Barca breeze by Celtic – Champions League Roundup
There was plenty of action across Europe tonight as Champions League match day five came to a close. FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich all secured their places in the last 16 tonight.
Here’s a full roundup of all the action:
Group A
Arsenal 2-2 PSG
Arsenal and PSG played out an enthralling draw at the Emirites tonight. Edison Cavani opened the scoring after 18 minutes for the French side. Arsenal drew level on the stroke of halftime through an Olivier Giroud penalty. The Gunners took the lead on the hour mark thanks to an own goal from Marco Verratti. The Ligue 1 side didn’t despair and Lucas Moura brought the sides level in the 77th minute.
Ludogorets Ragrad 0-0 Basel
Bulgarian side Ludogorets welcomed Basel tonight. Neither side could find away past the others defence. A long night at the office.
Group B
Besiktas 3-3 Benfica
It was very much a game of two halves in Turkey tonight. Benfica took the lead after ten minutes through Gonçalo Guedes. They were two up 15 minutes later thanks to a strike from Nelsinho. Ljubomir Fejsa scored the visitors’ third just after the half hour mark. The home side however produced an incredible comeback which began in the 58th minute when Cenk Tosun found the back of the net. Ricardo Quaresma’s 83rd minute goal set up an exciting finish. The comeback was complete in the 89th minute when Vincent Aboubakar beat Ederson Moraes in the Benfica goal.
SSC Napoli 0-0 Dynamo Kiev
Napoli dominated the goalscoring opportunities in this clash but couldn’t find a way past their Ukrainian visitors. Napoli remain top but are joined by Benfica with Besiktas a point behind. This group is far from decided.
Group C
Borussia Moenchengladbach 1-1 Manchester City
Borussia Moenchengladbach secured their spot in the Europa League tonight as they held Manchester City to a 1-1 draw. Raffael fired the Bundesliga side ahead in the 23rd minute but David Silva brought City level on the stroke of halftime. Liars Stindl was sent off for the home side when he picked up his second yellow in the 51st minute. City were soon reduced to ten men when Fernandinho received his marching orders in the 63rd minute. City have qualified for the last 16 but cannot top the group.
Celtic 0-2 FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona secured their spot in the last 16 with a 2-0 win over Celtic. Barcelona had to work but opened the scoring in sublime style. Neymar spotted the run of Messi who did well to control the ball before firing it home at the near post. Luis Suarez should have put them two up before the break but his bullet header was saved well by Craig Gordan. Ten minutes after the restart Barca were two up. Suarez was pulled down by Emilio Izaguirre and Lionel Messi stroked home the resulting penalty. Suarez missed the only other notable chance of the game. Barcelona go through as group winners and can look forward to a relaxed game against Moenchengladbach.
Group D
FC Rostov 3-2 Bayern Munich
Russian minnows FC Rostov shocked Bayern Munich tonight. The home side went behind in the 35th minute when Douglas Costa found the back of the net. A minute from the break Serdar Azmoun brought the sides level. Five minutes after the restart Rostov were two up. Dmitry Poloz converted from a penalty and put Bayen on the back foot. The German giants replied two minutes later through Juan Bernat. Rostov’s winner came through a delightful free kick from Christian Noboa. A memorable night for Rostov fans.
Atletico Madrid 2-0 PSV Eindhoven
Atletico Madrid sealed their position as group winners with a two nil win over PSV tonight. The La Liga side failed to make the breakthrough before the break but ten minutes after the restart Kevin Gamero opened the scoring. Star striker Antoine Griezmann put the game beyond doubt in the 66th minute. Diego Simeone will be delighted topping a group containg a powerhouse such as Bayern.
