© EuroFootball.com
On Tuesday, the third round matches of the E-H groups of the UEFA Champions League took place.
The clear favorites of the G and H groups - "Barcelona" and "Man Utd" - caused a lot of nerves for their fans, but managed to win against Glasgow "Celtic" and "Braga" respectively.
Tito Vilanova's players at "Camp Nou" stadium recovered after conceding a goal and thanks to Jordi Alba's accurate shot in the final minute of added time, they defeated the Scots 2-1.
Just like the Catalans, "Man Utd" players also confidently defeated the resistance of the Portuguese club at home with a 3-2 scoreline. "The Red Devils" had an even tougher task - "Braga" was already leading 2-0 in the 20th minute of the match.
However, Javier Hernandez scored twice during the remaining time, with Jonny Evans also sending the ball accurately into the goal.
The expected leaders of Group E did not fare well - Turin's "Juventus" managed to salvage a draw in the 81st minute against the local "Nordsjaelland" (1-1), while the top-ranked team in the English Premier League, London's "Chelsea," had to admit defeat 0-2 against Donetsk's "Shakhtar" on the road.
In Group F, "Valencia" defeated our Belarusian neighbors - the Spaniards crushed the already six-point Borisov BATE team 3-0 away.
The "Lille" - Munich "Bayern" duel ended with a minimal victory for the most prestigious finalists of last season's European football tournament, 1-0.
Results:
Group E:
Farum "Nordsjaelland" 1 - 1 Turin "Juventus"
50' [1 - 0] M. Beckmann
81' [1 - 1] M. Vucinic
Donetsk "Shakhtar" 2 - 1 London "Chelsea"
3' [1 - 0] A. Teixeira
52' [2 - 0] Fernandinho
88' [2 - 1] Oscar
Group E standings:
1. "Shakhtar" 3 2 1 0 5-2 7
2. "Chelsea" 3 1 1 1 7-4 4
3. "Juventus" 3 0 3 0 4-4 3
4. "Nordsjaelland" 3 0 1 2 1-7 1
Group F:
Borisov BATE 0 - 3 "Valencia"
45' [0 - 1] R. Soldado (penalty)
55' [0 - 2] R. Soldado
69' [0 - 3] R. Soldado
"Lille" 0 - 1 Munich "Bayern"
20' [0 - 1] T. Muller (penalty)
Group F standings:
1. "Valencia" 3 2 0 1 6-2 6
2. BATE 3 2 0 1 6-5 6
3. "Bayern" 3 2 0 1 4-4 6
4. "Lille" 3 0 0 3 1-6 0
Group G:
Moscow's "Spartak" 2 - 1 Lisbon's "Benfica"
3' [1 - 0] R. Carioca
33' [1 - 1] Lima
43' [2 - 1] Jardel (own goal)
"Barcelona" 2 - 1 Glasgow "Celtic"
18' [0 - 1] G. Samaras
45' [1 - 1] A. Iniesta
90' [2 - 1] J. Alba
Group G standings:
1. "Barcelona" 3 3 0 0 7-3 9
2. "Celtic" 3 1 1 1 4-4 4
3. "Spartak" 3 1 0 2 6-7 3
4. "Benfica" 3 0 1 2 1-4 1
Group H:
Istanbul's "Galatasaray" 1 - 1 Cluj CFR
19' [0 - 1] D. Nounkeu (own goal)
77' [1 - 1] B. Yilmaz
28' M. Aguirregaray (CFR) sent off
35' F. Melo ("Galatasaray") missed a penalty
"Man Utd" 3 - 2 "Braga"
2' [0 - 1] Alan
20' [0 - 2] Alan
25' [1 - 2] J. Hernandez
62' [2 - 2] J. Evans
75' [3 - 2] J. Hernandez
Group H standings:
1. "Man Utd" 3 3 0 0 6-3 9
2. CFR 3 1 1 1 4-3 4
3. "Braga" 3 1 0 2 4-5 3
4. "Galatarasay" 3 0 1 2 1-4 1
