Eurosport - Thu, 11 Dec 00:03:00 2008
Juventus ground out a 0-0 draw with BATE Borisov to head Group H ahead of Real Madrid, despite the Spanish side's 3-0 demolition of Zenit St Petersburg.
Though the Spaniards finished second to Juve on the head-to-head rule, Juande Ramos will be delighted with his first match as Real manager as Real crushed the UEFA Cup holders in a match that saw Arjen Robben and Raul run riot.
Two goals from the Real captain either side of half-time and a goal-of-the-season contender from Robben gave the victory to the Spanish team, though Juventus's draw ensured that it is the Italian side who qualify top.
This match was more about Real's new boss than it was about the Champions League, and as he took his seat in the stands Juande Ramos - dressed in black - looked a worried man.
But within two minutes Gonzalo Higuain was put into the box with a great chance, and only an excellent block by Ivica Krizanac prevented the goal.
The ball to Higuain had come from Arjen Robben, who terrorised the Zenit defence from the first minute - and in particular Radek Sirl, the man charged with keeping tabs on the Dutchman.
After seven minutes Robben set up a gilt-edged chance for Rafael Van der Vaart, three minutes later did the same for Marcelo, and two minutes after that it was Van der Vaart's turn again. Seconds later, Higuain's drive just under the bar forced an excellent save from an overworked Vyacheslav Malafeev in the Zenit goal.
Malafeev, in fact, looked solid under the barrage so it was all the more disappointing that the goal which broke the deadlock came from his error. A weak cross from Robben spilled out of his hands, allowing Raul to pounce in and smash the ball in from three yards.
With his job safe - until half-time, at least - Ramos allowed himself a smile, and while Zenit came back with a couple of decent counter-attacks, all the football came from the Spanish side.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Robben once again looking menacing. His relentless dribbling would have been considered pointless showboating had he not constantly probed the defence and found gaps for Higuain and Raul to pepper Malafeev with further shots.
The inevitable second goal could not have been more well-deserved. Robben ran at full speed to latch onto a through ball from Gago, and with Sirl closing on him was forced to veer wide.
But instead of cutting back inside, he instead flipped a truly sublime lob off the outside of his left foot - still at full speed - which looped perfectly over a marooned Malafeev and into the far corner of the net.
A better lob would be hard to imagine, a better performance equally hard to picture, and when the Dutchman set up Raul for the third goal - another lovely chip - the matter was decided.
Zenit plugged away bravely, and both Victor Fayzulin and Fatih Tekke hit the bar with headers in the last half hour, but Robben's grin said it all.
Madrid's next match is the 'Clasico' clash with Spanish Liga leaders Barcelona.
Juventus 0 - BATE Borisov
Juventus maintained their unbeaten record in this year's Champions League but could not find a goal to break down Belarusian minnows BATE Borisov.
Despite enjoying long spells of possession during the first-half, Juventus lacked the urgency and the penetration to break down their determined visitors. BATE themselves rarely threatened, and their only real effort of a dull first period was a speculative 30 yard free-kick from Mikhail Sivakov.
Juventus seemed content to play at a leisurely pace and although the home side had eleven first-half shots on goal, most of these were from long-range and only one Amauri effort forced Sergei Verenko into a save.
The second half was easier on the eye as the game opened up with chances at both ends.
Marco Marchionni hit the post with a header, while the visitors could have broken the deadlock when Vitali Rodionov headed over from close-range.
Juventus then won a penalty when Mikhail Sivakov handled in the box, but Sebastian Giovinco, who had been lively all night, spooned the resulting spot-kick over the bar.
The introduction of Alessandro Del Piero, who has been in fine scoring form this season, livened up proceedings.
The veteran Italy forward was quickly into his stride, testing the keeper with a swerving 25 yard drive before combining with Marchionni in the best move of the match only to see his header well saved by Verenko.
BATE, who managed a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture, put in a creditable performance and although they never looked like scoring the six goals they needed to secure a UEFA Cup place they did have a reasonable shout for a penalty when Mellberg appeared to handle in the area, only for the referee to wave away their appeals.
Comment 1 - 10 of 10
without robben,clearly madrid is useless...
I doubt if real madrid reaches to even semifinals..becouse their performance has been very unstable in recent years .
dalnsour, it tells it all when a fan calls his team ''they''. Juve has been out of the CL 2 seasons only. They are hit by injuries in all compartments for most of the season so far yet they are second in the Serie A. They thrashed Real home and away and they caused them to go into crisis. I think they are a force to reckon with this year and even harder next year.. I suggest you start supporting inter, as it is the team of the pathetic fans like you
the difference is head to head madrid lost to juv home and away. so juv top the group
i'm a big Real fan, but I was very impressed with Juve for beating us twice! And VERY disappointed with us. That Del Piero, I really thought he was past it, but I guess I was wrong...
errrrr... boys cm'on give Juve a break! they haven't been in CL for 3423842394 years after relegation! let them celebrate smth... i am a Juve fan... but i really dont think they'll go far... the team is very old/outdated and the new young players are quite inconsistent... it's like trying to make an Arsenal/Bayern hybrid.... it's just not working...
I thought it used to be whoever has more wins? Or did I just not realise head-to-head back then? lol
Hala Madrid!!!!!
because juve won against real. real is the best. halla madrid
because juve won against real. real is the best. halla madrid
Juve goal difference 4 pt 12, Real Madrid goal difference 4 pt 12. What the rule to determine the top of the group?
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