It was supposed to be a tricky night to negate in order to avert any hiccups in club football’s premier competition, but Europe’s elite got the job done – some with ease, others not so much – to safeguard themselves from potential embarrassment.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus booked their spots in the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League by getting the results they required to confirm qualification on Matchday 5.
Holders Real were 2-0 winners at AS Roma, while Bayern Munich ran rampant 5-1 victors at home against Benfica. For City, an unconvincing 2-2 draw in France versus Lyon was enough, while Juventus and Man Utd claimed qualifying spots from Group H with 1-0 wins – United’s courtesy a stoppage-time winner from Marouane Fellaini.
Real Recover From First Solari Hiccup
The weekend gone by delivered Real Madrid’s first blip since Santiago Solari assumed charge. A crushing 3-0 defeat at Eibar – their fifth loss in just 13 La Liga games this season – suggested the honeymoon period was over after four wins in four following the sacking of Julen Lopetegui.
But on a possible banana peel of a visit to Rome, Real not only emerged victorious but also guaranteed top spot in Group G.
2017/18 semi-finalists Roma needed to beat the three-time defending champions to stand any chance of finishing top of the group, but an imposing beginning to the second half from Real killed their hopes.
After a goalless first half, Gareth Bale put the visitors in front two minutes post the interval by pouncing on a defensive error from Federico Fazio. 12 minutes later, Lucas Vasquez tapped in after being set up by Karim Benzema to clinch the tie for Los Blancos.
CSKA Moscow’s 2-1 loss at home against Viktoria Plzen earlier on the night ensures Roma do still go through to the last-16, holding a five-point lead over the two teams in the bottom half.
Bayern’s Belated Arrival Eases Kovac Nerves
Five-time European champions Bayern Munich came into Tuesday’s fixture with a similar mood to Real’s. The Bavarians had let slip a 3-1 lead in the closing stages of their Bundesliga clash with relegation-scrapping Fortuna Dusseldorf, which saw them fall nine points behind Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
Pressure was mounting on Niko Kovac, with the threat of a first-season sacking looming large, but his wards soothed his nerves – and those around the Allianz Arena, in general – with a commanding first half display.
Arjen Robben scored twice in the opening half an hour, while the first of Robert Lewandowski’s two goals allowed Bayern to take a 3-0 advantage into half-time. Benfica pulled one back immediately after the restart, but Lewandowski’s second restored the three-goal cushion before Franck Ribery added further gloss to the outcome 14 minutes from time.
Ajax are the second team through from Group E, claiming a 2-0 win amid crowd trouble in Greece against AEK Athens. Two points ahead of their nearest rivals, Bayern need to avoid a defeat at Ajax in the final round of group-stage fixtures to ensure a top-of-the-table finish.
City Through After Late Drama at Lyon
Manchester City needed a late goal from Sergio Aguero to snatch a 2-2 draw at Lyon which booked a knockouts berth for Pep Guardiola’s unit.
Lyon – shock 2-1 winners at the Etihad in September in what remains City’s only loss in 20 games across competitions so far this season – were guilty of spurning chances in a goalless first half, but took a surprisingly deserved lead through Maxwel Cornet ten minutes into the second period.
Aymeric Laporte brought City level seven minutes later, only for Cornet to re-establish the Ligue 1 club’s advantage on 81 minutes.
But just two minutes later, City’s all-time leading goal-scorer was at hand to rescue a point with a headed finish.
City remain top of Group F on 10 points – three clear of Lyon – and will qualify as group winners with a draw in their final outing against Hoffenheim. Lyon, though, cannot afford a loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in their group finale.
Fellaini Does it at the Death for United
Manchester United were seemingly set for a second 0-0 stalemate at Old Trafford in the space of four days. Then, up stepped Marouane Fellaini – and instead, Manchester United claimed a second late win in as many Group H matches to secure a Round of 16 spot.
It looked like another chorus of boos would echo around the Theater of Dreams as a continually out-of-sorts Red Devils endured yet another frustrating outing, this time against the group’s whipping boys, Swiss outfit Young Boys.
United had 21 efforts through the 90 minutes, but only four of them were on target. Bizarrely, Fellaini’s strike gave Jose Mourinho’s side a first home goal in the Champions League so far this season.
The Belgian, difficult to identify with his trademark mop of hair now chopped, was played in an advanced role by Mourinho, who left Romelu Lukaku on the bench in a differently arranged United setup featuring Nemanja Matic and summer-signing Fred in central midfield.
Victory leaves the three-time European champions with ten points after five games, two behind table-toppers Juventus – who rode on a Mario Mandzukic goal to down Valencia 1-0 in Turin.
Only a Juve loss at Young Boys, coupled with a United win in Spain against Valencia, will see the sides switch places heading into the knockout rounds.