PST: Wednesday's Champions League roundup

All that?s left is fine tuning, with Wednesday?s UEFA Champions League action clarifying which eight teams from Groups A through D will advance to the tournament?s knockout round (even if we still don?t know who?ll claim first in Groups A and B). After five matchdays, only three spots in Champions League?s Round of 16 remain up for grabs.

Here?s the quick rundown of Wednesday?s results:

Group A

Porto 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb (20? Gonzalez, 67? Moutinho, 85? Varela)
Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain (45?, 52? Lavezzi)

I supposed I expected a little more drama in Ukraine, but the end result?s the same.

Dynamo coach Oleh Bolkhin gave his seem an implicit ultimatum, that if the team didn?t turn things around, it could be shaken up come January. That didn?t mean win. It just meant play better, and today they did not, proving how difficult it is to get apathetic players to start caring.

On a more positive note, Pocho Lavezzi?s a real thing. He moved to Paris from Naples under the assumption, but to this point, he?s been disappointing. Not so today. The Argentine international?s two goals helped Carlo Ancelotti?s side move on from their weekend malfeasance.

Standings: Porto 13 pts, PSG 12, Dynamo 4, Dinamo 0

Group B

Arsenal 2-0 Montpellier (49? Wilshere, 63? Podolski)
Schalke 1-0 Olympiacos (75? Fuchs)

Like Group A, Group B?s top two were settled on Wednesday, and like Group A, we still don?t know the order of the top two.

With their wins, Schalke and Arsenal are through to the knockout round, but they?re also through with each other, meaning we won?t see a final day showdown like we will between PSG and Porto.

Schalke almost gave up the group lead, though it wasn?t their fault. They battered Olympiacos for most of the match yet were nearly forced to settle for a 0-0 draw. After 61 percent passing ratio edge (a.k.a., Opta possession) and a 27-7 shots advantage, the only thing that separated the teams was a fluke. Olympiacos goalkeeper Roy Carroll was apparently shielded on a 30-yard shot from Christian Fuchs, the Schalke defender winning the game in the 75th minute.

Standings: Schalke 11, Arsenal 10, Olympiacos 6, Montpellier 1

Group C

Zenit 2-2 M?laga (8? Buonanotte, 9? Fernandez, 49? Danny, 86? Faizulin)
Anderlecht 1-3 Milan (47? El-Shaarawy, 71? Mexes, 78? De Sutter, 90? Pato)

Max Allegri was right to tip Pato to come through on Wednesday, but the bigger stories surround Milan?s other two goal scorers. El-Shaarawy continues his amazing season, scoring his 12th goal in all-competitions.

Philippe Mexes, however, stole the show. In the 78th minute, with his back to goal 18 yards out, Mexes trapped a ball with his chest before looping a bicycle kick over goalkeeper Silvio Proto?s head and into the right of Anderlecht?s goal.

In the day?s early game, Zenit got off to a horrible start then seemed to realize their tournament was on the line. They came back to draw a mostly second-choice Malaga side (who gave U.S. international Oguchi Onyewu a start), not enough to keep the rich Russians in the tournament.

Standings: M?laga 11, Milan 8, Zenit 4, Anderlecht 4

Group D

Manchester City 1-1 Real Madrid (10? Benzema, 73? Ag?ero)
Ajax 1-4 Borussia Dortmund (8? Reus, 36? G?tze, 41?, 67? Lewandowski, 86? Hoesen)

Despite the draw, it was a bad day for Manchester City. Their loss means they?ll need to win at Dortmund just to qualify for Europa League. And in Amsterdam, BVB was embarrassing an Ajax team that took four points from the English champions. At least the Citizens took a point from Real Madrid, though they needed the official intervention (awarding a late penalty kick) to get that.

On a more positive note, look at Dortmund?s three scorers. Average age: 22.3 years old. The three helped BVB clinch first place.

Standings: Borussia Dortmund 11, Real Madrid 8, Ajax 4, Manchester City 3

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/21/uefa-champions-league-2012-results-8/

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