Liverpool not so lucky...

Matchday 4 was a significant round for eleven out of the thirty two competing teams, six securing their places in the knockout stages, whilst five others dropped out of qualifying, respectively. Competition has been strong throughout the group stages, and with only two rounds left, the remaining teams will be looking to book their round of sixteen places as soon as possible.

Group A

Proceedings begin in Group A where Bordeaux continue to impress with a two-nil victory away to Bayern Munich. However, the victory was not as comfortable as the score line might have suggested with Bayern coming close several times, even with talismanic Frank Ribery on the sidelines. Gourcuff made Bayern pay for some sloppy defending on 37-minutes when he got on the end of a set piece. Arjen Robben was introduced at the break and Toni should have equalised when he blazed a quite glorious chance over the bar. Things remained tense until Chamakh killed the game after an embarrassing defensive lapse between Badstuber and Butt.

The other game in the group saw Juventus win a gritty match against Maccabi Haifa. Camoranesi scored the sole goal in the one-nil win on the stroke of half time in a game which didn’t always promise much. Diego was impressive in the heart of the Juventus midfield, orchestrating much of the attack, whilst Maccabi’s best chance came when Refaelov’s 77^th-minute cross was just out of reach for the incoming players. Juventus now sit comfortably on the top of the group, whilst a goal-less and pointless campaign ensures Maccabi can only finish in the Europa League spot at best.

Group B

We turn attention to the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ as Manchester United scored two late goals to secure a dramatic three-all draw with CSKA Moscow. February 2005 was the last time United had been defeated at home, but that record was in danger when CSKA’s Berezutski scored to give the Russian side a two goal cushion. However, a Paul Scholes 84^th-minute header gave the Red Devils hope, and when Valencia tried his luck from distance in added time, a deflection helped United grab a share of the spoils. The result was good enough, though, to secure a place in the second round and meant United didn’t pay for any missed opportunities.

Meanwhile, Wolfsburg put three on the board as they beat Besiktas in a dominant performance.  A wonderful, early, Misimovic goal set the tone, as victory was confirmed by Gentner in the 80^th-minute. Džeko then iced the cake with three minutes on the clock. Injury-struck Besiktas sit bottom of the group with one point, whilst Wolfsburg have a brilliant opportunity to try and claim a spot in the knockout stages in their maiden Champions League campaign.

Group C

The AC-Madrid blockbuster was the headliner in this Matchday, the one-all draw seeing both clubs walk away with a point after an entertaining affair. First half goals from Benzema and Ronaldinho, respectively, saw the sides endure a nervous half time break. Pato looked to have brought his form from their last meeting to this match, constantly proving a danger to the Madrid goal. A wonderful opportunity popped up for Inzaghi in the 83^rd-minute who uncharacteristically wasted the chance. However, Raul might have thought he had won the match after he saw his shot fantastically saved by Dida with minutes remaining.

Marseille took full advantage of the glamour draw by hitting Zurich for six in great display of attack. There were six different goal scorers for the French club, and three goals in the last ten minutes put Zurich to the sword furthermore. Zurich although, had a chance when Alphonse scored on 31-minutes to half Marseille’s two goal lead. However, Niang scored a well crafted goal on 51-minutes to set up the second half romp. One point is the only difference now between Marseille and top spot, AC above Madrid only by goal difference.

Group D

A late Didier Drogba brace, on his return to European football, saw Chelsea grab a two-all draw with Athletico, ensuring qualification into the next round.  However, Aguero scored a brace of his own – coincidentally Athletico’s first goals in the group stage – as he equalised in the 92^nd-minute. It was not enough for Athletico though, as they no longer can qualify for the business stages of the competition.