Tottenham have exceeded even their fans’ wildest expectations, winning their Champions League group in stylish fashion tonight with a manic 3-3 draw with FC Twente in Holland, while Rafa Benitez's Inter Milan suffered another embarrassing setback -- this time in Germany against Bremen.
Dutch side Twente are arguably one of the better teams not to make it through, though they will continue in the Europa League as third-place finishers. Tonight, they showed once again how tough they can be to handle.
It was a back and forth end-to-end contest that saw both brilliance and buffoonery, Spurs getting on the board first when the 40-year old Sander Boschker, making his Champions League debut in goal for Twente, made a blooper he’ll find hard to live down. Peter Wisgerhof sent a simple back-pass to the keeper, who kicked at it -- and missed. The ball rolled under his foot and into the net to start the scoring.
But Twente came right back, drawing a penalty when Benoit Assou-Ekotto raised his arm to shield himself inside the area from a blast from Roberto Rosales. Ref Carlos Carballo immediately pointed to the spot despite Spurs’ protests, and after encroachment nixed the first penalty attempt, Denny Landzaat sunk the second underneath a furious Heurelho Gomes. The match was barely twenty minutes old.
But it wasn’t until after the break that the goals really started to pour in, with the teams trading punches like drunks at a bar in a remarkable 19-minute stretch. First, Aaron Lennon picked Douglas’ pocket to set up Jermaine Defoe two minutes into the half. Then, Rosales was sent through to head home after Theo Janssen streaked down the left flank. Defoe would hit back three minutes later after Wilson Palacios took the ball neatly from Janssen, and fired a rocket that was well saved but not cleared by Boschker. Defoe poked the rebound home. And, then, Lennon’s foul gave Twente a free-kick that Nacer Chadli was able to curl in beautifully to tie the match up.
In the other game of the group, Werder Bremen gained their first win of the entire competition at the expense of Inter Milan, roaring to a 3-0 win that thoroughly humiliated the already-qualified Italian side.
With manager Rafael Benitez’ job already hanging by a thread after some dismal play in Serie A, one wonders if his tenure at the San Siro is coming to an end after a night when the previously hapless Germans were able to rain goals in with ease. Sebastian Prodl, Marko Arnautovic and Claudio Pizarro led the rout past an admittedly weakened visiting side.
Inter Milan now faces the prospect of encountering a Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid or Man United in the Round of 16 after finishing second in the group with the defeat and Spurs' draw -- a fact not lost on those predicting Benitez's demise as Inter's manager.
Copenhagen made history tonight, becoming the first Danish club to ever reach the round of 16 in Europe’s biggest and richest club competition.
The Danes joined Barcelona, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Schalke, Lyon and Valencia in the knockout stages tonight as Groups A-D wrapped play.
Although they had never lost a Champions League match in the Parkenstadion, FC Copenhagen had to overcome some early nerves to win out 3-1 against a Panathinaikos side with nothing to play for. The Greeks looked very much like a side merely filling out the fixture, and Cedric Kante’s stoppage time goal made the scoreline false flattery. In reality, Panthinaikos were utterly ineffective much of the night.
Copenhagen sputtered against the Greeks before getting a bit of a gift in the 26th minute. Martin Vingaard was the scorer when he took advantage of a retreating group of defenders, then shot from some 24 meters straight out. Keeper Alexandros Tzorvas seemed to move a bit too slowly and the shot went under his dive to the right-hand corner of the net. There was little positive reaction from the Greeks following the goal, so it was no surprise when manager Jossualdo Ferreira sent on young Sotiris Ninis and ex-Liverpool man Sebastian Leto to try to kick-start their attack at the start of the second half.
The Ports took the game to Schalke in the second half, making keeper Manuel Neuer earn his keep in the Germans' goal. One touch-over save in the 66th minute was especially good. After surviving that spell, Schalke made sure of the group top spot when Benedikt Howedes was alone to beat Roberto with minutes remaining.
That goal proved necessary when Luisao rose to nod in a Nicolas Gaitan corner as Benfica responded in the 87th minute. When a free kick hit the left post in stoppage time, that merely confirmed what might have been for the Lisbon side.
Lyon could have won the group had Schalke faltered, but they had to be content with second after struggling to an unlikely 2-2 draw with Hapoel Tel Aviv. The Israelis, who could have snatched a spot in Europe’s second tier competition shocked the French when they recovered from a 1-0 deficit to pound out 2-1 with two goals in six minutes. One of those goals, a bicycle kick from Eran Zahavi, will make highlight reels worldwide, but Hapoel could not hold the lead, conceding a late equalizer to sub Alexandre Lacazette.
That result let the beaten Portuguese slide into the Europa League by a single point, and ended the Israelis’ European season.
Group C was already decided, with Manchester United and Valencia only contesting top of the group, and Rangers assured of a berth in the Europa League. But top slot was valuable, and with a 1-1 draw, United ensured they will not have to face either Barcelona or Real Madrid immediately.
Valencia seized the early lead when Michael Carrick coughed the ball up to Alejandro Dominguez to set up Pablo Hernandez’s goal just past the half hour mark. But as the match wore on, United started to grow in power and confidence, and when Park Ji-Sung rocketed hit shot off the palms of Vicente Guaita to set up a rebound for Anderson, it was fully deserved.
While Rio Ferdinand had to be replaced again due to injury, manager Sir Alex Ferguson will surely be happy to have seen other members of his squad are finally starting to look like their old selves. Anderson had been mired in a slump, finally breaking out with a solid performance and his first goal of the season; Wayne Rooney began to show flashes of his pre-injury (and pre-World Cup) form; and Ben Amos looked solid in the net. But United fans should not read too much into this one game: the Spanish fielded a largely reserve side, seemingly confident that they can handle whomever they draw next.
So, there was nothing at stake but pride in Turkey where Rangers' Kenny Miller did well to collect a low cross from Steven Whitaker, then turned and shot into the top net after regaining his balance at the top of the box. That 19th minute goal sent the Scots into the dressing room on top 1-0 although the Turks had made some of the first half running.
Sercan Yildirim got Bursaspor its goal and its only point of the group stage when he settled a cross from the left and beat Allan McGregor from 10 yards. Whittaker could have done a better job of defending the pass that created the chance, but the 1-1 draw was fine enough for the Scots.
Jamie Trecker is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the UEFA Champions League.
