UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL RESULTS WEDNESDAY GROUP GAMES

UEFA Champions League continued tonight with another two Spanish Football Clubs in action. Here are tonights final results with all the goalscorers.

FC Barcelona travelled to Amsterdam to meet Ajax for their Group F match. Important game for Barça to secure the Group & find their lost Football after heavy criticism back home for their recent losses in Liga. Coach Luis Enrique started with Suarez, Xavi, Bartra & Rakitic, but left out (on the bench) Gerard Pique, thus accentuating the speculated problem with the player. 

Barça won 0 - 2 & Ajax had their chances up until the 71st min when they lost Veltman to a red card. Before this it was an intense game with end to end Football with Ajax having their best moments in the 1ºst half - they even claimed two penalties not called. However, Ajax failed to convert their worked opportunities & they later paid for it dearly. FC Barcelona solved their situation with the class of their players & Messi scored first in the 35th min & again later in the 76th min when Ajax were with 10 men, tired from their efforts & discontent for missing so much chances.

FC Barcelona won but is not shining as we have been accustomed, perhaps the victory can shake off criticism & lessen the pressure of past days. The last note is that Messi joins Raul as the Historical maximum goalscorer of Champions League with 71 goals.

Athletic Club Bilbao said goodbye to Champions League after losing their Group H game to Porto 0 - 2. The Portuguese team deserved the win as they were the better side tonight on all levels. Porto missed a penalty when Martinez Jackson hit the bar in the 42nd min. But Jackson made up for his mistake scoring to the 56th min , to which later Brahimi scored the second for Porto in the 75th min. 

Disappointing end for Bilbao in Champions which will go into the Europa League after the Champions League Group game stage. 

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAMS | UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TUESDAY NIGHT FINAL RESULTS

Bad night for the two Spanish Football Clubs with UEFA Chaampions League duties tonight. Here are the final results along with all the goalscorers.

Paris St Germain hosted FC Barcelona for their Group F match & won 3 - 2 in a fantastic game of European Football. Barça lost its goal-defensive "virginity" this season receiving 3 goals & notching up its first official defeat. Barça Coach Luis Enrique started with the following players:

Ter Stegen; Alves, Mascherano, Mathieu, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Pedro, Messi & Neymar

As you can see goalie Claudio Bravo & Gerard Pique were on the bench, with some Football observers already out of the box with criticisms concerning the continual line-up changes that are being applied game after game. 

In any case, it was a relatively even & a see-saw match. PSG put in a marvellous effort in the midfield with Motta shining & Lucas Moura outstanding. On the other hand Barça made too many mistakes tonight with their passing & continual loss of balls in the midfield which cost them dearly in the end. Barça defender Dani Alves will be blamed tonight for a poor performance, while his defending team-mates - Mascherano, Mathieu & Alba - will also receive some local flack for their disorganization. Even the Barça goalie tonight Ter Stegen will be analysed for his part - or non part - in the second PSG goal . 

The match goals came in the following order:

• David Luiz 10th min, 1 - 0
• Messi 12th min , 1 - 1
• Verratti 27th min, 2 - 1
• Matuidi 52nd min , 3 - 1
• Neymar 56th min, 3 - 2

It was however admirable to see how Barça reacted almost immediately to pull the score back each time, but the French were better organized & more focused on what needed to be done. 

Barça came real close to equalizing in the final part of the match with PSG defender Marquinhos blocking a Jordi Alba shot, young Munir hitting the post & Sandro missing a clear opportunity.  

Good & deserved victory for PSG & Barça to fly home to the expected criticisms that make the Football circus go round.

Disaster for Athletic Club Bilbao losing 2 - 1 to Bate Borisov in their Group H game. The loss puts things uphill for Bilbao to be able to qualify out of the Group phase. 

The starting 11 for Bilbao was:

Iraizoz; Iraola, San José, Laporte, Balenziaga; Iturraspe, Beñat, Rico; Ibai, Muniain & Aduriz.

Notable absences were De Marcos & Susaeta who were left on the bench. Here too Bilbao Coach Valverde - as with FC Barcelona Coach Luis Enrique - will receive local criticisms & flake over the line-up. 

However, Bilbao played badly & was chaotic. Bate scored two goal in the first half, Polyakov in the 19th min & Kaarnitskiy in the 41st min. Too many midfield mistakes from Bilbao, especially Iturraspe who had terrible game. The Bilbao 41st min goal from Aduriz gave some hope but the Spanish Team failed to convert their gained opportunities in the second half. 

Tomorrow more UEFA Champions League action with Spanish Football Clubs Real Madrid & Atletico de Madrid in action.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAMS WEDNESDAY FINAL RESULTS | UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The two last remaining Spanish Football Clubs with UEFA Champions League duties played tonight with the following final results & goalscorers.

