ROUND UP OF UCL GROUP STAGE WEEK 3

Group A

Olympiacos vs. Juventus 1-0

Only one goal from Kasami 36^th minute was enough to get three points in the bag for the Greeks. Roberto however kept Olympiacos at bay after he forced Morata’s header to the bar. This means Olympiacos go top with Athletico in

Athletico Madrid vs. Malmo 5-0

Athletico continued their fine form by beating Malmo five goals to nil. Koke opened the game with his goal in the 48^th minute  and  in the second half Mandzukic  scored in the 61^st minute followed by Greizmman’s goal in the 63^rd minute . Godin also took the tally to  four in the 87^th minute. Cerci later made it five in injury time. 

Group B

Liverpool vs. Real Madrid 0-3

Liverpool hosted Real Madrid at Anfield  a ground were Ronaldo has never scored , and they were also looking get a win against Liverpool , something they haven’t done in along time. Liverpool’s defence frailities were exposed after Ronaldo scored in the 23^rd minute to silence Anfield . Later on Liverpool allowed in easy goals as Benzema scored a brace the first from a poorly defended corner and a sweety lob header to put the game to rest. By second half Madrid had taking their feet of the pedal as they substituted players ahead of the El – Classico , it was that obvious that Liverpool weren’t going to be a threat to them. Now Madrid sit pretty on top of the Group B with six points and a great start to their title defense.

Ludagorets vs. Basel 1-0

The only goal of the game came in  injury time when Minev scored. Basel however played 72 minutes with ten men after Serey Die received a red early in the game. This meant Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to earn points in the Champions League. This takes them on level points with Liverpool and Basel in Group B.

Group C
Bayern Leverkusen vs. Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-0

Leverkusen beat Zenit at home to ensure they keep their hopes alive in qualifying to the next stage. Donati opened the game in the 58^th minute and Papadopoulas scored in the 63^rd minute to put the game to bed. Leverkusen now top Group C with 2 straight home wins and could be well into the next stage.

Monaco Vs Benefica 0-0

Monaco dropped to second after the draw against Benefica. Danijel Subasic kept Benefica at bay with four saves to Arthurs one save for Monaco. This showed Benefica were more of a threat than Monaco after creating more chances in the game. Whiles Lucas Ocampos missed on open goal for the host earlier on in the game.

Group D

Galatasary vs. Dortmund 0-4

Galatasary lost at home to Dortmund who seem to be in fine Champions League form other than how they are fairing in the Bundasliga. In the first half Aubameyang  scored the first goal in the 6^th minute and his second in the 18^th minute. Later Reus scored in the 41^st minute with a long range chip to take the tally to three , finally Ramos put the game to bed when he scored in the 83^rd minute after coming of the bench. This ensured Dortmund maintained their 100% record.

Anderlecht vs. Arsenal 1-2

Wenger got a great birthday gift   after Arsenal managed to still three points from Anderlecht in the dying embers of the game.  Najar opened the game with his goal in the 71^st minute putting the host in front . In the 89^th minute when Anderlecht thought they would make away with three points , Gibbs pulled parry for Arsenal and finally Podolski scored in the 90^th minute to rescue three points for the gunners. This means Arsenal go second in Group D.

Group E

CSKA Moscow vs. Manchester City 2-2

Manchester City travelled to Russia to face Moscow , two goals were produced in each half of game. Aguero opened the game with a goal in the 29^th minute and Milner made it two to the visitors in the 38^th minute. At the start of the second half  Moscow pulled one back through Doumbia in the 65^th minute. Later Natcho got the equalizer with a penalty in the 86^th minute to put the host level leaving Moscow on 1 point and Manchester City on 2 points.

AS Roma vs. Bayern Munich 1-7

This game really didn’t go according to the scripts as many expected the game to be tough one it ended up being a blood bath. Robben opened the match with his goal in the 9^th minute and later Gotze made it two to the visitors in the 23^rd minute   Lewandoski followed with his in the 25^th minute , Robben also scored again to make it  three  in the 30^th minute. To make things more miserable for the Italian giants Muller scored a penalty in the 36^th minute.

At the start of the second half  Gervinho pulled one back in the 66^th minute but that didn’t stop Bayern from scoring as Ribery scored in the 78^th minute and Shaqiri scoring in the 80^th minute. The game ended 1-7 in favor of Bayern.  

Group F

Barcalona vs. Ajax 3-1

Barcalona hosted Ajax in a very entertaining game , 4 goals were produced in the game with two goals coming in each half. Neymar opened the game with his goal in the 7^th minute , later Messi made it two in the 24^th minute. At the start of the second half  Ajax mounted a lot of pressure and pulled one back in the 88^th minute , and from that point Barcalona were living on the edge of their seats since their key players were substituted early in the game. Finally new boy Ramirez put the game to bed with his goal in injury time.

APOEL vs. Paris –Saint Germain 0-1

This game produced only one goal which came late in the game in the 87^th minute through Cavani. It was APOEL’s first home defeat of the season even with their spirited display . PSG came out tops in possession with 62% but failed to break through early. Thanks to PSG influential defender David Luiz who made two goal line clearances in the second half to help PSG hold on to 3 points.

Group G

Schalke 04 vs Sporting 4-3

Sporting travelled to Schalke with the aim of causing an upset which they so nearly did. The game produced seven goals , Nani open the score with his goal in the 16^th minute , but his goal was cancelled in the 34^th minute to put the host level. At the start of the second half Huntelaar got the host infront in the 51^st minute with Howedes later making it three for the host in the 60^th minute.  Sporting however were quick with a responds in the 64^th minute  after Silva scored his penalty to ensure they still had a chance to ruin the party. Silva later leveled the visitors in the 78^th minute to put Schalke coach Di Matteo under pressure. Schalke were saved with a late penalty awarded and Choupo- Moting scored to ensure Schalke got maximum 3 points.

Chelsea vs. Maribor 6-0

Else were Chelsea took Maribor to school at Stamford Bridge in a six goal thriller. Remy opened the game with his goal in the 13^th minute  but later got injured in the processes forcing an early substitution for Mourinho’s side. Drogba also continued to increase his Champions League goals after converting a penalty in the 23^rd minute. Captain John Terry also got his goal in the 31^st minute . In the second half  things got worse as Viler scored an own goal in the 54th minute , Hazard later made it five in the 77^th  minute with a sweetly converted penalty and later put the game to bed in the 90^th minute.

Group H

BATE vs. Shakhtar Donetsk  0-7

BATE were completely white washed by Shakhtar  as the game was full of goals and was very one sided.

Teixeira opened the game with a goal in the 11^th minute  , later Adriano scored a penalty in the 28^th minute , Douglas Costa scored in the 35^th minute to make it three for the vistors. Adriano  continued with more goals scoring in the 36^th , 40^th , 44^th and  another penalty in the 82^nd  to complete his milestone . What a way to make history in the night of Champions League highest scoring week.

Porto FC. vs. Athletic Bilbao 2-1

Herrera opened the game in the 45^th minute putting the host in front. Athletic pulled one back in the 58^th minute through Fernandez bringing the visitors on level terms. In the 75^th minute Quaresma got the host infront again to finally put the game to bed and finish the hero for Porto FC.