Were now half way through the third game week of the Champions League and what a dramatic night we had tonight. In 90 minutes of action we had some great goals, red cards, comebacks and last minute winners. All in all it was a disappointing night for the British sides in action with only one side managing to win a match as both Chelsea and Celtic suffered defeat. Manchester United virtually booked their place in the knockout stages with a come from behind win over Braga. So let's have a look at the results and how the tables shape up halfway through the group stages.
Starting with Group E and a disappointing night for Chelsea. The holders were defeated 2-1 by Shakhtar Donetsk after a poor performance which will have manager Roberto Di Matteo worried ahead of the clash with Manchester United on Sunday. Shakhtar went two goals ahead with strikes from Teixeira and Fernandinho. Oscar's late goal gave hope in the final few minutes but Chelsea can have few complaints with the result which leaves them in second place in the group, three points behind Shakhtar who lead on seven points. In the groups other game Juventus failed to take advantage of Chelsea's defeat when they struggled to a 1-1 draw with Nordsjaelland in Denmark. The Italian giants fell behind in the 50th minute to a goal from Mikkel Beckmann as Juve failed to make their pressure pay. Substitute Mirko Vucinic rescued a point in the 81st minute for the Italians as they remain third in the group although they will regret not taking another of their 23 shots on goal.
On to Group F and Valencia scored three second half goals to overcome Bate Borisov in Belarus. Roberto Soldado was the star of the show with three goals including one from the penalty spot as the Spaniards moved top of the group. Bate and Valencia are now both on six points with just goal difference between them. Bate shocked Bayern Munich in their last game but never looked like repeating it against a far superior Valencia. Last years beaten finalists Munich got back on track with a 1-0 win over Lille. A Thomas Muller penalty was enough for the Germans to join Bate and Valencia on six points as this group remains wide open. Lille are now on the brink of elimination after a disappointing three defeats from three games.
Group G two close games as both Barcelona and Spartak Moscow won by two goals to one but in much different circumstances. Moscow finally got their first points of the campaign with a victory over Benfica in Russia. Goals from Rafael Carioca (3) and an own goal from Jardel (44) were enough to earn the win for the Russian outfit. Midfielder Lima had brought Benfica level after 33 minutes but it was Moscow who would grab the winner. Meanwhile Celtic were on the verge of a huge point at the Nou Camp until Jordi Alba scored in the 94th minute to give Barcelona a deserved three points. Scottish champions Celtic took a surprise lead through Giorgos Samaras but in truth it was completely against the run of play. Barcelona had 82% possession and a stunning goal from Iniesta brought them level before a late winner from Alba.
And finally to Group H and Manchester United once again fell behind before coming good to take all three points and maintain their 100% record this season. This time they fell two goals down against Braga with two goals from Alan setting the Portuguese side up for a shock win. Two goals from Javier Hernandez and one in between for Jonny Evans saw United make yet another comeback. It was another example of how much they are missing injured defenders Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Nemanja Vidic as Michael Carrick was forced to deputise in central defence. Galatasaray got their first point of the group when they drew 1-1 against CFR Cluj in Turkey but they will be disappointed they didn't make their dominance count. They had 72% possession but after a Nounkeu own goal put Cluj ahead the Turkish side were forced to wait until the 77th minute for an equaliser which came from substitute Burak Yilmaz. Cluj defender Matias Aguirregaray was sent off in the first half which in the end cost the Romanian side all three points but they do remain in second place, five points behind Man United.
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