Lionel Messi notched his 200th goal for Barcelona in a hat trick performance as Barcelona booked their spot in the knockout round with a 4-0 thumping of Plzen. Tiny APOEL Nicosia stayed atop Group G with a shock 2-1 win over Porto and Jonas scored the second-fastest goal ever in tournament history, leading Valencia past Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 with his strike after only 12 seconds.
But the day was just as notable for who didn’t win: Racing Genk rebounded to hold to Chelsea to a 1-1 draw in Belgium while Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Marseille, a pair of results that scramble Groups E and F. And BATE Borisov held AC Milan to a famous 1-1 draw that in the end, wouldn’t matter: The Italians also booked their passage tonight thanks to Messi.
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Arsenal did everything but score in a game that, while far better than the slog we endured two weeks ago, was ultimately frustrating for both sets of fans. Marseille, outplayed for long stretches of the game, were content to settle for a draw, and they had to be encouraged by an Arsenal starting lineup that mysteriously left red-hot Robin van Persie on the bench. It would be a move Arsene Wenger would come to regret as Park Chu-Young proved overawed by the occasion and was lucky to last an hour before van Persie finally took a bow.
It was the first time in over three years that the Gunners had failed to score at home in a European tie, and it was especially galling considering that in other aspects of the game, Arsenal looked very solid. The return of Thomas Vermaelen settled what has been a porous defense, and Mikel Arteta and Alex Song were dominant in midfield.
Where Arsenal fell apart was up top. Gervinho’s first touch was terrible all night long, and visiting keeper Steve Mandanda was never really tested. The result does leave Arsenal a point clear in Group F, but now they must play host to a Dortmund side that got a gritty win at the BVB Stadion.
A super goal from Kevin Grosskreutz gave the Germans that much-need victory and preserved some hope of their sneaking into the knockout stages. The 23-year-old German international teed up a shot from the edge of the area after being set up by Mario Goetze, a blast that swerved past keeper `Balzaz Megyri in only the seventh minute. Despite a series of close calls, particularly on set pieces, Olympiakos were never able to break down Dortmund for the remainder of the game, with Roman Weidenfeller making several impressive saves to preserve the win. Dortmund now sit third on four points.
There was no drama in Plzen where a Barcelona side without the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and David Villa still made mincemeat of the bottom-feeders. Lionel Messi scored three goals, the first his 200th for the club; Victor Valdes made the big one save necessary on the night and Pep Guardiola's team strolled to the victory.
Messi, himself, was fouled in the 24th minute before scoring from the spot. He added his second in first half injury time, then also scored in stoppage time at the end of the match. Cesc Fabregas, with a four-yard, wide-open header got Barcelona's other tally against over-matched opposition.
Chelsea will rue their fortune tonight in Belgium after David Luiz failed to convert a penalty kick that would have given Chelsea a win and a sure slot in the next round. After a spell that has seen the Blues drop games to both QPR and Arsenal — and was hit with the news pre-game that John Terry is under investigation by the police for racist abuse of Anton Ferdinand — Chelsea are enduring what manager Andre Villas-Boas candidly admitted was a “disastrous week.”
The Blues dominated large spells of this match, first going ahead after neat interplay between Fernando Torres and Ramires saw the Brazilian score, then getting a clear penalty call after Thomas Buffel handled the ball. But David Luiz’s touch from the spot was nervous, and a gleeful Laszlo Koteles was able to save it with ease. That proved just the tonic the Belgians needed as Chelsea target Kevin de Bruyne got his side into gear, ultimately starting the play that would lead to Jelle Vossen’s equalizer.
For Chelsea, the result pointed up how fragile their aging spine truly is. Terry did not play; Nicolas Anelka was useless; and even the introduction of Frank Lampard could not break the deadlock. But the fact is, luck is against them: Had Florent Malouda’s chip not been scrambled off the line late, this story would be very different. Yet the point was no less than the Belgians deserved after a growing into the game. The disastrous week is becoming far more. Chelsea stayed top, barely, thanks to Valencia.
Los Che kept their European hopes alive in Spain, although they wasted the advantage of a goal scored in just 12 seconds. Jonas was the scorer when Leverkusen `keeper Bernd Leno played a simple clearance directly to the opposing striker, who buried the 18-yard chance to record the second-fastest goal in Champions League history.
Valencia stayed on top for the next 20 minutes but failed to add to their lead, and when Michael Ballack's cross found Stefan Kiessling to head Leverkusen level in the 30th minute, it appeared that the Germans had weathered the early storm.
