CL Group A-D Round 6 Results

Group A

Bordeaux 1-0 Maccabi Haifa

Oddly enough, the Group A leaders were only able to score one goal on the pointless Maccabi Haifa. Jussie lent his talents to his team in the 12th minute, providing the only goal of the game. Despite the lack of goals, Bordeaux now has 16 points while Maccabi remains painfully at zero, and in last place.

Bayern Munich 4-1 Juventus

Like I said could happen, Bayern battered Juventus into the ground with a 4-1 beating yesterday. Butt (30'), Olic (52'), Gomez (83') and Tymoschuk (90') provided the goals for Bayern, who actually came from behind to win after Juve's Trezguet scored in the 19th minute. The Germans are now 2 points ahead of the Italians in 2nd place.

Group B

CSKA Moscow 2-1 Besiktas

Moscow pulled off a last minute win after Aldonin scored in the 90th minute, breaking the tie that had lasted since Besiktas' strike in the 86th minute leveled Krasic's in the 41st. Moscow are now 3 points behind Manchester United. Besiktas remains in last place with 4 points.

Manchester United 3-1 VfL Wolfsburg

Michael Owen was the star of yesterday's game, providing all three goals for United (44', 83', 90'). Edin Dzeko gave a short-lived threat when he leveled Owen's first goal in the 56th minute, but the pressure was no trouble for Owen. United sit in 1st place with 13 points, while Wolfsburg are in 3rd with 7.

Group C

FC Zurich 1-1 AC MIlan

Yet again the Italians failed to deliver against Zurich. Their only goal came from a Ronaldinho penalty in the 64th minute, which tied the score. Gajic opened the scoring for Zurich in the 64th minute. Milan is still in 2nd place with 9 points while Zurich only has 4, but I was expecting more from Milan.

Real Madrid 3-1 Marseille

Cristiano Ronaldo graced his side with two goals yesterday (4', 80') while Albiol added a 3rd (60') to clinch the win for Madrid. Marseille leveled briefly thanks to a goal from Gonzalez in the 11th minute, but he was no match for the Spaniards and their new Portuguese toy. Real sits in 1st place with 13 points, 4 points clear of the 2nd place team. Marseille is in 3rd place with 7.

Group D

FC Porto 3-0 Atletico Madrid

Yet another forgettable game from Atletico sees their chances of advancing in the tournament shot to tell. They only have 3 points from 6 games. Alves (2'), Falcao (14') and Hulk (76') netted shots for their side, condemning Atletico early on. Porto are in 2nd place behind Chelsea with 12 points.

Chelsea 2-2 Apoel Nicosia

The scoring went back and forth before Mirosavljevic finally salvaged a point for Apoel in the 87th minute. Zewkalow's 6th minute goal was leveled by Essien's 19th minute one. Then Drogba pulled Chelsea ahead in the 26th. The game stayed in Chelsea's favor until Marolavljevic pulled his side even. The tie keeps Chelsea 2 points clear of 2nd place Porto while Apoel is tied for last with Atletico Madrid

CL Group A-D Round 6 Preview

Group A

Juventus vs Bayern Munich

Bayern, should they clinch the 3 points in today's game, will replace Juventus in 2nd place, as Juventus is only one point ahead of Bayern. Even a tie will place Bayern even.

Bordeaux vs Maccabi Haifa

This match is a proverbial David vs Goliath today. Bordeaux, who has a stranglehold on 1st place in Group A, takes on Maccabi Haifa, who have not won a single game yet in the tournament. Should Maccabi Haifa win, it would be an upset of Barcelona vs Rubin Kazan proportions. While a win for Maccabi today is unlikely, it is always possible.

Group B

CSKA Moscow vs Besiktas

The team who pulled out a stunning win over Manchester United (also their only win) now takes on Moscow, the team right above them in the standings. Another win today for Besiktas would pull them even with Moscow, while Moscow could pull even with Manchester United and Wolfsburg today should United lose to Wolfsburg.

Manchester United vs VfL Wolfsburg

United is hurting today- they have multiple players out, including several a few key defensive players. They will have to work hard to top Wolfsburg and keep their hold on the top of the group.

