What we noticed from Champions League matchday six
Friday, December 9, 2016
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Dortmund managed to outdo both Real Madrid and Barcelona while Sevilla did not mind giving up a trophy: read our pick of the week and tell us yours using #UCL.
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What do you think of our choices? What stood out for you? Let us know using #UCL on @ChampionsLeague
Group A
Paris Saint-Germain 2-2 Ludogorets Razgrad
Basel 1-4 Arsenal
Group B
Dynamo Kyiv 6-0 Beşiktaş
Benfica 1-2 Napoli
Group C
Barcelona 4-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Manchester City 1-1 Celtic
Group D
Bayern München 1-0 Atlético Madrid
PSV Eindhoven 0-0 Rostov
Group E
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 CSKA Moskva
Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Monaco
Group F
Real Madrid 2-2 Borussia Dortmund
Legia Warszawa 1-0 Sporting CP
Group G
Porto 5-0 Leicester City
Club Brugge 0-2 København
Group H
Lyon 0-0 Sevilla
Juventus 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Round of 16 draw: streamed live at 12CET on Monday
- Dortmund outdo Madrid and Barcelona
The comeback from 2-0 down at Real Madrid to equalise with two minutes left didn't just give Borussia Dortmund first place in Group F and seeding in Monday's round of 16 draw. Marco Reus's leveller was their 21st goal in the group, a new competition record, just 24 hours after Barcelona had become only the fourth team to reach 20 with their 4-0 defeat of Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Thirteen different players shared the 21 Dortmund goals while their 8-4 defeat of Legia Warszawa was the highest-scoring game in UEFA Champions League history. The 51 goals in Group F overall was the most in competition history and, although Cristiano Ronaldo managed only two of those, Lionel Messi fell one short of taking away the Madrid's forward's record of 11 in a group stage.
- Sevilla not unhappy to be dethroned
Sevilla will be unable to add to their three consecutive UEFA Europa League wins after a 0-0 draw at Lyon on Wednesday kept them second in their group and through to the UEFA Champions League knockouts for the first time since 2009/10.
Despite the loss of their title, Adil Rami seemed relatively sanguine. "I had a great time in the Europa League and winning the trophy was magnificent," he said. "We wanted to progress and keep playing against the top European clubs and that's what's going to happen now that we've gone through."
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- Londoners lift hoodoos
When Arsenal let a lead slip to draw 2-2 with Paris a couple of weeks ago, it looked like the Gunners had blown their chance to win their group for the first time since 2011/12. But Ludogorets' surprise draw in the French capital allowed Arsenal to overtake Paris with victory in Basel, and give themselves seeding in Monday's draw as they attempt to end a run of six straight round of 16 defeats.
The following night it was too late for Spurs to save their UEFA Champions League bid but by coming from behind to beat CSKA they at least sealed a UEFA Europa League berth and ensured Tottenham tasted victory at their temporary European home of Wembley following costly defeats by Monaco and Leverkusen.
- Legia's presidential pardon
Having conceded a group-stage record-equalling 24 goals even before their last match against Sporting kicked off, Legia perhaps had the right to be nervous. But instead they kept a clean sheet and secured a 1-0 win that pipped their opponents to third place and ensured a happy ending to their first group campaign in 21 years.
Joining in the post-match celebrations in the Legia dressing room was the president of Poland, Andrzej Duda. Forward Aleksandar Prijovic said: "The fact the Polish president came to congratulate us means we did something really good. I have never met him before, this was the first time for me. The atmosphere in the dressing room was great; the president was even singing with us."
- Seeding a poisoned chalice
While Dortmund, Arsenal and the rest were right to celebrate clinching first places this week, it doesn't exactly ensure an easy tie come the round of 16. Not only did BVB and the Gunners pip Madrid and Paris, but Manchester City and Bayern are also among the group runners-up that will be unseeded on Monday.
Paris might be particular team to avoid, having been unseeded in the last two years and knocked out Chelsea each time. That is at least not a worry for Monaco (the rules mean two teams from the same country cannot meet at this stage), who have now topped their group at the last four attempts.
What do you think of our choices? What stood out for you? Let us know using #UCL on @ChampionsLeague