Grading Every 2014/15 Champions League Team on Matchday 4
This season's Champions League saw its first teams qualify for the knockout stages this week, and the latest instalment of European drama didn't fail to entertain.
Only two matchdays remain in this season's Champions League group stage, and while some elite contenders have already waded into the round of 16, others are left in a more uncertain state.
Top performers this week include some of the usual suspects, such as Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, but there's something to be said for the underdog as we rate every club's performance this week.
Group A: Atletico Madrid Maintain Defensive Dominance
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| Team | Grade |
| Atletico Madrid | A- |
| Juventus | B+ |
| Malmo | C- |
| Olympiakos | B- |
Another week, another spotless European outing for Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid, who eased past Malmo in Sweden, 2-0, to take a firm hold of the Group A lead.
Until this matchday's fixtures, matters remained incredibly tense in Los Rojiblancos' pool, but after a domineering display at the Swedbank Stadion, there's daylight at the summit.
Simeone's side succeeded in establishing a clearer vision in front of goal, but their win over Malmo wasn't without its faults, considering the team had a noticeable minority in possession and attempted only half the number of shots their hosts managed.
The result is what matters most, though, and goals courtesy of Koke and Raul Garcia on either side of half-time gave the Spaniards their third consecutive win and clean sheet in the tournament.
In contrast, Juventus' back line continues to stutter, and Olympiakos were made to look glamorous in Turin for stretches of the teams' Tuesday fixture.
Andrea Pirlo opened the scoring, but the Bianconeri were naive enough to allow Alberto Botia and Delvin Ndinga to put the visitors in front.
A missed Arturo Vidal penalty didn't grant Massimiliano Allegri's men great confidence in their collective ability to get something out of the game, but Paul Pogba added to an Olympiakos own goal to gift Juve their win, albeit by the finest of margins.
Needless to say, the Serie A title holders have a lot more to give.
Group B: Liverpool's Damage Limitation in Madrid, Basel Surge into Second
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| Team | Grade |
| Basel | A |
| Real Madrid | B+ |
| Liverpool | B- |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | D |
Brendan Rodgers came under heavy fire for resting certain stars and fielding a weakened line-up against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening—a "throwing in of the towel" that some saw as unforgivable.
However, Rodgers' second string performed admirably to limit Los Blancos to just a 1-0 scoreline, although questions will inevitably be asked of what might have been had the first-choice XI trotted out.
Real were still the stars of the show, amassing 27 shots on goal and almost 60 per cent of possession, but they weren't allowed to exercise their usual killer touch easily. For that achievement alone, the Reds deserve credit.
A far more open affair took place at St. Jakob-Park, where a 4-0 triumph for Basel pushed the Swiss champions up to second place in Group B, with three points now separating them from Rodgers' men.
It's deserved revenge for Paulo Sousa's team, who were left embarrassed by their 1-0 defeat in Bulgaria just a fortnight ago, but they bit back with a ferocious fervour on Tuesday to leave their destiny in their own hands.
Considering Ludogorets' defensive accomplishment in restricting all their previous European opponents to results decided by a margin of only one goal this season, to put four past them—and concede none—is no small feat.
Group C: Bayer Leverkusen Edge Toward Progress as Son Stars in Saint Petersburg
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| Team | Grade |
| Bayer Leverksuen | A |
| Benfica | B+ |
| Zenit St. Petersburg | B- |
| Monaco | C+ |
Son Heung-Min played the role of hero for Bayer Leverkusen this week, putting two past Zenit St. Petersburg in a result that ensures the Germans will finish at least third in Group C.
However, it's higher honours the Factory Squad will be chasing after this display, an essential defeat of their opponents in Russian territory and a critical bounce back to form following the disappointment of a 1-0 loss to Hamburg domestically.
Son wasn't the only figure to impress at the Petrovsky Stadium, though, as Leverkusen contended every ball and took the larger chunk of attacking chances, despite only having a small share of time on the ball.
A late Salomon Rondon consolation helps Zenit retain a chance of qualifying, but it does nothing to tarnish a solid outing from the Bundesliga guests.
The other win in Group C went to Benfica, who managed to end Monaco's clean-sheet streak in Europe this season at the fourth time of asking, triumphing 1-0 over the Monegasques in Lisbon.
The Ligue 1 giants did a fine job of standing up to their Portuguese hosts by and large, threatening the Eagles' net just as often as their hosts and rejecting a great deal of those chances that did threaten their borders.
However, a late Talisca goal undid that fine work, meaning Monaco's main issue of struggling to find a clinical touch in front of goal continues to limit their opportunities.
Group D: Anderlecht Impress at Arsenal, Dortmund Through to Round of 16
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| Team | Grade |
| Anderlecht | A- |
| Arsenal | C |
| Borussia Dortmund | A |
| Galatasaray | D |
Arsenal made a hash of what looked to be a sure-fire victory over Anderlecht on Tuesday, falling from the comfort of a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 at the Emirates. A fine result for the Belgians; not so fine for the hosts.
Prior to this fixture, Anderlecht had lost their last 11 Champions League games, and while their youth production is prolific, one would think home and away wins against this team was a given for the Gunners.
Following Tuesday's result, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson gave his assessment of Arsene Wenger's side, per The Independent's Simon Rice:
"If I'm being honest I think they're tactically clueless. How you can be 3-0 up and attacking? This is not the first time, this happens a lot of times. It is absolutely clueless. For me the manager's got to get a message on [to the players]. You're playing with international footballers, these are not little kids. These have played for their countries lots of times.
