UEFA Champions League: Group Stage pt 5- Giroud four goal haul, Group B and H going to the wire, Greizmann rejuvenation and more

 Matchday 5 ⚽🏆

Here were some highlights of the matchday:

• Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 750th career goal after Juventus defeated Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday.
• Bayern Munich's winning streak in the Champions League came to an end after they drew with Atletico Madrid in Spain.
• Olivier Giroud scored all 4 goals for Chelsea against Sevilla, becoming the first Chelsea player to score a hat-trick in the competition since Didier Drogba in 2006.
• Group B has all its teams facing a possible chance of qualification after Inter Milan beat B. Monchengladbach and Real Madrid lost to Shakhtar Donetsk again.

Greetings guys. Matchday 5 brought with it more action and more drama, with some groups now having to be decided on the final matchday. 9 teams have qualified for the round of 16, leaving 7 slots open. Let's get on with the matchday now.

Tuesday, 1 December 2020

Borussia Monchengladbach vs Inter Milan

B. Monchengladbach goals: Plea 45+1',75'

Inter Milan goals: Darmian 17', Lukaku 64', 73'

This was an important game for Inter as it would place them on track to still qualify from the group despite being bottom of the group. The Italian side went about their business seriously as Matteo Darmian scored as early as the 17th minute. Romelu Lukaku grabbed a brace in the game with a right-footed strike in the 64th minute followed up by a decisive left-footed shot in the 73rd minute. Monchengladbach were not to go down easily though, Alassane Plea scored a brace to pull his side back including capitalizing on an error made by Inter forward, Alexis Sanchez. Plea actually grabbed a hat-trick in the 83rd minute but after VAR intervention, the goal was disallowed for offside as Breel Embolo was seen to be obstructing the Inter goalkeeper. A dramatic finish to the game.

Hard fought victory

Shakhtar Dontesk vs Real Madrid

Shakhtar goals: Dentinho 57', Manor Solomon 82'

Real Madrid were done for again by the Ukranian team. Marco Asensio missed two good chances in the first-half and Nacho failed to convert a header by the time the second-half came. Real Madrid were punished for these misses as Shakhtar orchestrated a counter-attack which was finished off by Dentinho after misunderstanding amongst the Madrid defenders. Manor Solomom would find himself on the scoresheet as well after making an incredible run from his own half to beat Thibaut Courtois at the near-post for a finish. The result of this match opened up Group B and ensures that qualification to the round of 16 will go to the final day. Questioned upon whether his position was under threat from this result, Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane, stated that ''No, not at all. I'm not going to resign. It's a bad result, but we have to continue. We've had difficult moments before. We have another match left in this group and we have to win.''

Real Madrid outclassed a second time

Lokomotiv Moskva vs RB Salzburg 

Lokomotiv goals: Anton Miranchuk 79' (p)

Salzburg goals: Mergim Berisha 28', 41', Karim Adeyemi 81'

RB Salzburg bounced back from two defeats at the hands of Bayern Munich to claim victory in Russia against a struggling Lokomtoiv side. Megim Berisha grabbed a brace for the Austrian side, with his first goal being approved after a check by the VAR. Lokomotiv brought themselves back into the game thanks to a penalty converted by Anton Miranchuk. Salzburg were to pull clear in the 81st minute after 18 year-old Karim Adeyemi reacted quickest to a sleepy Lokomotiv defense, allowing him to dart clear towards goal and score his first-ever Champions League goal.

A night to remember for the youngster

Wednesday, 2 December 2020

Istanbul Basaksehir vs RB Leipzig

Istanbul goals: Irfan Kahveci 45+3', 72', 85'

Leipzig goals: Yussuf Poulsen 26', Nordi Mukiele 43', Dani Olmo 66', Alexander Sorloth 90+2

A crazy game from the first whistle go. Marcel Sabizter's shot cannoned off teammate Yussuf Poulsen for Leipzig's first goal and a less than powerful strike from Nordi Mukiele gave Leipzig a second goal. Irfan Kahveci scored the first of his three goals in the game when he latched onto a ball from outside the penalty area in dying minutes of the first-half. Dani Olmo stretched Leipzig's lead by the 66th minute but Kahveci replied to it by the 72nd minute with another stunning goal. Kahveci completed a memorable hat-trick as he put away a free-kick in the 85th minute to put the two teams level. The game didn't end there though, Alexander Sorloth scored the winner in the 92nd minute to end a crazy game in Turkey. Irfan Kahveci became the third player in Champions League history to score a hat-trick and lose a game, after Gareth Bale and Ronaldo.

