Champions’ League Match Day 5 Round Up(2nd Day)

My gosh! I had never seen so many hat-tricks in juz one match day in the Champions’ League! There’s a total of THREE hat-trick heroes this morning in the 8 matches played. Goals is certainly not lacking today in the midst of controversial defensive tactics that teams use to shut out their opponents.

Fenerbahce 0-4 AC Milan
First hat-trick hero of the night: Andriy Shevchenko. The powerful Ukrainian forward scored ALL 4 goals for AC Milan to bring them top of the group. Fenerbahce, the Turkish champion, had no answer to the almighty Italian giant. They’re now being eliminated from the group stages but they still have a chance of competing in the UEFA Cup if they manage to beat PSV in match day 6.

Schalke 04 3-0 PSV Eindhoven
Second hat-trick hero of the night: Kobiashvili. He scored all the goals for the German team to win himself the match day ball. PSV failed to react to the early goal scored n crumbled when Kobiashvili scored twice within 7 minutes in the 2^nd half. Starting at the top before match day 5, PSV is now on the 3^rd spot, still with a fairly high chance of progressing into the next round.

Real Madrid 1-1 Lyon
Guti of Real scored just b4 half time, only to have his goal cancelled out by dynamic forward John Carew with a cheeky back heel goal. Lyon is now guaranteed top spot in the group, leaving nothing much to play for in match day 6 a fortnight later. Both Real Madrid n Lyon were through to the next round after match day 4 two weeks ago.

Rosenborg 1-1 Olympiakos
Both teams were already eliminated, leaving them fighting for the 3^rd spot in the group in order to compete in the UEFA Cup. Former Brazilian international Rivaldo scored for the Greek club but had his team mate, Pantos, sent off in the 85^th minute. Helstad of Rosenborg equalized shortly after Olympiakos were down to 10 men to snatch a point.

Anderlecht 0-2 Chelsea
Agony again for Anderlecht as the Belgian champion recorded their 11^th straight Champions’ League match defeat. Goals from Crespo n Carvalho secured the points for The Blues. It was a stroll in the park as Chelsea was already 2-0 up with only 15 minutes of the game gone.

Liverpool 0-0 Real Betis
A tense affair at Anfield once again with both sides failing to score. Peter Crouch n Fernando Morientes of Liverpool missed glorious chances to put The Reds up by half time. Betis fought all the way till the end but Pool held on to guarantee themselves a place in the next round. Liverpool vs Chelsea match 2 weeks later will determine who will top the group.

FC Porto 1-1 Rangers
Lopez scored for Porto but McCormack of Rangers equalized in the 83^rd minute t salvage a point for the Scottish club. Once again, Porto failed to kill off their opponents at home. It may prove costly if they fail to qualify for the next round after match day 6 two weeks later.

Inter Milan 4-0 Artmedia Bratislava
The third n last hat-trick hero of the day: Adriano. Former Real Madrid star Luis Figo opened the account for Inter with Adriano adding another 3, 1 just b4 half time and another 2 in the 2^nd half. Inter is now guaranteed top spot in the group n a place in the next round, leaving the remaining 3 teams (Rangers, Artmedia & Porto) to battle it out for the 2^nd spot in the group. Things will be very close n expect an exciting finale in this group.