"
The north Londoners were impressive enough to sail into a 3-0 lead, but mental fortitude was apparently lacking on their part, although Anderlecht showed great resolve to launch their comeback.
Galatasaray could muster no such revival, conceding four against Borussia Dortmund for the second match in succession as the Black and Yellows swept their Turkish foes to one side.
Signal Iduna Park saw the Germans continue to dominate in Europe, regardless of their current Bundesliga woes, with Marco Reus, Sokratis and Ciro Immobile each on the scoreboard, along with a Semih Kaya own goal.
Jurgen Klopp needs to find a way of transferring his winning Champions League formula into domestic play and the Ruhr giants will be flying high once more in no time.
Gala, meanwhile, will look to do the opposite; they are thriving in the Super Lig but consistently being made to look amateurish in Europe.
Group E: CSKA Moscow Send 9-Man Manchester City Plummeting, Bayern Qualify
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| Team | Grade |
| Bayern Munich | A |
| Roma | C- |
| Manchester City | D- |
| CSKA Moscow | A- |
Bayern Munich can rest easy to an extent knowing their place in the next round of the Champions League is secure, while Manchester City's home defeat to CSKA Moscow on Wednesday highlighted the club's ongoing issues in Europe.
After waltzing away from the Stadio Olimpico with a 7-1 win last time out, Bayern's 2-0 defeat of Roma this week was a far more modest canter over the opposition.
However, the scoreline doesn't tell the tale of a team who simply didn't allow the Giallorossi into the fixture, boasting more than 70 per cent of possession and almost quadrupling their foes' shots tally.
Manuel Pellegrini's side were nowhere near as assured on home soil, and despite also taking a majority stake of the ball and shots on goal, CSKA were permitted to take an invaluable three points from the Etihad Stadium.
Seydou Doumbia netted for the visitors within two minutes of kick-off, and although Yaya Toure equalised minutes later, CSKA's Ivorian talisman put his side back in front before half-time.
Toure, along with midfield partner Fernandinho, would later see red to cap off a miserable second half of football and a generally disappointing day's work, which leaves City stranded two points off the top two.
Group F: Barcelona and PSG Wrap Up Qualification
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| Team | Grade |
| Barcelona | B+ |
| Paris Saint-Germain | B |
| Apoel Nicosia | C+ |
| Ajax | C- |
For the second match in succession, Edinson Cavani scored Paris Saint-Germain's only goal against APOEL Nicosia. The only difference this time being that it took the Uruguayan just a minute to find the back of the net on Wednesday.
APOEL have been impressive in averaging just one goal conceded per Champions League game this term, but it's a defeatist attitude when left unaccompanied by any motion in attack.
The Cypriots could muster only one shot on target in Paris while their hosts were left to run free in every regard, standout performances from are APOEL somewhat hard to come by.
Ajax put up more of a fight against Barcelona, but it was nevertheless a one-sided affair in Amsterdam, with the Blaugrana running out as 2-0 victors.
Lionel Messi bagged twice to enhance his renown and draw level with Raul as the Champions League's top goalscorer with 71 finishes to his name.
It was a pleasing way for the forward to end a seamless night for Barca, but Luis Enrique may ask more of his side, especially after Ajax's Joel Veltman was sent off in the 71st minute.
Group G: Chelsea and Schalke Stumble in Away Territory
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| Team | Grade |
| Chelsea | C |
| Schalke | D |
| Sporting Lisbon | A- |
| Maribor | B+ |
Progression from Group G was looking like a fairly rudimentary task for Chelsea prior to their Wednesday outing, but a 1-1 disappointment at Maribor has left their top-two hopes in some doubt.
After a goalless first half, Jose Mourinho will have been especially frustrated to see his side concede first in Slovenia, Agim Ibraimi putting Maribor 1-0 up inside the 50th minute.
Of all people, Nemanja Matic came to rescue his team and a point just 23 minutes later, but with fixtures against Schalke and Sporting Lisbon to come, the Blues now need every point they can secure.
Sporting look an ambiguous power to take on too, after following up their narrow 4-3 loss in Gelsenkirchen a fortnight ago by dismissing Schalke, 4-2, with another impressive goal haul.
Islam Slimani was guilty of netting both for and against the Portuguese hosts, but fortunately goals from Nani, Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr and Jefferson sealed the three points.
The win was Sporting's first of this Champions League campaign and means the team now move into third, giving themselves a genuine chance of the knockout stage after making a big statement on Wednesday.
Group H: Shakhtar Decimate BATE Again, Porto Cement Round-of-16 Place
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| Team | Grade |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | A |
| Porto | A |
| Athletic Bilbao | C- |
| BATE Borisov | D- |
The anticipation for the Week 6 clash between Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk continues to rise, with Porto clinching their place in the round of 16 on Wednesday and the Ukrainians still hot on their trail.
Having leaked a massive seven goals to the Miners on Matchday 3, BATE Borisov did their goal difference no justice with a 5-0 defeat at Arena Lviv.
Luiz Adriano netted his second successive European hat-trick and scored for the third Champions League game in a row, while Athletic Bilbao are still yet to register a single home goal this Champions League season.
The Basques fell to Porto after Jackson Martinez and Yacine Brahimi had their say, although Bilbao will be down not to have made more of the chances they did create.
The Dragons' midfield established a momentum that Athletic simply couldn't put up with, and it eventually told as Porto maintained a two-point lead over Shakhtar at the head of Group H.
All statistics come courtesy of WhoScored.com.