FC Barcelona hosted Apoel Nicosia in their Group F opener. The final result was a 1 - 0 victory to Barça & more importantly, the three points. Barça Coach Luis Enrique changed his team around & started with:

Ter Stegen; Alves, Pique, Bartra, Adriano; Sergi Roberto, Xavi, Samper; Messi, Neymar & Munir.

FC Barcelona kept to their style of possession Football while Apoel held back to defend & wait for counter-attacking opportunities. No surprises throughout the match with Barça attacking & creating chances almost getting to the monotonous stages. Apoel created some chances in the second half but failed to convert.

The only - & winning - goal came in the 28th min when Gerard Pique headed home a fixed play free kick. 

Celebrations at Bilbao as Athletic Club returns to Champions League after a 16 year wait. Bilbao hosted Shakhtar Donetsk in their Group H match & played out a 0 - 0 final result.

The Athletic Club Bilbao starting line-up was:

Iraizoz; De Marcos, Gurpegi, Laporte, Balenziaga; Iturraspe, Mikel Rico, Beñat; Muniain, Ibai Gomez & Aduriz.

From the Bilbao point of view, 24 crosses into the goal area & no ball converted into goal, apart from this, with only 3 true goal chance-attempts all in the second half. This sums up the Bilbao night. Shakhtar on the other hand defended very well & won in the ball possession area- 54% - having their own very clear goal opportunities as well but failing to convert. Bilbao suffered to hold them out.

Seen it all after 90 mins, perhaps deserved result & draw.

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL RESULTS FOR ATLETICO DE MADRID - FC BARCELONA

UEFA Champions League Football tonight with the last games of the remaining Groups after yesterday matches settled the 8 Clubs from A to D that go through to the next stage of the tournament. Tonight two Spanish Football Clubs had Group duties that were already qualified except for FC Barcelona which was playing for the top spot of Group H something achieved after their victory, along with Atletico de Madrid which also won their match leaving out of Champions League their opponents Porto.

Here are all the final results - scores & goalscorers.

Atletico de Madrid won 2 - 0 Portuguese Club Porto in their Group G match & in the process eliminated the visitors from Champions. To stay alive Porto needed to win in Madrid with Zenit St Petersburg losing their match, the last part occured except for the first part.

Porto tried hard & may I add were extremely unlucky as Football can be very cruel. Firstly they missed a penalty in the 27th min stopped by Atletico goalkeeper Aranzubia in for Courtois. Secondly they hit the "wood-work" 4 times! This was extremely frustrating for Porto as they could not convert their chances.

Atletico on the other hand were lethal with their opportunities. Raul Garcia scored a "beauty" in the 14th min & later in the 37th min Diego Costa got the second goal. The damage was done relatively early to Oporto as the latter played uphill & full of nerves ever since.

This is European Football.

FC Barcelona had already qualified for the next round of Champions but was looking tonight against Celtic Glasgow to secure the top spot of Group H. The Spanish Football Club did so winning 6 - 1 with dominance & with an exhibition of Football that included a HAT-TRICK from Neymar.

Barça,  & Neymar,  were questioned in the last week for two straight losses ( Ajax & Athletic Bilbao in Liga ) with speculated dressing room rumbles & conflicts. Tonight they cleared "misunderstandings" again & got back into their winning way with a match performance that will shut a many mouths & lift their confidence. The goals came in the following order:

• Pique 6th min
• Pedro 40th min
• Neymar 45th min
• Neymar 48th min
• Neymar 58th min
• Tello 72nd min

Celtic managed a consolation goal from the Greek International forward Samaras in the 88th min.

Neymar tonight played in the position that Messi occupies normal & when fit & his performance has two interpretations: 

1 . Great news for Barça as there is a reliable substitute when Messi is not available,  & 

2. Now that there is a reliable "on the rise World Star" Messi is not longer indispensable. 

The Brazilian is quietly & progressively growing in stature at Barça, in Spanish Football & on the World stage. The upcoming Brazil World Cup Finals could make the youngster "the new King". Obviously lets be positive & see these developments & Neymar rise as a stimulus for Messi to make sure no one takes his throne just yet.

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS | ATLETICO DE MADRID - FC BARCELONA GROUP GAME SCORES

UEFA Champions League tonight for the two remaining Spanish Football Clubs which were scheduled to play their Group games - Atletico de Madrid & FC Barcelona - with each gaining positive results & securing their place in the next stage of the tournament. Here are the final results - scores & all the goalscorers.