Group C

FC Zurich vs AC Milan

Milan had better be out for blood today- Zurich pulled off a surprise win over Milan the last time they met in this tournament, keeping them from drawing even with leaders Real Madrid. Topping Milan was Zurich's only win so far, while Milan has 8 points, just 2 shy of Real Madrid.

Marseille vs Real Madrid

If Marseille tops Real today, they will draw even with the leaders, as they'll both have 10 points. However, Real needs to snap back after their loss to Barcelona this weekend, so they will probably be looking for the 3 points with much intensity.

Group D

Atletico Madrid vs FC Porto

While there is little hope for Atletico Madrid to advance in the tournament, defeating Porto would let them go out a bit easier. Porto is 5 points behind group leader Chelsea, and Atletico is 3 points behind Porto.

Chelsea vs Apoel Nicosia

Chelsea, who are guaranteed advancement in the CL, take on Apoel, who have only 2 points to their name from 6 games. A win is almost guaranteed for Chelsea, though I'd love to see them lose.

Balon d'Or Winner 2009: Lionel Messi

Messi is finally reaping the rewards of the historic 2008-2009 season he experienced with Barcelona. Winning the Primera League title, the Spanish Copa del Rey, and the Champions League definitely did not go unnoticed, and the players at Barcelona are being rewarded.

The most prominent of these players, 22-year-old striker Lionel Messi, was named the 2009 Balon d'Or winner, succeeding Real Madrid midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo, who won it when he was playing with Manchester United.

The Balon d'Or is awarded to the soccer player who receives the most votes from sports journalists all across Europe, and is presented by the French soccer magazine "France Football."

Messi, who amassed 473 votes, buried runner-up Ronaldo, who accumulated only 233 votes. Xavi of Barcelona was second runner-up with 170 votes, while Andres Iniesta, also of Barcelona, received 149, placing him in 4th.

Messi is the first Argentinian ever to win the Balon d'Or, and the fifth South American to claim the title.

Barcelona Claims 3rd Straight Clasico!

Both sides had deficiencies- Ronaldo had just returned to the team after a month and a half of injury, and Ibrahimovic was doubtful to play at all for Barcelona. However, there was no excuse for Real's lethargy throughout the game.

They had several point-blank shots blocked by Valdes (more specifically, his feet), and yet failed to capitalize on any of them (not that I'm complaining). Barcelona encountered the same problem for the first half, with several Dani Alves shots going well over or wide of the goal, as well as Thierry Henry and Messi shooting balls straight into Casillas.

Overall, however, Barcelona controlled the possession for the entirety of the game. In fact, when Sergio Busquets was sent off in the 63rd minute after receiving a 2nd yellow card, Real Madrid still was not able to score! Barcelona played a man down for 27 whole minutes before Lassana Diarra was also sent off with two yellow cards. For 27 minutes Real had a 1-man advantage and they could do nothing.

Perhaps their spirits were darkened by the absolutely perfect cross from Dani Alves to Ibrahimovic who volleyed the ball right past the outstretched arms of Casillas. The Swede came on at halftime for a less than mediocre Henry, who failed to make much of an impression during the game.

Real Madrid's only valid excuse for their lack of scores was the fearsome Barcelona defense composed of Puyol, Busquets, Pique, and Abidal. Puyol personally stopped Higuain and Ronaldo at least twice by throwing his legs in front of the ball before the strikers were able to get a shot off. Well done, Puyol.

Nevertheless, Real Madrid was solidly outplayed. All they could do was trip and shove Messi and Dani Alves and the like, conducting cheap plays to try and make up for their inability to overcome the Catalans.

On a side note: during the game was fouled, and apparently it was questionable as to whether or not he "threw" himself or if he was legitimately fouled. Ronaldo decided to say something to either Iniesta or the ref about his thoughts on the subject, claiming Iniesta had made the foul more theatrical than necessary. Iniesta went up to him and literally said "tu callas!" which means, shut up. Iniesta later went on to explain (though I can't find an article now) that the reason he got so heated about Ronaldo commenting on the subject was that Ronaldo himself was in no place to be talking about embellishing fouls. Iniesta is officially my favorite person ever for actually calling Ronaldo out on being the biggest actor ever.