Group Stage: Match Day 5: Groups D, E, F, J, K, L

Match day five concludes today, with Groups D, E, F, J, K and L in action.

There were definitely some quizzical decisions made regarding television coverage, as both live matches, Werder-Nacional and Galatasaray-Panathinaikos, were from groups that were all but decided, while the pivotal Roma-Basel encounter won’t be aired until 8 pm. Other matches that will have a major impact on progress in the competition, Shakhtar-Club Brugge, Hertha-Ventsplis, and PSV-Sparta Prague, for instance, won’t be aired in full at all.

In the first televised match, a Werder Bremen side going through the motions was still able to outclass Nacional. Bremen put the game beyond reach with two Markus Rosenberg goals in three minutes just after the half hour. Rosenberg’s first came after Marcel Moreno put a header against the post which rebounded to the Swede. The second goal was just as simple, as Rosenberg merely had to give the ball the slightest touch goalward with his head after Nacional keeper Rafael Bracali threw himself into a crowd of players during a corner kick and failed to clear the ball. Nacional pulled a goal back in the 61st minute from a free kick and began to attack with some determination. This approach would produce a handful of chances, but it was Bremen who would score again, seven minutes from time, when Moreno headed past Bracali. Marko Marin would add another in injury time, when he chipped a rebound over the goalkeeper.

Athletic Bilbao also won, 3-0 away to Austria Vienna, to officially seal their progress. In addition to the loss, and the elimination, Austria Vienna will have to concern themselves with possible UEFA sanctions after a pitch invasion delayed the match for over twenty minutes.

Defending champions Shakhtar Donetsk have dominated Group J from day one, so Club Brugge did very well to hold them to a scoreless draw in the Ukraine. The draw marks the first time in this group that Shakhtar have dropped points, and means that Brugge only need a draw on the final match day against Toulouse, who beat whipping boys Partizan 1-0, to progress to the knockout stages.
Group K has remained a tight affair, and today only partially clarified matters. PSV had to wait for injury time to break Sparta Prague’s resistance, and even then, it was only through an own goal, while Copenhagen secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Cluj. PSV will win the group after their win, while Sparta and Copenhagen go into their head to head match on the last day of the group stage level on seven points; Cluj are eliminated.

Galatasary at home to Panathinaikos was the second live televised match of the day. The Greek side came into this match needing a point to assure their qualification for the next round, while the Turkish power had already progressed, yet it was Galatasaray that made the brighter start. Their early efforts looked to have been rewarded around the twentieth minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Galatasaray continued to create the majority of scoring chances for the remainder of the half. The Turkish side finally scored early in the second half when a Mustafa Sarp shot in a crowded penalty area was deflected into the net. After that, precious little of interest happened, and the game ended 1-0 to Galatasaray, who win the group.

Dinamo Bucharest won against last place Sturm Graz to keep their slim hopes of advancing alive. Panathinaikos will just need to avoid defeat to Dinamo on the last match day to go through though.

Group D is another group that has involved one club, Sporting Lisbon in this case, than the rest. The second spot behind Sporting was still wide open at the start of the day. Hertha Berlin, who domestically are drawing comparisons with the worst team in the history of the Bundesliga, Tasmania Berlin, made their case for second by beating Ventspils in Latvia. In Lisbon, Heerenveen looked like they were set to really complicate matters, but Sporting grabbed an injury time equalizer to confirm their place as group winners. Heerenveen will need all three points against Ventspils on the final match day to have any hope of progressing. Assuming that Heerenveen do get all three points, Hertha will need to avoid defeat against Sporting.

In Group E, Roma, Basel, and Fulham are still finding it difficult to separate from each other. This is a trend that continued in today’s matches. Roma overcame an early deficit against Basel. Francesco Totti equalized through a penalty, and Roma went ahead after an inspired move from DeRossi and Vucinic resulted in a Vucinic goal. Fulham defeated CSKA Sofia 1-0, but remain in third place. Despite their distinctly unimpressive form in this competition, Roma are now group leaders. Roma will need a result against bottom CSKA to win the group, while Basel-Fulham should end up as the second place decider.

Group D
Ventspils 0 – Hertha Berlin 1
Sporting CP 1 – Heerenveen 1

Group E
Fulham 1 – CSKA Sofia 0
AS Roma 2 – FC Basel 1

Group F
Galatasaray 1 – Panathinaikos 0
Dinamo Bucharest 2 – Sturm Graz 1

Group J
Shakhtar Donetsk 0 – Club Brugge 0
Toulouse 1 – Partizan Belgrade 0

Group K
PSV Eindhoven 1 – Sparta Prague 0
FC Copenhagen 2 – CFR Cluj 0

Group L
Austria Vienna 0 – Athletic Bilbao 3
Werder Bremen 4 – CD Nacional 1

Standings here.

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