Champions League 11/26/2013

What a brilliant round of fixtures we saw today! With goals in all but one of the match-ups, let's get right down to business! In the first game of the day, Zenit St. Petersburg were able to tie Atletico Madrid 1-1 in a tight affair in Russia that saw the hosts dominate their guests in terms of possession with 62% of the ball. Zenit also had more opportunities than Atletico though all in all it was a very good game. Atletico continue their unbeaten run as Zenit must wait until the final match of the group-stage to achieve their qualification hopes. Probably the most surprising result was Basel's 1-0 victory in Switzerland over Chelsea to deny the English side a place in the knock-out round at least for today. The hosts waited until the dying minutes of the match to strike through Mohamed Salah in the 87th minute setting up a nail-biting final minutes as the Blues tried to equalize unsuccessfully. The 0-0 draw between Steaua and Schalke in Romania, however, means that any of the top three teams in Group E can make it to the next round depending on the results of the final group games which will poise Schalke against Basel and Chelsea welcoming Steaua to England. Wrapping up Group G really quickly, Porto tied 1-1 with Austria Wien meaning the Austrians have no hope of progressing while Zenit and Porto will be eying one another for the 2nd position spot into the next round. Up in Scotland, Celtic essentially banged their head into a wall for 90 minutes as attempt after attempt went wanting and AC Milan struck three times to sink the B'hoys. In the other Group H fixture, Ajax were surprising victors over Barcelona in an affair in Amsterdam that ended 2-1 for the Dutch. In the process, Ajax knocked Celtic out of contention and set-up a mouth-watering final match with Milan-Barca and Ajax-Celtic deciding who will make it out of this contentious group. Last but certainly not least: Group F. With the likes of Arsenal, Dortmund, and Napoli, it was always going to be a close one and it has proved nothing less! As Marseille continued their dismal form, going 5 games without securing a single point in the table, Arsenal completed a 2-0 match-up against the French side. In the other match-up, Dortmund and Napoli put on a grand display with the Germans securing a 3-1 victory over their Italian competitors. The result means that Arsenal take poll position at 12 points as Dortmund and Napoli each have 9. Depending on how the last set of games go, any of the three teams may well make it through. Given their terrible form thus far, Dortmund should feel confident going to Marseille on December 11th while Napoli will hope that they perform better at home when they host Arsenal on the same day. Keep an eye out for the games coming tomorrow!