage is proving to be quite eventful as they match pace with traditional UEFA CL clubs.
  • Current Table: Sevilla (10 pts), Unirea Urziceni (5 pts), Stuttgart (3 pts), Rangers (2 pts) - Sevilla has won the top spot in Group G. 
Group H:
  • AZ Alkmaar (NET) 1-4 Arsenal (ENG) - Country and Continent, the gunners can score with the best of them.
  • Olympiakos (GRE) 0-2 Standard Liege (BEL) - Upset win for Standard Liege, who are in the group stage for the first time.
  • Current Table: Arsenal (10 pts), Olympiakos (6 pts), Standard Liege (4 pts), AZ (2 pts) - Mathematically both spots are open, but Arsenal is a given. 

Round 5 of group play takes place on November 24th and 25th. 

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