[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Juventus qualified for the Champions League knockout phase when Alessandro del Piero scored twice in a 2-0 win at Real Madrid in Wednesday's group action. Arsenal and Manchester United were both held to ties, but both still look set to progress, while Porto came from behind to win on the road at Dynamo Kiev. Bayern Munich and Lyon are also looking good for spring's round of 16.
Del Piero's resurgence continued as Juventus went four points clear at the top of Group H on his excellent brace, the first a left-footed effort from outside the penalty area, the second a direct free-kick from around the same distance. "The result does not reflect what happened in the game as we were superior to Juventus," claimed Real coach Bernd Schuster. "We had clear chances but you can't afford to miss them in the Champions League. There are two games left and we will see if we can finish first or second in the group."
Indeed Russian champion Zenit St. Petersburg is now only two points behind Real after its first win, on the road at BATE Borisov in Belarus thanks to a first half goal from Pavel Pogrebnyak and a late clincher from Portuguese midfielder Danny. This was in spite of being down to 10 men after the dismissal of French defender Sebastien Puygrenier. Even BATE, with just two points, is not out of the reckoning yet.
In Group E, Manchester United had to rely on an equalizer from Ryan Giggs with just six minutes left to snatch a point after Glasgow Celtic had taken an early lead through a lovely lob from Scott McDonald. Giggs headed in the rebound from a swerving Cristiano Ronaldo shot that goalkeeper Artur Boruc stopped but could not hold. "All I asked of the players was that they show some pride tonight," said Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, "and they did that in spades." Fighting for pride rather than actually winning anything being a great tradition in Scottish soccer.
Aalborg scored two highlight-reel goals against Villarreal, but it was only enough to get them a point. Giuseppe Rossi scored for Villarreal first, a neat left-footed effort into the bottom corner, but then Jeppe Curth smacked home an equalizer after being set up by a cute backheel from Brazilian midfielder Caca. In fact Villarreal's go-ahead goal was another cracker, Guillermo Franco chesting down a lob and crashing home a volley before Anders Due curled in the sweetest of free kicks with his left foot to end the game at 2-2. American Jozy Altidore did not suit up for Villarreal, which along with Manchester United have eight points, six points clear of both Celtic and Aalborg with just two group games left.
Bayern Munich is in a similar position in Group F after tying its game at Fiorentina with 12 minutes to go when Tim Borowski capitalized on a defensive error to convert, canceling out Adrian Mutu's sumptuous first-half volley for the home team. Lyon also eight points after dispatching Steaua Bucharest with ease on goals from Juninho — a free kick that was fumbled by Steaua's Colombian keeper, Robinson Zapata — and a nice late counter-attack goal from Anthony Reveillere. Lyon coach Claude Puel said that after scoring the first goal just before halftime, his team "stayed well organized against a quality opponent. In difficult conditions, we truly did what was necessary this evening."
In Group G, Arsenal's poor form continued with a 0-0 home tie against Fenerbahce, a team they put five past just two weeks ago on the road. The north London side dominated, but missed several good first-half opportunities. "In the second half, physically we dropped and we were not creative any more," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
The group's still open after Porto won 2-1 at Dynamo Kiev, the visitors dominating the game until it went behind to a goal from Kiev's Artem Milevsky. Rolando leveled for Porto with 20 minutes left before an eventful stoppage time for the Portuguese champion's Argentine midfielder Lucho Gonzalez. First he scored the winner with a crisp volley, then he was dismissed for taking off his shirt to celebrate, his second yellow card offense of the evening. Rather than protest, Gonzalez instead wore the look of a guilty schoolboy that he will miss his side's crucial next game, on the road at Arsenal.
RESULTS:
Group E
Celtic 1 (McDonald) Manchester United 1 (Giggs)
Aalborg 2 (Curth, Due) Villarreal 2 (Rossi, Franco)
Standings: Man United (8 points), Villarreal (8), Celtic (2), Aalborg (2).
Group F
Fiorentina 1 (Mutu) Bayern Munich 1 (Borowski)
Lyon 2 (Juninho, Reveillere) Steaua Bucharest 0
Standings: Lyon (8 points), Bayern (8), Fiorentina (3), Steaua (1).
Group G
Dynamo Kiev 1 (Milevsky) FC Porto 2 (Rolando, Lucho Gonzalez)
Arsenal 0 Fenerbahce 0
Standings: Arsenal (8 points), FC Porto (6), Kiev (5), Fenerbahce (2)
Group H
BATE 0 Zenit St Petersburg 2 (Pogrebnyak, Danni)
Real Madrid 0 Juventus 2 (del Piero 2)
Standings: Juve (10 points), Real (6), Zenit (4), BATE (2)