Tuesday, 6 November 2012

Arsenal Pegged Back In Germany, City Holding On After Controversial Draw

Group A: Dynamo Kyiv and Porto played out a goalless draw in the Ukraine. This means Porto's 100% record has gone despite remaining unbeaten and are still top of the group. A point probably wasn't enough for Kyiv as they a now five points behind PSG and six behind Porto, meaning Porto are all but guaranteed their place in the knock-out phase.
Paris St.Germain are almost there with a point against Kyiv when they meet being enough to seal their place in the next round. Dinamo Zagreb remain pointless after being thumped in France. Ex-Chelsea defender, Alex, opened the scoring after 16-minutes for his second goal of the competition. Blaise Matuidi doubled their lead just after the hour mark. Jeremy Menez then scored his second goal of the tournament on 65-minutes before Guillaume Hoarau completed the rout ten minutes from time. Table:
1. Porto 10 Q
2. PSG 9
3. Kyiv 4
4. Zagreb 0

Group B: Arsenal let a 2-0 lead slip as they and Schalke remain the top two in Group B. Theo Walcott produced some good skill to take the ball away from the keeper before rolling the ball into the empty net on 18-minutes. A bullet header from Olivier Giroud then made it 2-0 on 26-minutes. Schalke pulled one back in first half injury time courtesy of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, his fourth for the tournament after scoring against Arsenal at the Emirates. Schalke then equalised through a deflected shot from Jefferson Farfan on 67-minutes.
Olympiacos are now just a point behind Arsenal and two behind Schalke after beating Montpellier, leaving the French side unable to progress and unlikely to get a Europa League spot. Paulo Mochado broke the Montpellier trend by opening the scoring for the Greeks after just four minutes. Younes Belhanda scored his second goal of the tournament from the penalty spot to equalise on 67-minutes, meaning both goals by the Algerian have come from the spot. Leandro Greco then made it 2-1 ten minutes from time with Konstantinos Mitroglu securing the points two minutes later. This is Mitroglu's third of the competition, his second against Montpellier. Table:
1.Schalke 8
2. Arsenal 7
3. Olympiacos 6
4. Montpellier 1 

Group C: Malaga confirm their place in the next phase despite losing their 100% record and conceding for the first time. Milan hold second spot but the group has now considerably tightened up. Eliseu scored his third goal of the tournament to give Malaga the lead in the San Siro five minutes before half-time. Alexandre Pato was on hand to rescue a point for Milan 17-minutes from the end.
Anderlecht move ahead of Zenit after securing their first win of the competition in Belgium. A goal from Dieudonne Mbokani on 17-minutes was enough to seal the victory. Table:
1.Malaga 10 Q
2. Milan 5
3. Anderlecht 4
4. Zenit 3

Group D: Manchester City came from 2-0 down and could have had a last minute penalty to win the game against Ajax, keeping their slim qualifying hopes alive. After his goal against City in Amsterdam, Siem De Jong was on top form, stabbing the game's opener from a poorly defended corner after just ten minutes. City hadn't learnt their lesson and De Jong made it 2-0 with a near post header from another corner on 17-minutes, making it three in two. City finally got a hold in the match and pulled one back with a piece of brilliance from Yaya Toure on 22-minutes. Sergio Aguero then equalised 16-minutes from time. Mario Balotelli thought he had won a last gasp penalty after his shirt was being pulled in the box, but instead of blowing for a penalty, the referee blew for the end of the game, much to the annoyance of City.
The top two from the group also played out a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu. Marco Reus spectacularly fired Dortmund ahead on 28-minutes, his second of the tournament. Pepe then headed Madrid level nine minutes before half-time before a good bit of football ended up being credited with an Alvaro Arbeloa own goal in injury time to reinstate Dortmund's lead. A Mesut Ozil free-kick in the last minute of normal time sealed the point. Table:
1.Dortmund 8
2. Madrid 7
3. Ajax 4
4. City 2 

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