The final round of the group stages of the Champions League is in the book. The hustle and bustle of European football is over until next February.
Matchday five highlights included an impressive win for Chelsea at Sevilla. Olivier Giroud was the hero of the night with all four strikes, a shock defeat for Real Madrid at Shakhtar Donetsk earned a historic double over The Whites. There was a narrow win for a youthful Liverpool side over Ajax in the battle of the historical heavyweights. And Group H served up a treat with RB Leipzig’s thrilling 4-3 away win against Istanbul Basaksehir. Also, there was a crucial win for Paris Saint-Germain at Manchester United.
That was the penultimate round of European fixtures. So let’s check out the five takeaways from this final matchday of the Champions League this calendar year:
Champions League Matchday Six: Barcelona Thrashed and Manchester United Knocked Out
Barcelona Humbled at Home
Barcelona are going through one of their worst spells in recent history. Shocked by Cádiz in La Liga followed by a comprehensive beating by Juventus. A goal by Weston Mckennie was part of the story with the American scoring his first Champions League goal for Juventus in fairytale fashion. He has now scored in back to back games after netting in Serie A the previous game.
However, in the cinematic battle between footballing icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it was the Portuguese who stole the show. He successfully converted two penalties and dominated the game. He has now scored 19 goals against Barcelona, which is the most goals conceded to one player in history. If it was to be the last dance between the two giants, Ronaldo earned his Juventus stripes.
It was also a special night for goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon who kept a clean sheet. He became the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in four different decades from the 1990s until the present day.
Manchester United Knocked Out
If it was a boxing match, United suffered a late knockout blow from matchday six, losing to RB Leipzig 3-2. The Red Devils were 3-0 down and could have suffered more of a beating. However, they did climb off the canvas to rally late on, clawing back two goals. But it was to no avail and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side exited the competition. They now have to contend with Europa League football and juggle the notoriously difficult Thursday and Premier League fixtures. Back in 2017, United were victorious the competition but it is certainly no Christmas present.
Racism Rears Ugly Head Once More
The match between Paris Saint Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir originally lasted only 14 minutes. This was due to Istanbul Assistant Coach Pierre Webo receiving a racist comment from the fourth official referee. Subsequently, all the players decided to walk off in an act of solidarity with the match abandoned later in the night.
However, UEFA declared that the match would resume the day after from the 14th minute with a new set of officials designated. Paris ended up winning the game comfortably 5-1 to top the group. Neymar would score a hat trick and Kylian Mbappe secured the game with the other two goals.
But the match will be remembered for a landmark moment for eradicating racism. Both teams gained recognition for their original stance to leave the field of play. Therefore, it was a resounding victory for kicking out racism in the game.
Real Madrid Rise to the Occasion
When the big games arrive, Real Madrid more often than not come good. And they did again thanks to a 2-0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach. Once again their talisman was striker Karim Benzema with two goals. Those were the crucial goals which ensured Madrid progressed through to the knockout stages. In addition, it meant they did not suffer the ignominy of dropping into the Europa League to play in the former UEFA Cup for the first time since 1995.
It was clear that Madrid were not at their sparkling best but got the job done with a routine win. They will believe they can lift ‘their’ cup once again. It is simply written in their DNA. For now, though, it is business as usual.
It is not business as usual for Inter Milan, though. Antonio Conte’s men remarkably finished bottom of this group and crashed out of Europe altogether.
Atalanta Squeeze Through Over Ajax in Champions League
The Italian’s made it through to the knockout round thanks to a late Luis Muriel strike. Although Ajax dominated and had a golden opportunity from Davy Klaassen with the score 0-0, it was not their night. Also, there was a red card from Ryan Gravenberch, which turned the game Atalanta’s way. So it is they who progress to Monday’s Champions League draw.
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