Four wins from four for qualified Chelsea
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Article summary
Chelsea FC emulated FC Barcelona by reaching the knockout stage with two games to spare while SL Benfica are all but there themselves after a narrow away win on matchday four.
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Group C
Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 RSC Anderlecht
Paris's early dominance bore fruit when Hervin Ongenda's through ball split the Anderlecht defence and Jean-Kévin Augustin finished with aplomb. Les Mauves et Blanc equalised on the break midway through the first half, however. Samuel Bastien ran down the right and crossed to the back post, where Andy Kawaya was quickest to react. PSG continued to enjoy most of the possession but were thwarted in their attempt to retake the lead by Xavier Gies, who saved Ongenda's 26th-minute penalty. The hosts' Christian Kipre was sent off in added time for a second bookable offence.
Olympiacos FC 0-1 SL Benfica
Benfica are on the cusp of the knockout phase after this narrow success in Piraeus. Gonçalo Guedes's 70th-minute intervention, the forward firing the loose ball past keeper Giorgos Strezos after a part-clearance by the Olympiacos defence, means the Eagles need a point or to avoid a defeat by three goals or more when they visit Anderlecht later this month.
Group E
FC Basel 1893 1-3 FC Steaua Bucureşti
Toni Grădinaru scored twice in the closing stages as Steaua moved off the foot of the section at the expense of their Swiss hosts. Basel, having seen more of the ball and fashioned some decent chances, landed the first telling blow two minutes before the interval. Veljko Simić passed up the opportunity to shoot and instead fed the better-positioned Neftali Manzambi. Steaua grew in strength in the second half, equalising just after the hour through Ionuţ Mitriţă. Grădinura then wrapped up the Romanian team's first win late on. They now trail second-placed FC Schalke 04, their next oppponents, by two points.
Chelsea FC 1-0 FC Schalke 04
Chelsea maintained their perfect record, and qualified for the last 16 as pool winners, courtesy of a fine free-kick by Lewis Baker. Influential throughout, the England Under-19 international curled a right-footed shot into the top corner after 17 minutes. Despite having a number of chances to increase their advantage, the Londoners failed to capitalise on their first-half supremacy and had goalkeeper Mitchell Beeney to thank for denying Leroy Sané, Thilo Kehrer and, twice, substitute Donis Avdijaj.
Group F
SSC Napoli 2-0 Olympique de Marseille
Napoli coach Giampaolo Saurini spoke of an "almost perfect" game after his side climbed off the bottom of the group and into second place. Gennaro Tutino was the match winner for the Partenopei, scoring in each half, his second goal a penalty awarded for a foul by visiting captain Gabriel Dubois, who was subsequently dismissed. Marseille's Antoine Rabillard failed from the spot with 21 minutes left after Anthony Gimenes had been impeded by Sebastiano Luperto. "We can qualify, but we have to win against Borussia Dortmund [on 26 November]," added Saurini.
Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Arsenal FC
Dortmund, now a point adrift of Napoli, recovered from two down. Arsenal were good value for their 28th-minute lead, gained when Austin Lipman scored from a central position after being supplied by Jon Toral on the left. Provider then turned scorer, only for the Schwarzgelben to halve their arrears three minutes before half-time when Ogün Gümüstas headed in Linus Schewior's right-wing cross. Nick Weber sealed the comeback in the early stages of the second half, capping some neat combination play.
Group G
FC Zenit 1-2 FC Porto
Despite being on the back foot for long stretches, it was the hosts who seized the initiative on the half-hour mark when Stepan Rebenko nodded in from a corner. The visitors restored parity two minutes into the second period, though, Luís Rafael levelling from close range. Rafael then teed up André Silva – impressive throughout – to complete the turnaround as Porto posted their second victory.
Club Atlético de Madrid 2-1 FK Austria Wien
The contest was three minutes old when Austria forward Valentin Grubeck struck from a corner. Alberto quickly responded, converting smartly from another set piece, before Borja Martínez linked up intelligently with Ivi to make it two. Marko Kvasina rattled the crossbar after the restart but Atlético were otherwise untroubled as they went level on points with their opponents and Porto at the top of the section.
Reporting team: Jérémie Bennoun, Aurélien Sagnier, Cathia Roth, William Anselmo, Jamie Reid, Matthias Rötters, Paris Ayiomamitis
