Klopp and Xabi Alonso’s side are the only two teams (along with Atalanta) already certain of first place in the group. West Ham, Freiburg, Marseille, Rennes, Villarreal and Slavia Prague also qualified
Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen join Atalanta among the teams already confirmed – after five days – of direct access to the round of 16. For many other players, who are at least guaranteed a playoff berth, everything is still to be decided. This is the case of De Zerbe, who beat AEK, and Gattuso, who defeated a stubborn Ajax 4-3 in a crazy match; Aubameyang’s overhead kick, scoring a hat-trick, deserves to be framed. Among the Italians’ rivals, Slavia Prague now leads in the Roma group with three points at the Sheriff Stadium, while Rakov finds success at the Sturm Graz Stadium in the Atalanta group. Big celebration for Freiburg after beating Olympiacos 5-0.
Group Two: AEK-Brighton 0-1
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It was a favorable start for the English, with Ferguson immediately making himself dangerous in the second minute, testing the reflexes of Stankovic, who was good in the encounter. AEK increased the intensity for the rest of the first half, with Zuber’s deflected effort hitting the post in the 44th minute. De Zerby smiled in the second half: In the 54th minute, Szymanski’s contact with Joao Pedro was ruled a foul following an on-field review and it was the striker himself who scored from the penalty spot. . Things became complicated for Greece in the 65th minute, when Jasinovic received the second yellow card, leaving his team with ten players. Pineda almost equalized, but his shot went wide of the goal (74).
Marseille-Ajax 4-3
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And just as it is on the way out, the show is also a lot of fun on the way back. In the ninth minute, Aubameyang gave the French the lead from a penalty kick, after one minute had passed, and Probbe equalized with Probbe, who completed the ball with Tadic perfectly. Mbemba deceives Homme with a header from a corner kick (26), and Proby restores balance again with a goal from a real centre-forward in half an hour. On his return from the changing rooms, Aubameyang achieved the highlight of the evening, a stunning overhead kick from a Harith cross that put Gattuso’s side back in front. The coach seemed to have calmed down in the 63rd minute, when Berghuis caused a very dangerous scissor challenge that convinced Sousa to send him off with the help of VAR, but on the first clearance, Marseille were punished: Helenson crossed wide. Ras Akpom, who took it out because of Pau Lopez (79). In full recovery, Aubameyang made it all right again from the penalty spot.
Group B
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Group Five: Liverpool-LASK 4-0
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The Reds were expected to dominate, and that’s what happened. Luis Diaz opened the match in the 12th minute with a wonderful header. In a quarter of an hour, the English had already obtained the three points, as Jacobo pushed Salah’s serve into the net into an empty net. Tsimikas hit the post from a long distance (32), but the third goal came in the 50th minute when Salah scored the penalty kick caused by Lawal’s late intervention on Jaqpo (50). The goalkeeper did well to keep out Elliott’s shot from outside, but was unable to do anything in second-half stoppage time on the Dutch winger, who scored a brace with a shot into the top corner.
Toulouse – Union Saint-Geloise 0-0
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The first half was better, as both teams chose a more attacking style and the pace benefited from that. The same could not be said for the second half, in which nothing happened until the 74th minute, when Machida tried to convert the ball into the winning goal, but an alert Restis blocked it.
Group E
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Group Seven: Sherif-Slavia Prague 2-3
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A very open race between Sharif and Slavia Prague. The Czechs play the game and break the deadlock with a great heel kick from Eureka. Dumitrescu will have the chance to double the score but his shot in front of goal hits the opponent’s goalkeeper directly. Thus, Sherif equalized in extra time in the first half with Tovar, who headed a free kick well. In the second half, a comeback was achieved: Ankei ran to the left and passed to Mbekele in the middle, who scored an easy goal. In the 78th minute, Zephyris restored parity from a free kick, and as stoppage time ended, Provod won a penalty kick, which Tidjani scored to secure the lead.
Group G
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Fourth group: Sturm Graz-Raco 0-1
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There are a lot of duels in the midfield, and both teams do not have enough accuracy in the final metres. The Austrians are more proactive but indecisive, and the few flashes are dealt with well by Rakoff, who punishes Sturm Graz in the 80th minute with Yeboah: the striker is well caught in the penalty area by Jean Carlos, the first score from distance. Else it’s perfect.