Thriller in Turkey 💥🍿

Ferencvaros vs Barcelona

Barca goals: Antoine Griezmann 14', Martin Braithwaite 20', Ousmane Dembele 28' (p)

No Messi, no problem. Barca took the lead after a clever backheel from Frenchman Antoine Griezmann who now seems to have rekindled his goal-scoring form. Martin Braithwaite would be next on the scoresheet as he managed to get the necessary touch at the end of Ousmane Dembele's cross. Dembele himself would be amongst the goals as Barca were awarded a penalty in the 26th minute, leading to Griezmann's fellow countryman finding the net in the 28th minute. Dembele missed a couple of chances in the second-half as well as teammate Francisco Trincao failing to convert from close range. The 3 goals were enough for Barca, as they retained a perfect record in their group.

Dancing to victory 🕺🏽

Manchester United vs Paris Saint-Germain

Man. Utd red cards: Fred 70'

Man. Utd goals: Marcus Rashford 32'

PSG goals: Neymar 6', 90+1, Marquinhos 69'

PSG meant business in this game and that was seen when Neymar scored as soon as 6 minutes into the game. Man. Utd's Fred was lucky to remain on the field after replays showed that he head-butted Leanardo Paredes and received a yellow card after the incident. Marcus Rashford scored yet another goal against PSG as his shot deflected off the body of Danilo Perreira for the English team's equalizer. Man. Utd pressed for more goals in the second-half but Anthony Martial missed a sitter while Edinson Cavani's chip hit the top of the crossbar. PSG made the most of those misses as Marquinhos tapped in from a corner in the 69th minute, and a PSG counter-attack in the first minute of stoppage time finished off with Neymar scoring his second goal of the game.

PSG conquer Manchester

Other matches

Chelsea were victorious against Sevilla as Olivier Giroud scored all 4 goals in the game. Liverpool edged Ajax for a second time in the group stage as Curtis Jones was the man to score the vital goal in the game. Ciro Immobile scored against former club, B. Dortmund, after a controversial penalty was awarded to Lazio, leading to a draw between the German and Italian team. Thomas Muller saved Bayern Munich from a defeat in Spain as Joao Felix scored the first goal of the game.

The results for matchday 5 were as follows:

Tuesday, 1 December 2020

Lokomotiv Moskva 1-3 RB Salzburg    ←Click here to watch this game

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Real Madrid       ←Click here to watch this game

Atletico Madrid 1-1 Bayern Munich

B. Monchengladbach 2-3 Inter Milan    ←Click here to watch this game

Marseille 2-1 Olympiacos

Porto 0-0 Man. City

Liverpool 1-0 Ajax 

Atalanta 1-1 Midtjylland

Wednesday, 2 December 2020

Krasnodar 1-0 Rennes

Istanbul Basaksehir 3-4 RB Leipzig      ←Click here to watch this game

Sevilla 0-4 Chelsea                   ←Click here to watch this game

B. Dortmund 1-1 Lazio

Club Brugge 3-0 Zenit

Juventus 3-0 Dynamo Kyiv     ←Click here to watch this game

Ferencvaros 0-3 Barcelona       ←Click here to watch this game

Man. Utd 1-3 PSG           ←Click here to watch this game

What a matchday it's been! Looking forward to an action-packed matchday 6 where I will be looking at all groups in the competition. It's sure to be a long post, but it's sure to be enjoyable.

As always guys, see you next matchday ⚽🏆❗🛣