Champions League Matchday Five: Barca and Bayern Show the Way

Group A

Chelsea aren't that great after all, are they?

Their clash against Bordeaux just proved that English sides are not invincible. Give them a hard run and they might fall.

Deco was out due to a suspension and Frank Lampard didn't do too many favours for Chelsea by getting sent off. If Chelsea lose on Matchday Six, and Bordeaux win, Chelsea might be shown the back door into the UEFA Cup.

Roma have all but qualified. They have really shown the way in this group, by thrashing Chelsea and new boys CFR Cluj by the same scoreline after having been defeated by both previously.

I have a feeling though that Bordeaux might go through, especially after watching their last match. They kept trying until the last minute and got their reward.

At the moment, these are the standings:

Roma 9

Chelsea 8

Bordeaux 7

CFR Cluj 4 (knocked out of Europe)

Group B

I would go as far as to call this group the worst and most one-sided in the entire draw. It's more than obvious that Inter and Panathinakos will qualify.

Werder are a good side but when one performance goes wrong, the following 10 go wrong as well. To qualify, you need consistency. Werder are extremely inconsistent and since Miroslav Klose and Ivan Klasnic left Werder, the club's been on a bad slump.

Anorthosis are pretty new to the competition. They still have the chance to qualify, but Panathinakos at the moment, after defeating Inter, seem like a more complete team to me.

At the moment the standings are:

Inter 8 (already qualified)

Panathinakos 7

Anorthosis 6

Bremen 4 (knocked out)

Group C

Barcelona is the team that everyone wants to see.

Sporting Lisbon were shattered to bits by all the Barca guys starting from Messi and ending with Bojan.

Shakhtar Donetsk gave a good show, to see themselves through to the UEFA Cup by absolutely bulldozing Basel. Sporting did well but really didn't have enough class to meet Barca.

At the moment the standings are:

Barcelona 13 (already qualified; group winners)

Sporting 9 (already qualified; runners-up of group)

Shakhtar 6 (qualified for UEFA Cup)

Basel 1 (knocked out of Europe)

Group D

Atletico and Liverpool put in a good show. But to be honest, the true winners of this group should be Atletico.

Liverpool were saved by the referee from slumping to a defeat against Atletico. On the other hand, Eindhoven are a wreck and so are Marseille. Marseille didn't disappoint against Liverpool as badly as Eindhoven, though.

At the moment, the standings are:

Atletico 11 (already qualified)

Liverpool 11 (already qualified)

Marseille 3 (knocked out)

PSV 3 (knocked out)

Group E

God, I am really sick of listening to the fact that Man U and Villareal had another "exciting" scoreless draw (the fourth 0-0 in four meetings). I am just sad to see Celtic go. Had Ryan Giggs not scored that late equalizer, they might have been alive in the competition.

Well, this group is done and dusted with only the top spot to fight for. Aalborg put in a pretty good show.

At the moment, the standings are:

Man U 9 (already qualified)

Villareal 9 (already qualified)

Aalborg 5 (qualified for UEFA Cup)

Celtic 2 (knocked out of Europe)

Group F

When the draw was made, this group seemed the most competitive. However, it's already done and dusted with only the top spot to fight for.

Bayern really turned on the style against Steau whereas Karim Benzema helped Lyon through. With each performance, Bayern just seem to improve and Lyon do have a daunting task ahead of them. Only if they draw 0-0 or win against Bayern they will finish at the top.

On the other hand, even if Bayern hold Lyon to a 1-1 draw, they will finish top due to superior goal difference. It's going to be pretty difficult to stop high scoring Miroslav Klose, Luca Toni, or Franck Ribery from putting a ball into the net. As for Fiorentina, they have been disappointing.

At the moment, the standings are

Bayern 11 (already qualified)

Lyon 11 (already qualified)

Fiorentina 3 (knocked out)

Steaua 1 (knocked out)

Group G

The man was booed off against Aston Villa and was given a pretty hard time by the press. However, Arsenal's first goal in three matches came from not the usual heroes, but from pink-booted super sub Nicklas Bendtner. He had the last laugh as Arsenal beat Kiev 1-0. It wasn't pretty, but a win's a win.

Fenerbahce were highly disappointing. Porto were excellent aside from the 4-0 defeat to Arsenal. Lucho Gonzalez and Lisandro deserve a special mention for their team's qualification. However, Kiev were really unlucky to go out. They did play some good football at the end of the day.

At the moment, the standings are:

Arsenal 11 (already qualified)

Porto 9 (already qualified)

Dynamo Kiev 5 (qualified for UEFA Cup)

Fenerbahce 2 (knocked out of Europe)

Group H

Zenit really were unlucky, but at the end of the day Real went through. Juventus for me have been outstanding, especially their captain, Del Piero. Same goes for Raul. His goal decided the encounter against Bate, and he's just the captain you need during difficult times.

Zenit played some entertaining football while Bate produced some scares, especially the 2-2 draw against Juve.

At the moment, the standings are:

Juventus 11 (already qualified)

Real Madrid 9 (already qualified)

Zenit 5 (qualified for UEFA Cup)

BATE Borisov 2 (knocked out of Europe)

Well, that's about it. This matchday absolutely belonged to Barca, Shakhtar, and Bayern and few will disagree with me. Just one more Matchday left for Chelsea to qualify as well as decide the table toppers.

NOTE: "Knocked out" means knocked out of the Champions League only, whereas "Knocked out of Europe" means knocked out of all UEFA competitions, both the Champions League and UEFA Cup.