Atletico de Madrid won 4 - 0 Austria Vienna & secured the top spot of Group G & into the next stage. The Spanish Football Team continues with its "sweet moment" & it´s the 4th win in Champions League. Excellent Football & play from the beginning to the end that gave few options to the Austrian Team. The goals came in the following order:

• Miranda 10th min
• Raul Garcia 25th min
• Filipe Luis 46 th min
• Diego Costa 82nd min

The scoreline could have been more for At. Madrid but Diego Costa failed to convert a penalty opportunity after Austria Vienna goalie Linder stopped the shot. 

FC Barcelona managed to shake off an "annoying" AC Milan & finally win 3 - 1 in their Group H game. Barça secures their presence in the next stage of the Champions League tournament.

The first half saw Barça dominant as Milan defended & waited in their own half. With this attitude from the Italians it was not too long before the continuing Barça attacks would give their rewards. The first prize came in the 30th min when Milan defender Abate fouled Neymar in the area. Lionel Messi converted the penalty for the first goal of FC Barcelona. Did not take long before the second Barça goal came when Busquets converted a Xavi free kick into a 39th min goal. Then the surprise, right before the end of the 1ºst half a Kaka play ended in an own goal from Barça defender Pique. This was to lift Milan in the second half , bring on Balotteli & look for the equalizer.

The Milan change of mentality in the second half from defensive to attack paid dividends & had Barça on the back foot creating numerous chances of goal. What let Milan down was the lack of effectiveness & finishing that would have lifted the nerves of an already rattled Barça. In Football if you don´t take your chances you pay the price & Barça brought on Cesc Fabregas who gave a pass to Lionel Messi in the 82nd min & broke through the Milan defence to score the third. This took all the wind out of the Milan sails & the match ended 3 -1 for FC Barcelona.

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP FINAL RESULTS | ATLETICO DE MADRID - FC BARCELONA

Two Spanish Football Clubs - Atletico de Madrid & FC Barcelona - had UEFA Champions League Group match duties. Here is a brief summary of events, the final results - scores & the goalscorers.

Austria Vienna hosted Spanish Football Club Atletico de Madrid in their Group H match with the Spaniards winning convincingly 0 - 3 & remaining top of the Group with 9 points. The surprise was the start in the initial XI line-up of Atletico of Diego Costa who made a "miracle" recovery from his ankle injury.

The inclusion of the Spanish-Brazilian was fundamental as he scored two of the three goals for Atletico de Madrid, the first in the 20th min & his second in the 53rd min. Before the Diego Costa goals team-mate Raul Garcia opened up the scoreline in the 8th min to set the Spaniard on course. 

The only "bad news" was the muscle injury to Atletico de Madrid left back defender Luis Felipe who left the second half to team-mate Insua who put in a good second half.

Excellent game for Atletico that practically gives the Club a foot into the next stage of Champions League.

AC Milan hosted FC Barcelona for their Group I match which finished in a 1 - 1 draw. A game that could have gone either way with two very distinctive styles of Football shown by the respective teams. AC Milan started surprisingly with Kaka which gave a clue that their strategy was to defend, pressure & look for the counter-attack. While FC Barcelona stayed loyal to their habitual ball domination & passing style hoping to find the Messi - Neymar combination upfront.

The outcome was a fairly even game, with both sides neutralizing each other most of the time except for mistakes that turned out to be crucial & decisive in the result. The first mistake was a tremendous misunderstanding between Barça defenders Mascherano & Pique that allowed Robinho & Kaka to work the first Milan goal in the 9th min thanks to a knock in by Robinho from a Kaka pass. The second mistake was a lost ball by Milan midfielder Monteolivo which saw Barça combine & find Messi who scored in the 23rd min. 

From here Milan had some very clear chances to score again, one from Robinho that can´t be explained how he missed,  & Barça had their opportunities while one from Adriano comes to mind that can´t be explain either how it was not converted. In the end both side settled for the draw. 

Milan will be very happy ( great match from Kaka by the way ) as they optimized their resources to the maximum, while Barcelona will not be so happy as once again the "defensive wall / counter-attack" strategy of the opponent showed "weaknesses" that are becoming habitual.

Tomorrow UEFA Champions League continues with Real Sociedad & Real Madrid in action in their respective Groups.

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FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 | 32 TEAMS | GROUP H

Source Blog : Sp Ftball Sports

Today we feature the Group that has the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM . All the other Groups ( A - G) have already been posted with their respective team photos & are available here & via the Search Engines if you missed out on your squad. Hope you enjoyed the daily series, I will be continuing following the Spanish Football Team & all the South Africa FIFA World Cup 2010 events.

GROUP H

SPAIN

CHILE
HONDURAS
SWITZERLAND
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