Real frozen out by Legia -Champions League Roundup
Matchday four of the UEFA Champions League continued tonight and certainly didn’t lack drama or goals. All the teams in Groups E,F,G and H were in action but none of them could seal a spot in the last 16 tonight.
Here’s a full roundup:
Group E
Monaco 3-0 CSKA Moscow
Radamel Falcao was back to his sublime best for AS Monaco tonight as they hammered their Russian visitors 3-0. The Ligue 1 outfit took the lead in the 13th minute through Valere Germain. The home fans were celebrating a second just nine minutes later when Benjamin Mendy set up Falcao for his first. The goalscoring was completed five minutes from time when Germain played the ball to Falcao who spun inside the penalty area before dispatching the ball past Igor Akinfeev.
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Tottenham Hotspur continued their bad run of form at Wembley Stadium as they were beaten by Bayer Leverkusen. The German side always looked more likely to score and started on the front foot. The sides were level at the break but the deadlock was broken in the 65th minute when Kevin Kampl put the Bundesliga outfit ahead. Tottenham failed to find an equaliser and have a lot of work to do should they wish to progress to the knockout stage.
Group F
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sporting Lisbon
Borussia Dortmund saw off their Portuguese opposition tonight thanks to an Adrian Ramos goal in the 12th minute. Both sides had opportunities to add to the scoreline with Christisan Pulisic hammering the cross bar for Dortmund. The biggest news from this game was the omission of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang who has been suspended by the German club. Dortmund have only lost one of their last 39 home matches.
Legia Warsaw 3-3 Real Madrid
The most thrilling match of the night was held in an empty stadium. Legia Warsaw were forced to play this tie behind closed doors following fan violence in a previous Champions League fixture. Real Madrid scored the opener after one minute through Gareth Bale. A well worked team move saw Bale tee up Karim Benzema for their second with 35 minutes player. Odjida-Ofoe curled Legia back into the game five minutes from the break. The sides were level by the 58th minute thanks to Miroslav Radovic. Seven minutes from time Legia were ahead through a fantastic curling effort from Thibault Moulin. Madrid replied in the 85th minute through a Mateo Kovacic strike. Both sides had chances to win it but Legia will be delighted with taking a point against the reigning champions.
Group G
FC Copenhagen 0-0 Leicester City
Leicester City couldn’t find a way past the Copenhagen defence in Denmark this evening. Both sides had half chances but goalkeepers Robin Olsen and Kasper Schmeichel produced good saves to keep the scoreline level. Copehagen are now unbeaten in their last 31 home matches in all competitions since August 2015.
FC Porto 1-0 Club Brugge
Porto overcame their Belgian visitors in fortuitous fashion tonight. Club Brugge had two penalty shouts before Andre Silva game Porto the lead. Silva headed the ball off the shoulder of a Brugge defender giving goalkeeper Ludovic Butelle no chance in saving the effort. Porto badly needed a win and certainly won’t care how lucky they were tonight.
Group H
Juventus 1-1 Lyon
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw in Turin by Lyon tonight. Gonzalo Higuain had put Juve ahead in the 13th minute when he converted from the spot. He will rue his terrible miss just minutes later when he fired the ball over the bar in front of an open goal. Claudio Marchisio also went close for Juventus but they couldn’t find a second. In the 85th minute Rachid Ghezzal whipped in a freekick that saw Corentin Tolisso head the ball past Gianluigi Buffon.
Sevilla 0-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Sevilla thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 tonight. Sevilla dominated the first half but had to wait until the 31st minute to take the lead thanks to Luciano Vietto’s well taken goal. On the stroke of halftime the visitors night got worse when Petar Stojanovic picked up his second yellow card for a late tackle. Sevilla made the most of their numerical advantage in the second half and scored their second in the 66th minute through Sergio Escudero. Ten minutes from time Steven N’Zonzi made it 3-0 and Wissam Ben Yedder completed the scoring in the 87th minute.
That’s all of tonight’s action. If you missed yesterday’s games why not read a comprehensive roundup here.
