CSKA Moscow, Galatasaray, Lokomotiv Moscow, Hoffenheim, and Viktoria Plzen are still alive despite no chance of advancing to the ‘Round of 16’
Barcelona, Porto, and Real Madrid are confirmed winners in their respective groups, while Monaco, AEK Athens, Young Boys, and PSV Eindhoven are guaranteed to finish bottom of the group.
It is highly improbable for Manchester City and Bayern Munich not to finish as winners of their group.
Tottenham, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Napoli, Lyon, and Shakhtar Donetsk would all be contending for a place in the last 16.
Benfica, Club Brugge, and Valencia are dropping into the UEFA Europa League ‘Round of 32’
Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski lead the scoring chart with 6 goals each.
November 27, 2018
Group E
AEK Athens 0-2 Ajax
Ajax – Dusan Tadic 68’(pen) 72’
Bayern Munich 5-1 Benfica
Bayern Munich – Arjen Robben 13’ 30’ Robert Lewandowksi 36’ 51’ Franck Ribery 76’
Benfica – Gelson Fernandes 46’
A 10-man AEK Athens will finish at the bottom of Group E after suffering their 5th defeat.
Ajax wins away to reach the Round of 16 after Dušan Tadić scored all the goals within five minutes to give Ajax the win needed to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2005/06.
Benfica had no options but a win by 2+ goals to have any chance of surviving and Bayern Munich had no favors to give as they took a 3-0 lead into the break.
Group F
Hoffenheim 2-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
Hoffenheim – Andrej Kramaric 17’ Steven Zuber 40’
Shakhtar Donetsk – Ismaily 14’ Taison 15’ 90’
Lyon 2-2 Manchester City
Lyon – Maxwell Cornet 55’ 81’
Manchester City – Aymeric Laporte 62’ Sergio Aguero 83’
Manchester City came from a goal down on two occasions to secure the point they needed to move into the Round of 16.
Taison’s injury-time winner for Shakhtar Donetsk ended Hoffenheim’s chances of advancing from the group. Hoffenheim had managed to climb back from two goals down before losing the game at the end. The result keeps Shakhtar Donetsk and Lyon in a battle for the final ticket to the ‘Round of 16’ from Group F. The good news for both teams is the fact that they will have their destiny in their hands when they meet in the final match of the round.
Group G
CSKA Moscow 1-2 Viktoria Plzen
CSKA Moscow – Nikola Vlasic 10’(pen)
Viktoria Plzen – Roman Prochazka 56’ Lukas Hejda 81’
Roma 0-2 Real Madrid
Real Madrid – Gareth Bale 47’ Luca Vazquez 59’
Both CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzeň were out of the Champions League but Viktoria Plzen placed themselves in position to get a place in the Europa League.
Both Roma and Real Madrid were through to the knock-out stage before kick-off but Real Madrid will win the group after the victory.
Group H
Juventus 1-0 Valencia
Juventus – Mario Mandzukic 59’
Manchester United 1-0 Young Boys
Manchester United – Marouane Fellaini 90+1’
Juventus and Manchester United use a ‘1-0’ home victories to advance from Group H. The final group matches will decide the Group winner.
November 28, 2018
Group A
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Monaco
Atletico Madrid – Koke 2’ Antoine Griezmann 24’
Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Club Brugge
Atletico Madrid sits on top of the group after eliminating Monaco from the competition.
A point was good enough for Borussia Dortmund and Club Brugge as Dortmund advanced from the group and Brugge secured a place in the Europa League.
Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Inter Milan
Tottenham Hotspurs – Christian Eriksen 80’
PSV Eindhoven 1-2 Barcelona
PSV Eindhoven – Luuk de Jong 83’
Barcelona – Lionel Messi 61’Gerard Pique 70′
One team needed a win more than the other. PSV was beaten at home in the second-half despite putting up a good fight against Barcelona
Christian Eriksen scored the winning goal for Tottenham just 10 minutes from the end of regulation time for Tottenham to secure a win they desperately needed against Inter Milan to keep alive the hope of advancing from the group. Inter Milan just needed was a draw to advance to the Round of 16. The task for Tottenham is to win at the Camp Nou against Barcelona or hope that an eliminated PSV Eindhoven can shock Inter Milan at the San Siro.
Group C
Paris St. Germain 2-1 Liverpool
Paris St. Germain – Juan Bernat 13’ Neymar 37’
Liverpool – James Milner 45+2’
Napoli 3-1 Red Star Belgrade
Napoli – Marek Hamsik 11’ Dries Mertens 33’ 52’
Red Star Belgrade – El Fardou Ben Nabouhane 57’
The possibility of three teams ending up with 9 points on the final day remains in Group C.
PSG will need a victory against Red Star Belgrade to guarantee a place in the Round of 16 after getting their revenge on Liverpool. Red Star Belgrade will be looking to get the three points that could see them in the Europa League should Napoli beat Liverpool.
Liverpool will need the backing of Anfield to get a victory against a Napoli side that is unbeaten in the group.
Napoli’s win over Red Star Belgrade has them in pole position.
Group D
Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 Galatasaray
Lokomotiv Moscow – Ryan Donk 43’(og) Vladislav Ignatiev 54’
Porto 3-1 Schalke 04
Porto – Eder Militao 52’ Jesus Corona 55’ Moussa Marega 90+4’
Schalke 04 – Nabil Bentaleb 89’(pen)
Lokomotiv Moscow avoided elimination by winning their first match in the group. The win over Galatasaray allowed Schalke to advance despite their defeat to Porto.
Porto wins the group.
Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow will be fighting for a place in the Europa League in their final group match against their groupmates who have clinched ‘round of 16’ qualification.
