Champions League Matchday 5 Awards: Barca Show Brilliance, Zlatan Comes Home
Another round of UEFA Champions League group matches is in the books, so now we look back to take stock of all the action.
Who scored the best goal? Who took part in the dullest match? Who shared the longest hug?
All those questions and more are answered in this edition of Bleacher Report's Champions League Awards.
Best Team Goal
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Barcelona battered Roma, 6-1, on Tuesday to confirm supremacy in Group E. The Catalans' second goal was a masterpiece of teamwork.
Lionel Messi, starting for the first time following an injury layoff, took the final touch—but he was far from the only Barca player to contribute. As shown in graphic by ESPN Stats & Info, the sequence comprised 29 touches, six of which were from Messi, starting deep in Barcelona's half.
The climax of the move was pure, mesmerizing poetry, as this Vine shows. In a word, brilliant.
Happiest Homecoming
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Paris Saint-Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a genuine superstar of the modern game. The tall Swede is as brilliant with the ball at his feet as he is memorable with the microphone in his face.
But before he was a legend, he started his career in his native Sweden with Malmo. The same Malmo that PSG routed 5-0 on Wednesday in Group A. Ibrahimovic scored a goal and, by his own admission, rather enjoyed himself.
"I got goose bumps. It felt like I was home again," he said, per BBC Sport. "This is the icing on the cake. I've been through a lot, and now this."
Dullest Match
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Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven slogged through a scoreless draw at Old Trafford that leaves Group B wide open heading into the final matchday.
In a word, the game was forgettable, as Twitter collectively noted.
"Terribly flat, shapeless second half performance from #MUFC," tweeted NBC Sports broadcaster Arlo White. "Lacking energy. Looked less likely to score as half has gone on."
"How it feels watching Man United play…" tweeted Footy Jokes, showing a picture of a man staring at a brick wall.
"This is awful," tweeted MUFC Peoples Person. "Where's the urgency? The desire? Shocking."
Not as shocking: United were booed off the pitch at full time.
Slimmest Hopes Still Flickering
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Arsenal had dug quite the hole for themselves in Group F. But now the Gunners can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Admittedly, it's still a faint, flickering light.
After losing three of their first four Champions League games this season, Arsenal had to beat Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stage for the 16th consecutive season. They did so, and since Olympiakos lost at Bayern Munich, the Gunners remain in contention for a spot in the last 16.
All they have to do now is beat Olympiakos by two clear goals—or a one-goal margin greater than 3-2—and second place is theirs.
Defender Per Mertesacker told Arsenal's official website:
"It is a nightmare how we played the first two games but we have to face the truth and that is that we have to score more than one goal against Olympiakos.
It’s possible [to qualify] and they have more to lose. We are in a more difficult situation. It will be pressure for both teams and hopefully we can handle that better.
We believe that we can score goals. You saw tonight that we are always capable of doing that. Let's go there without fear, respect our opponent but keep patient until the end.
"
A club of Arsenal's stature ought not be in this position in the first place. But after such a poor start, it's remarkable that the Gunners still have a chance to progress.
Worst Pitch
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Chelsea claimed a 4-0 victory at Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Tuesday to take over first place in Group G. After the match, the main talking point might have been the pitch.
Or should we say "pitch." The condition of the playing surface in Israel was poor by nearly any standard, unless that standard is a Sunday pub league. Chelsea's John Terry suffered an ankle injury and had to leave the game on a stretcher, prompting manager Jose Mourinho to label the field "bad" and "dangerous," per Eurosport.
Not convinced it was that bad? This ought to change your mind.
Longest Hug
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Real Madrid confirmed first place in Group A with a 4-3 victory at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Among other things, the match nearly saw Real Madrid blow a four-goal lead.
But we won't focus on that here. For our awards, we're looking at the prolonged celebration shared by Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale after Ronaldo netted his second strike of the match. For a better look, check out this Vine shared by BuzzFeed.
Bale had set up the goal with a galloping run down the left flank, and Ronaldo clearly felt his teammate deserved a bit of love. Of course, after losing, 4-0, to Barcelona at the weekend, Real will take any positive they can find at the moment.