Group D
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Group A: Freiburg – Olympiacos 5-0
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You don’t need to wait long to understand how the match will go. In the third minute, Gregoritsch opened the ball with a nice turn despite the suffocating signs in the middle of the area, and five minutes later the Austrian conceded a goal with a powerful header from a corner kick. In the 36th minute, the hat-trick came again after a cross from the left side. Before returning to the dressing rooms, there is also time to play Sildillia poker: this time, Gregoritsch makes it easier for his teammate, who makes no mistake a few meters from the goal (42). Doan reduced the score by taking advantage of a wrong clearance from the Greek defense to beat Paschalakis for the fifth time in the 74th minute.
Baka Topola – West Ham 0-1
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The match between Baka Topola and West Ham was very deadlocked, ending without chances and above all without winners. As expected, the English controlled the pace of the match without succeeding in reaching the bottom of the Serbian wall. However, increased pressure towards the end produced the desired results: in the 90th minute, Soucek made a good run into the penalty area and scored the success for the Hammers.
Group A
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Group H: Hacken Bayer Leverkusen 0-2
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Xabi Alonso’s team has no particular problems in Gothenburg against Hacken. In the 14th minute, Boniface scored a goal with a perfect header, which put the Germans in a comfortable position to manage the match. The greater technical level, especially in the midfield, makes the task easier, and Cech concluded the matter in the 74th minute with a perfect shot from his right foot after Stanisic’s touch.
Molde-Karabakh 2-2
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Juninho’s goal in the 12th minute was enough for the Azerbaijanis, as he entered the penalty area and opened the board to successfully shoot at the far post. Shortly afterwards, Janković’s shot hit the crossbar, and Qarabağ chose to close it down. The resistance held out until the 82nd minute, when Eriksen had the time and opportunity to tame a ball in the small area and equalize. Once again, it was Eriksen who turned everything around with a header from a corner kick (87), but Mustafizadeh – the centre-back who lent the attack – made it 2-2.
Group H
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Group Three: Sparta Prague – Real Betis 1-0
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An emotionless match in Prague, which came back to life at the start of the second half when Haraslin found the advantage with his trademark: a perfect shot from the edge of the penalty area to give Sparta the lead (54). Real Betis’ best chance was Isco’s cross shot, which passed the post without reaching the goal in the 81st minute.
Rangers – Aris Limassol 1-1
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The Scots and Cypriots have one point in common. The visitors took the lead, with Babika passing the ball to Butland and slotting it into an empty net in the 28th minute. Rangers equalized in the 49th minute when McCausland hit the far post with a precise diagonal shot from the right.
Group C
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Group Six: Maccabi Haifa-Rennes 0-3
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Monologue of the French on neutrality in Budapest. After a review on the field that did not result in a penalty kick – which in itself is news – Yildirim headed close to the post in the 27th minute. Three minutes later, the match broke the deadlock with a goal from Terrier, and at the beginning of the second half, Al-Juiri doubled the lead by punishing Maccabi for a foul. The same Algerian scored a brace in the 58th minute, but his right-foot shot hit the post. The hat-trick came, however, from a wonderful free kick taken by Ryder in stoppage time.
Villarreal-Panathinaikos 3-2
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All this according to the plan of Villarreal, which beats Panathinaikos. In the 29th minute, Baena’s touch opened the doors for the Spanish team, which doubled its lead in the 34th minute with a goal by Comesanha, who demonstrated his shooting skills from the outside. At the beginning of the second half, the gap widened: a bad exit by the Greeks, Baena recovering and shooting Morales’ shot with his left foot, which did not miss. The visitors fell behind in the 66th minute: Ioannidis hit a penalty kick against the post, and Palacios was the quickest to take the rebound. The Panathinaikos striker made amends in the 81st minute, putting Cuenca, Gabbia and then Reina also one-on-one with the goalkeeper. In the final, Brignoli made double saves from Moreno, Gerrard and Alberto.
Group F
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