Wednesday, November 27, 2013

PSG AND MAN UNITED BOOK THEIR PLACES IN ROUND OF 16

PSG and Manchester United progressed to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League as they defeated Olympiakos and Bayer Leverkusen respectively. Manchester United comfortably reached the Champions League knockout phase with a 5-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen. Antonio Valencia set David Moyes' side on their way with a goal at the back post on 22 minutes, before Emir Spahic's own goal doubled their lead before half-time.Jonny Evans added a third in the 65th minute from close range, Chris Smalling tapped in to make it 4-0 before a superb finish from Nani completed the rout.Douglas Costa's second-half double helped Shakhtar Donetsk end Real Sociedad's hopes of reaching the knockout stage with a 4-0 win at the Donbass Arena.Luiz Adriano and Alex Teixeira also scored for the Ukrainian side to claim a victory, which combined with United's 5-0 defeat of  Leverkusen in Germany, moved Shakhtar up into second place in Group A.The defeat for Sociedad means they are destined to finish fourth in the group, thereby ending their European campaign this season. Shakhtar's fate remains in their own hands.In Group C, a late goal from Edinson Cavani secured Paris Saint-Germain's place in the last 16 as they beat Olympiakos2-1.Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock on seven minutes but the Ligue 1 club were unable to make sure of their success, as Olympiakos hit back with 10 minutes left through Kostas Manolas.However, in the dying stages of the game Cavani proved the matchwinner as he slotted home following Marquinhos' assist.Chile striker Arturo Vidal kept Juventus alive in the Champions League as his hat trick earned them a 3-1 winover FC Copenhagen.Antonio Conte's men headed into this Group B clash knowing their margin for error was getting smaller and that a failure to win could leave progression out of their hands or even off the table.That was looking as though it could be the case too when former Juve defender Olof Mellberg cancelled out Vidal's first-half penalty.Mellberg would change the game again shortly after, though, giving away another penalty which Vidal tucked away before completing his hat-trick.The outcome is that Juve head to Galatasaray in the final group game knowing they can guarantee qualification with a win and, considering Copenhagen next face Real Madrid, could well do so with a draw.Substitute Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko kept Manchester City's hopes of topping Group D alive by securing a 4-2 winover Viktoria Plzen.With a place in the last 16 already secured, City were below par at the Etihad Stadium and were twice pegged back by the Czech minnows.Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri both put Manuel Pellegrini's men ahead but Tomas Horava and Stanislav Tecl responded, before Negredo and Dzeko finally clinched victory in the last 12 minutes.Pellegrini had made seven changes for the match -- including restoring England goalkeeper Joe Hart -- but it needed the late introduction of Negredo to finally tilt the game their way.Dzeko, who had laboured for little reward, put the game beyond doubt in the last minute, setting up a potential group decider with Bayern Munich next month.Defending champions Bayern Munich almost certainly wrapped up top spot in Champions League Group D with a 3-1 victory over CSKA Moscow at Khimki Arena.An efficient performance in front of goal ensured Bayern did not slip up in the snowy conditions as Arjen Robben, Mario Goetze and a Thomas Mueller penalty did the damage.The victory was Bayern's 10th in a row in the UEFA Champions League competition to beat Barcelona's previous record from 2002.

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