Deportivo send Bayern crashing

FC Bayern München were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League after losing their crucial Group G game against RC Deportivo La Coruña 2-1 in Spain.

Makaay matchwinner
Bayern simply had to win to maintain any hopes of progressing but Dutchman Roy Makaay was the man who put the final nail in the coffin of a disastrous campaign for Ottmar Hitzfeld's side with an 89th-minute winner. Víctor Sánchez had earlier given Deportivo a 54th-minute lead which Roque Santa Cruz temporarily cancelled out on 77 minutes. To add to the four-times European champions' despair, they are also now condemned to finish bottom of their group and therefore miss out on a place in the UEFA Cup.

Deportivo still not through
Despite their win, Deportivo are still not certain of their place in the second group stage after RC Lens came from behind to beat AC Milan, who are definitely through, 2-1. Andriy Shevchenko put the Serie A side ahead early on only for Lens to level matters through Daniel Moreira four minutes before the break. In the 49th minute John Utaka struck the home side's second to leave them two points behind Deportivo ahead of final games against Bayern and Milan respectively.

Perfect start
Juventus FC booked their place in the second group stage as they comfortably beat Feyenoord 2-0 in Turin. Marco Di Vaio got the Turin side off to a perfect start with a fourth-minute header from a Mauro Camoranesi cross, and the striker added the second midway through the second half.

Newcastle still alive
In the night's other Group E game Newcastle United FC had to win to maintain any hopes of progression and did just that, coming from behind to beat FC Dynamo Kyiv 2-1. Maksim Shatskikh gave the Ukrainian visitors the lead two minutes after the interval but Gary Speed levelled matters with a diving header eleven minutes later and Alan Shearer's 69th-minute penalty won the day for Sir Bobby Robson's side. Newcastle, Feyenoord and Dynamo will all now go into Matchday Six with hopes of reaching the next stage.

Leverkusen on target
Last season's finalists Bayer 04 Leverkusen progressed to the next stage from Group F after beating Olympiakos Piraeus FC 2-0. Juan opened the scoring with a deflected shot past Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos and Bernd Schneider's second-half penalty secured the points. Manchester United FC, already assured of a place in the second group stage, surprisingly lost 3-0 to Maccabi Haifa FC courtesy of fierce strikes from Yaniv Katan and Raimondas Zutautas and a Yakubu Ayegbeni penalty. Despite that sensational result the Israeli side were still eliminated.

Goalless in Group H
FC Barcelona had already won Group H, but behind them the race for second spot is well and truly on. The Catalans won 1-0 against Club Brugge KV courtesy of a Juan Riquelme goal. However, the Belgians are still second on six points, with Galatasaray SK and FC Lokomotiv Moskva right behind them on four points after the Russians won 2-1 in Istanbul, Vadim Evseev scoring the winner 15 minutes before the end. On Matchday Six Lokomotiv will host Brugge while Galatasaray travel to Spain to play Barcelona.