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UEFA Champions League group stage 5th round matches ended on Wednesday, which stood out because three players scored three goals or more each. "Inter" secured their tickets to the quarter-finals by winning easily and claiming Group H, while both English clubs "Chelsea" and "Liverpool" from Group G also secured their spots. In Group F, "Lyon" drew against "Real" and emerged as the winner, while in Group E, "Milan" led by Andriy Shevchenko gave a football lesson to the "Fenerbahce" team in Istanbul.
After a setback in the previous round, "Milan" needed a victory, and the task seemed quite challenging this time - the Italian club not only had to play in a stadium full of passionate "Fenerbahce" fans, but also return to Istanbul, where they lost the league final of the previous season to "Liverpool" in a very painful way.
Despite these circumstances, the Milan club achieved an impressive victory, with all four goals scored by Ukrainian A. Shevchenko. He first scored after a precise pass from Clarence Seedorf, then with a long shot, and then added two more goals with close-range shots. This was only the fifth time a player has scored four goals in the Champions League - the first to do so was the legendary "Milan" striker Marco Van Basten, and later four goals were scored by Simone Inzaghi representing "Lazio", Dado Prso for "Monaco" and Ruud van Nistelrooy for "Man Utd".
Together with "Milan", the leading team in Group E now is Gelsenkirchen's "Schalke", who crushed Eindhoven's "PSV" team at home. Quite unexpectedly, Georgian defender Levan Kobiasvili scored all three goals - he scored in the 16th minute with a penalty, secured the victory in the 72nd minute with a rebound off the crossbar shot, and soon converted another penalty earned by "Schalke".
The clash of Group F leaders in Madrid between local "Real" and "Lyon" ended in a draw, resulting in the French club securing the first place. Although the Spaniards were leading with a goal by team captain Guti before the end of the first half, in the 72nd minute John Carew cleverly sent the ball into Iker Casillas' goal with a heel, equalizing the score and helping his team earn the deserved draw.
The third position and a place in the UEFA Cup were snatched by Trondheim's "Rosenborg", who trailed for 27 consecutive games in the tournament after conceding a great long-range shot by Rivaldo for Piraeus' "Olympiacos", but managed to equalize with two minutes left through substitute Thorstein Helstad.
Both teams securing places in the quarter-finals were determined in Group G, where London's "Chelsea" on the road, thanks to goals from Hernan Crespo and Ricardo Carvalho, easily forced Brussels' "Anderlecht" to extend their Champions League losing streak, while "Liverpool" at home, despite numerous missed opportunities, played a goalless draw with Sevilla's "Betis" and maintained their position at the top of the group.
Another Milan club, "Inter", won a stunning victory with a four-goal advantage, not sparing the Bratislava "Artmedia" team at their home and securing the first place in Group H. The "Inter" team, which did not have a single Italian player in the starting lineup, opened the scoring through Portuguese Luis Figo, with Brazil's Adriano putting on a show on the field - nearing the end of the first half, he struck with his left foot, then scored a second goal from close range after playing for almost an hour, and in the 74th minute he scored his third goal with a powerful long-range shot.
The loss of "Artmedia" allowed Glasgow's "Rangers" to rise to second place, after saving a draw in Portugal against "Porto" - the hosts took the lead when, in the second half, Lisandro Lopez sent the ball into the net with a header, but young R.McCormack equalized the score with seven minutes left. So, with a crucial point earned, "Rangers" will face "Inter" in the final round, having one or two more points than the "Artmedia" and "Porto" teams, who will have to face each other in a decisive match.
Tournament table
Wednesday's match statistics
Group E
0 - 4
16` [0 - 1] Andriy Shevchenko
52` [0 - 2] Andriy Shevchenko
70` [0 - 3] Andriy Shevchenko
76` [0 - 4] Andriy Shevchenko
3 - 0
18` [1 - 0] Levan Kobiashvili (Pen.)
72` [2 - 0] Levan Kobiashvili
79` [3 - 0] Levan Kobiashvili (Pen.)
Group F
1 - 1
25` [0 - 1] Rivaldo
88` [1 - 1] Thorstein Helstad
85` Anastasios Pantos ("Olympiacos") sent off
1 - 1
41` [1 - 0] Jose Maria Guti
72` [1 - 1] John Carew
Group G
0 - 0
0 - 2
8` [0 - 1] Hernan Crespo
15` [0 - 2] Ricardo Carvalho
Group H
4 - 0
28` [1 - 0] Luis Figo
41` [2 - 0] Adriano
59` [3 - 0] Adriano
74` [4 - 0] Adriano
1 - 1
60` [1 - 0] Lisandro Lopez
83` [1 - 1] Ross McCormack
