Champions League: Matchday 5 round-up
Matchday five of this season’s Champions League group stages threw up some brilliant games.
Things kicked off with a bang with the Tuesday early kick-offs where Manchester United booked their place in the round of 16 and Robert Lewandowski netted a sublime overhead kick off.
Chelsea stole the show later on with a five-star display against Juventus, while Xavi’s first game as a manager in the Champions League ended in frustration.
Wednesday should bring more riches too, with Man City vs PSG taking top billing.
Here is how the matchday five action played out…
Dynamo Kyiv 1-2 Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich maintained their 100% winning record in this season’s Champions League group stage by securing a 2-1 away win over Dynamo Kyiv in one of Tuesday’s early kick-offs.
Bayern played well in the first half and went into the break deservedly 2-0 up. Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring with a lovely overhead kick before Kingsley Coman doubled their advantage just before the interval.
In the second half Dynamo hit back through Denys Harmash, setting up a tense final 20 minutes. However, Bayern survived a few late scares to keep their flawless record in tact.
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Barcelona 0-0 Benfica
Benfica break with a numbers advantage in the 93rd minute and Haris Seferovic still somehow doesn’t score against Barcelona! ?
Jorge Jesus‘ reaction sums it up… ?#UCL pic.twitter.com/oCmyI5MrRN
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 23, 2021
The crunch clash between Barcelona and Benfica in Group E was evidence that 0-0 draws can certainly be thrilling.
Apart from goals, the Camp Nou crowd – which, due to rain, was cut down to half (seriously) – saw a little bit of everything. From bustling industry in midfield to dazzling creativity in the final third, and from some flashes of brilliance to literal open-goal howlers, we got it all.
Chances went begging either side of the interval. Yusuf Demir curled a delightful strike onto the crossbar for the hosts while Nicolas Otamendi saw a scorching effort ruled out for the visitors in the first half.
A lively end to the second period then saw Frenkie de Jong miss a close-range header, Ronald Araujo have a goal disallowed and Haris Seferovic prod wide in front of an empty net.
In spite of all the edge-of-your-seat action, however, both sides settled for a 0-0 draw, leaving it all to play for in the race for second spot in Group E.
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Villarreal 0-2 Manchester United
Manchester United kicked off the post-Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era in style, confirming their progression to the knockout stages with a 2-0 win over Villarreal.
United were made to work hard for the points with their hosts twice being denied by David de Gea before the Red Devils netted twice late on to secure the win.
The first goal cam courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo who capitalised on Fred’s fine pressing by lifting the ball over Gerónimo Rulli from outside the box, Then, in the closint stages, Jadon Sancho netted an emphatic strike – his first in a United shirt – to make sure of the points.
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Young Boys 3-3 Atalanta
Young Boys and Atalanta could not be separated in a six-goal thriller, which leaves the second qualification spot wide open in Group F heading into matchday six.
Duvan Zapata got the visitors off to a perfect start in Bern, scoring inside 10 minutes with a nice turn and shot. Young Boys responded well though, levelling things up just before the break through Theoson Siebatcheu.
Atalanta restored their advantage through Jose Luis Palomino before the game reached a dramatic conclusion with three goals in the final ten minutes – the last of which was a free kick from Luis Muriel with his first touch of the game – ensuring things finished level.
Lille 1-0 Red Bull Salzburg
A goal from the in-from Jonathan David gave Lille a vital 1-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg which set up a dramatic final matchday in Group G.
David reacted quickly in the box to fire home in the 31st minute after good work from Burak Yilmaz, in one of the few chances of the first half.
The second half was a tight affair too, with Lille going closest to scoring when Jonathan Bamba’s effort was scrambled off the line.
Sevilla 2-0 Wolfsburg
In the other game in Group G, Sevilla kept their chances of reaching the knockout stages alive with a spirited 2-0 victory over Wolfsburg.
The Spanish side had not won in the Champions League this season prior to this result but they got off to a flying start when Joan Jesus finished off Ivan Rakitic’s cross inside 12 minutes. Lukas Nmecha gave them a scare soon after when his effort with tipped onto the bar and Sevilla left it late to put the result beyond all doubt.
The second goal finally came in the 97th minute when Lucas Ocampos slid Rafa Mir in, who tapped home from close range.
These results mean that just three points separate first-placed Lille and last-placed Wolfsburg in Group G.
Chelsea 4-0 Juventus
Chelsea picked up a statement victory over Group H rivals Juventus, easing to a 4-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Juve set up to frustrate their host, fielding four central midfielders, but they were not successful. Trevoh Chalobah got the party started on his first Champions League start, half-volleying home from a corner in the 25th minute.
After the break, Reece James netted a unstoppable second and three minutes later Callum Hudson-Odoi took the game beyond Max Allegri’s side with a fine finish. Timo Werner rounded off the scoring in stoppage time.
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Malmo 1-1 Zenit
Zenit left it late to earn a point against Malmo, which confirmed a third-place finish for the Russian side.
Malmo had lost all of their games prior to this one, so it was a surprise when they took the lead through Soren Rieks just before the half-hour mark.
Zenit pushed hard for an equaliser after the break with Artem Dzyuba missing a penalty early in the second half. They were dealt a serious blow in the 86th minute when Dmitri Chistyakov was sent off for two bookable offences, but a 90th-minute penalty from Yaroslav Rakitskiy saved their skin.
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