Skibbe sees perfection in Leverkusen

Coach Michael Skibbe hailed a "perfect match" as his Bayer 04 Leverkusen side topped Group G with a 5-0 victory at FC Zürich, while on a night of big wins for German teams FC Bayern München defeated Aris Thessaloniki FC 6-0.

'Perfect match'
Both Leverkusen and Zürich went into the match already sure of a place in the Round of 32, but first place in the section was still to be settled. However, the Bundesliga side – who have won five of their last six league matches – ran out convincing victors. Goals from Vratislav Greško, Tranquillo Barnetta, Stefan Kiessling and two from Dmitri Bulykinto saw Leverkusen leapfrog both the Swiss side and FC Spartak Mosvka and Skibbe was generous in his praise for his players. "This was simply a perfect match from my team," he said. "We played well for the entire 90 minutes and deservedly won. Winning our group is icing on the cake after a great first half of the season."

Next round advantage
It was Leverkusen's biggest away win in the UEFA Cup, their only better result in European competition being a 6-1 victory at JK Tervis Pärnu in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1995. It earned top spot in the section and the club's sporting director, Rudi Völler, was quick to stress the value of finishing first. "I'm happy about this great result and the fact this win gave us top spot in the group," he said. "This is going to work to our advantage in the next tie."

Toni goal glut
In Group F, Bayern were busier recording an even bigger win, 6-0 against, to top their section. Italian striker Luca Toni was the hero, scoring four goals to become the joint leading goalscorer in the competition in his first season in European club football. "Luca just knows where the ball will come to, he is ice cold in front of the goal and is always keeping two or three opponents occupied," Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said. The goal spree was a good response to Bayern's recent dip in form in the league which had seen them held to successive goalless draws. "It was important to end our year on a high note and to give the fans a nice Christmas present," Hitzfeld added.

Cup contrast
With Hamburger SV already through, Germany's presence in the knockout stage could be complete if 1. FC Nürnberg manage to qualify from Group A tonight. The good results for Bundesliga clubs in the UEFA Cup contrasts sharply with their display in the UEFA Champions League where VfB Stuttgart and Werder Bremen failed to progress and FC Schalke 04 narrowly made it through from Group B.