Champions League Results 2014: Scores, Group Tables, Standings for Matchday 5
Late drama dominated Tuesday's action on Matchday 5 of the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League, with several matches decided by goals in the final minutes.
Manchester City kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive by beating Bayern Munich, 3-2, while AS Roma were rocked by a late equaliser against CSKA Moscow, setting up a fantastic three-way race in Group E on the final matchday.
Chelsea thrashed Schalke 04, 5-0, to grab the top seed in Group G, while Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona both won their fixtures, meaning the duo will battle it out for the top spot in Group F on Dec. 10.
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On Wednesday, Arsenal secured progress to the next round by beating Borussia Dortmund, while Liverpool could only manage a draw against Ludogorets Razgrad, setting up an epic encounter with Basel on the final matchday. Here are the full results for Week 5:
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | CSKA Moscow | 1 - 1 | Roma |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Manchester City | 3 - 2 | Bayern Munich |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | APOEL Nicosia | 0 - 4 | Barcelona |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Paris Saint Germain | 3 - 1 | Ajax |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Schalke 04 | 0 - 5 | Chelsea |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Sporting CP | 3 - 1 | Maribor |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | BATE Borisov | 0 - 3 | FC Porto |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0 - 1 | Athletic Bilbao |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Atletico Madrid | 4 - 0 | Olympiakos |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Malmo FF | 0 - 2 | Juventus |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Basel | 0 - 1 | Real Madrid |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | PFC Ludogorets Razgrad | 2 - 2 | Liverpool |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 1 - 0 | Benfica |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Bayer Leverkusen | 0 - 1 | Monaco |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Anderlecht | 2 - 0 | Galatasaray |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Arsenal | 2 - 0 | Borussia Dortmund |
And here are the current Champions League standings:
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Atletico Madrid | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 12 |
| 2 | Juventus | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | Olympiakos | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 6 |
| 4 | Malmo FF | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 3 |
| 1 | Real Madrid | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 15 |
| 2 | Basel | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 6 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 4 |
| 4 | PFC Ludogorets Razgrad | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 4 |
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Monaco | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | Benfica | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 4 |
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 12 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | Anderlecht | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 5 |
| 4 | Galatasaray | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 1 |
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 5 |
| 3 | Roma | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 5 |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 5 |
| 1 | Paris Saint Germain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| 3 | Ajax | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 2 |
| 4 | APOEL Nicosia | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 1 |
| 1 | Chelsea | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 11 |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 5 |
| 4 | Maribor | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 12 | -8 | 3 |
| 1 | FC Porto | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 13 |
| 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 8 |
| 3 | Athletic Bilbao | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 4 |
| 4 | BATE Borisov | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 22 | -20 | 3 |
Wednesday Update
Arsenal locked up qualification for the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, while Liverpool conceded late to draw Ludogorets Razgrad, 2-2, setting up a difficult final match at Anfield against FC Basel.
The Gunners took an early lead when Yaya Sanogo scored his first goal for the club, although there was an air of offside about the strike. Former England international Gary Lineker couldn't believe he missed the moment:
The Gunners controlled the match well against a Dortmund squad that had already qualified for the next round, and Alexis Sanchez doubled the hosts' advantage with a lovely strike from distance.
Bleacher Report UK has the Vine:
With progression to the last 16 now locked up, it would be tempting for the Gunners to rest some starters and assume Dortmund beat Anderlecht, who ensured themselves of Europa League participation with a 2-0 win over Galatasaray.
But as shared by Bleacher Report's James McNicholas, manager Arsene Wenger told reporters he has no intentions of phoning the last match in:
Liverpool faced an early deficit against Ludogorets after a poor intervention from Simon Mignolet gifted the ball to Dani Abalo, who didn't miss from close range.
Rickie Lambert and Jordan Henderson turned the situation around, but just as it appeared the Reds would walk out of Bulgaria with all three points, Georgie Terziev put the hosts back on equal terms with a late goal.
After another poor performance, the Liverpool Echo's Kristian Walsh is surprised the Reds still have the chance to make it to the knockout stages:
FC Basel suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, meaning the Swiss outfit will hold a two-point advantage heading to Anfield. Liverpool have to beat Basel at home to advance, and Ludogorets could even steal Europa League qualification by obtaining a result against Los Blancos.
