Seven of eight potential knockout round berths were sewn up Tuesday on Matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League group stage.
[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]
Bayern Munich 5-1 Benfica
The old guard was roaring for Bayern, as the first of Robert Lewandowski’s two goals was his 50th Champions League goal for Bayern. He joined Arjen Robben in recording a double, and Franck Ribery also scored in the win.
Benfica will head to the Europa League.
AEK Athens 0-2 Ajax
Ajax is back in the knockout rounds after a Dusan Tadic double gave them an away win and second place in the group after of a Dec. 12 visit from leaders Bayern.
| Group E | ||||||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Bayern Munich | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 2-1-0 | 2-0-0 | 13 |
| Ajax | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 2-0-0 | 1-2-0 | 11 |
| Benfica | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 0-1-1 | 1-0-2 | 4 |
| AEK Athens | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 12 | -10 | 0-0-3 | 0-0-2 | 0 |
Lyon 2-2 Manchester City — RECAP
End-to-end action in France, where Pep Guardiola‘s men twice trailed to Maxwel Cornet goals (the first one a stunner). But Aymeric Laporte and Sergio Aguero headed home equalizers off set pieces as Man City avoided a series sweep and advanced to the knockout rounds along with their hosts.
Hoffenheim 2-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
Taison’s second goal of the match marched Shakhtar Donetsk into third place in the group as Hoffenheim’s rally from a 2-0 deficit wasn’t enough in the end. Ismaily and Taison scored a minute apart in the first half, but Andrej Kramaric had it 2-1 two minutes later and Steven Zuber leveled the score before halftime.
| Group F | ||||||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Manchester City | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 1-0-1 | 2-1-0 | 10 |
| Lyon | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0-3-0 | 1-1-0 | 7 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 0-1-1 | 1-1-1 | 5 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 0-1-2 | 0-2-0 | 3 |
CSKA Moscow 1-2 Viktoria Plzen
Nikola Vlasic‘s 10th minute penalty was all the hosts could muster, as Roman Prochazka and Lukas Hejda scored second half goals to keep Viktoria’s Europa League hopes alive.
Roma 0-2 Real Madrid
CSKA’s loss was Roma’s and Real’s gain, as both clubs knew they had qualified for the knockout rounds before they kicked off in Italy. Gareth Bale scored just after halftime then helped Lucas Vazquez put the match to bed in the 59th minute.
| Group G | ||||||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away | PTS |
| Real Madrid | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 2-0-0 | 2-0-1 | 12 |
| Roma | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2-0-1 | 1-0-1 | 9 |
| Viktoria Plzen | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 0-1-1 | 1-0-2 | 4 |
| CSKA Moscow | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 1-0-2 | 0-1-1 | 4 |
Juventus 1-0 Valencia
Mario Mandzukic’s 59th minute goal made sure Valencia dropped the points necessary to open the door for Manchester United.
Manchester United 1-0 Young Boys — RECAP
David De Gea made a spectacular reaction save minutes before Marouane Fellaini saved United blushes and clinched a spot in the next round for the Red Devils.
| Group H | ||||||||||
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Home | Away |
PTS |
| Juventus | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 2-0-1 | 2-0-0 | 12 |
| Manchester United | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1-1-1 | 2-0-0 | 10 |
| València | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 1-0-1 | 0-2-1 | 5 |
| Young Boys | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 0-1-1 | 0-0-3 | 1 |