Just when the Spaniards appeared to be hitting the wall, Roberto Soldado produced a piece of magic, back-heeling Jeremy Mathieu's cross under Leno's body to restore the Valencia lead in the 65th minute. Adil Rami's header off a corner 10 minutes later wrapped it up for Valencia and allowed them to climb right back into group contention.
In Minsk, BATE Borisov produced a famous result but was fortunate that its match with AC Milan finished 1-1. No matter: Thanks to Messi, AC Milan is through to the knockout stages.
The Belarusians were full value for hard work and endeavor, but had Robinho not squandered a clean breakaway chance that would have salted the match away in the first half, BATE would never have been in position to level the account. And had the match officials – remember, there are five of them for Champions League play -- not looked the other way when Marko Simic appeared to handle a Kevin Prince-Boateng shot on the goal line in the second half, Milan might still have escaped with all three points.
As it was, the Serie A side looked a class better at times in the opening half, then lost its way completely in the second after Renan Bressan's 53rd minute penalty squared things. There was no doubt about that penalty, either: Ignazio Abate clearly shoving Artyom Kontsevoi off the ball in the area when he really didn't need to bother the BATE attacker at all.
Milan had gone ahead in the 22nd minute thanks to a fine finish from Zlatan Ibrahimovic off a feed from Robinho. That pair bedeviled the home side throughout the entire opening spell, but when the Brazilian lost his touch on an absolutely wide open breakaway and wound up striking a shot off the post, the air went out of Milan's game.
BATE never really looked like winning - they have never won a group stage match for that matter - but the smooth-passing Milan of the first half disappeared under the home team's pressure. Still, when Boateng forced Aleksandr Hutar into a fine reaction save, then pounced on the rebound midway through the second half, it appeared the Italians would certainly score.
Simic, at the near post, leaned, appearing to block the shot with a combination of his shoulder and upper arm. Claims for a penalty were ignored - at least three of the five officials appeared to have a good view - and the Belarussians wound up celebrating at the final whistle.
The result of the night - perhaps of the entire competition to date - came in Nicosi,a where APOEL stunned two-time European champions FC Porto with a goal in the final minute after it appeared that their heroic labors had been dashed by a late Porto penalty.
Just after Hulk had calmly slotted home an 89th minute spot kick that appeared to allow Porto to wriggle off the hook, the Portuguese defense broke down dramatically, and Gustavo Manduca scored the goal which sent the home crowd into a celebration. It also left APOEL top of the group, one point above Zenit and four clear of Porto. Shakhtar now sits last, six behind the Cypriots in what is turning into a fairy tale.
For much of the night APOEL contained everything that Porto could contrive and did more than enough attacking to keep the visitors from setting up shop. The Cypriots went ahead in the 42nd minute when Eliaquim Mangala brought down the APOEL danger man Ailton in the area to concede a penalty that the Brazilian striker put away with ease.
The second half belonged largely to Porto in terms of chances, but APOEL blocked virtually every lane and appeared to be home and dry when Hulk launched one more raid. He found James Rodriguez, who was fouled in the area to set up the match-tying penalty kick.
Porto, however, may have thought the job was complete. They lost their focus when Tano Solari, a late substitute, ran down the middle at them, and suddenly there was a huge gap to exploit. Solari found Constantinos Charalambides alone wide right and sent a perfect pass; Charalambides then strode forward, spotting Manduca flying down the open left channel. The cross came over, Manduca made no mistake and APOEL had probably its best-ever victory.
In the early game, Zenit got a big lift from a hobbling Danny, dispatching a wasteful Shakhtar Donetsk side with a goal in first half stoppage from Nico Lombaerts. Olexandr Rybka was brilliant in the nets for Shakhtar, saving two clear goals from Roman Shirokov and Aleksandr Buhkraov in the first half alone with agile, one-handed stops, but he could not keep out Lombaerts’ header off a corner.
The Ukranians can have no one to blame but themselves. With Shakhtar looking disjointed all night long and getting nothing but defending out of front runners Willian and Luiz Adriano, Zenit was simply better at every position. The fact that the Russsians wasted at least a half-dozen good chances bodes ill for the next stage of the competition, but tonight, Zenit looked stiffer on defense, better on the ball in midfield, and at least put the ball on frame. It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes that Eduardo flared into life for Shakhtar, but by then, it was far too late.
The result was a massive blow to Shakhtar, who now sit dead last on two points with only two games left to play, and those against Porto and surprise package APOEL. Shakhtar will also now miss Dario Srna for that critical next game against Porto after the captain was carded.