Real manager Carlo Ancelotti knows who he's backing to advance, via RMadridHome:
"Carlo Ancelotti: "Basel is better than Liverpool. They are in great physical condition, but their match at Anfield will be difficult."
— RMadridHome (@RMadridHome) November 26, 2014"
Juventus earned a much-needed win in Sweden, beating Malmo, 2-0, to set themselves up with the perfect scenario for the final matchday. Atletico Madrid thrashed Olympiakos, 4-0, with Mario Mandzukic bagging a hat-trick, so the gap between the Italians and the Greeks is now three points.
Olympiakos have to beat Malmo, who can still qualify for the Europa League, and hope Juventus lose to Madrid at home. The Bianconeri can even win Group A, providing they beat Atletico by two or more goals.
Benfica are officially out of the race for the qualifying spots in Group C following their 1-0 loss against Zenit St. Petersburg, but the Russians still face a three-way battle with Bayer Leverkusen and AS Monaco for the top two spots.
Tuesday Recap
Manchester City were desperate for three points against Bayern Munich, and while it took a lot of work, some help from the Bavarians and sheer luck, Manuel Pellegrini's troops came away with a 3-2 win to position themselves for a spot in the knockout stages.
Sergio Aguero was the hero for the hosts, scoring all three goals, including two inside the final two minutes. His first came from the penalty spot, after Mehdi Benatia had brought down the Argentina international with a poor tackle.
The referee dismissed the defender, and Bleacher Report's James McNicholas couldn't believe why he even attempted to make the tackle in the first place:
The Bavarians didn't seem to mind one bit, however; they dominated the bulk of the first half with 10 men and grabbed the lead inside the opening 45 minutes. Xabi Alonso equalised with a fantastic free-kick, before Robert Lewandowski slotted home just before half-time.
The Poland international was in no mood to play around, something Vincent Kompany was unfortunate to find out the hard way, via Football Bible:
The Citizens couldn't find a way through the Bavarian defence on their own, so the German champions decided to help them. First, veteran midfielder Xabi Alonso served the ball on a platter for Aguero, who graciously accepted the gift to make the score 2-2.
The Germans weren't done blundering, however, as Jerome Boateng failed to react in time to a bad touch, and Aguero completed his hat-trick in style, per Bleacher Report UK:
City's result was made even sweeter by Roma's failure to get past CSKA Moscow, conceding in the final minutes after dominating the entire match. The ageless wonder Francesco Totti had given the Giallorossi the lead with a textbook free-kick, as shared by World Soccer Talk:
Vasili Berezutski tied things up in the final minute, however, and the veteran told Sky Sports Italia he felt awful when it happened, as reported by Football Italia:
"It was like getting punched by Mike Tyson, because I really did not expect that goal right at the end. We played a good first half, but being a big team means coming here and taking the initiative. We did not control the ball well towards the end and we were punished for it.
It was very difficult to play the ball on the ground in this cold, but we are not looking for excuses. Unfortunately this little incident happened and nobody expected it.
"
The two results set up a three-way tie for second place, with City currently leading on goal differential. UEFA uses head-to-head results as tiebreakers, however, so the Citizens will likely have to beat Roma or draw by two goals or more to advance to the next round.
Chelsea obliterated Schalke to secure the top spot in Group G, as John Terry, Willian, Didier Drogba, Ramires and a Jan Kirchhoff own goal all contributed to the final score of 5-0.
The Blues completely dominated the German outfit in the first half, and the Daily Telegraph's Matt Law was very impressed with what he saw:
Jose Mourinho's squad easily played out the second half, bagging a big win on their way to the knockout stages.
Sporting Lisbon took a strong option on second place in Group G, although Carlos Mane did his very best to keep things exciting with one of the worst misses of the year, per Bleacher Report UK:
Luis Suarez scored his first goal for Barcelona and Lionel Messi became the Champions League's all-time top scorer in the Catalans' 4-0 win over APOEL Nicosia, but Paris Saint-Germain's two goals inside the final 15 minutes means the French champions remain in the lead in Group F.
Ajax had deservedly tied the match at 1-1 before Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a fantastic volley, and a defensive blunder allowed Edinson Cavani to bag his second of the night, giving the hosts a 3-1 win.
FC Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk are certain of qualification from Group H, with the Portuguese side locking up the top seed on Tuesday. Athletic Bilbao shocked Donetsk in Ukraine and can now grab the final Europa League ticket in two weeks with a draw against BATE Borisov.
