Champions League Review : Chelsea defeat signals end of Di Matteo, Man City knocked out by Real
It was another superb week of Champions League action on Tuesday and Wednesday and number of teams qualified for the knockout stages and some of course crashed out of the tournament.
Manchester City could only manage a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium, which meant that they would not be heading into the final 16. However, the point meant that Real are guaranteed a spot in the next round.
It was a disappointing week for Chelsea as well as they were outclassed by Juventus and went down 3-0. It now means that the Blues fate is out of their own hands going into the final encounter of the group stages. The other game in this group saw Shakhtar Donetsk thrash Danish side Nordsjaelland 5-2, which kept them at the top of the table.
Manchester United lost 1-0 at Galatasaray, but Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a weakened side as his men have already reached to knockout stages. CFR Cluj then beat Sporting Braga, which means the fight for second in this group is wide open.
Arsenal were the only English team to record a victory this week as they beat Montpellier 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium. The win ensured that Arsene Wenger and his men were safely trough to the next round of the tournament.
Celtic were also in action on Tuesday evening, but they could not take the point they need to qualify as they lost 2-1 to Benfica. However, the Scottish Champions are still in a great position going into the last group match.
Other notable results of the week saw Borussia Dortmund travel to Ajax and claim a massive 4-1 victory. The German side know they are mow guaranteed to finish in top spot of the group, so can head into their final game against Manchester City with the pressure off.
There were also victories for Barcelona, Porto, Paris Saint Germain, AC Milan and Schalke – which secured all five of these teams place in the last sixteen of the Champions League.
Other teams to qualify are Bayern Munich and Valencia as these two played out a draw on Tuesday evening.
Lille also beat BATE in a game which proved to be insignificant in terms of qualifying, whilst Malaga travelled to Zenit St Petersburg and took a 2-2 draw back to Spain with them.
With plenty to decide in the final group matches of this Champions League – it should be another thrilling week of action next month.
