The third is not superfluous

Spartak got a chance to stay in the UEFA Cup

2. Werder Bremen

3. Barcelona

4. "Levski"

Moscow Spartak, which has not yet won a single match in the group stage, nevertheless has not lost its chance to compete for a place in the UEFA Cup. To do this, you need to do very little - beat Sporting in Lisbon. And then the doors of the second most important tournament will open for the “red-whites”. For the second Russian delegate, CSKA, they are already open. Another thing is that the army team wants to remain in the highest football society.

“He who hinders us will help us” is now the main motto of Spartak in Group B. The Red and Whites received help from their recent rival Inter Milan, who beat Sporting at the San Siro. In the middle of the first half, Hernan Crespo ran away from the defenders and, without getting close to Ricardo, shot at goal. This goal was enough for the “blue-blacks” to both win and advance from the group. The Lisbon “lions” are forced to fight for a place in the sun in the last round at the Jose Alvalado stadium, which is lucky for Spartak. Six years ago, Spartak beat Sporting there.

From group “B” we move on to group “A”. Chelsea, despite the defeat in Bremen, still booked their participation in the playoffs. Jose Mourinho studied all possible scenarios and was not very saddened by the loss. The Blues have a much more important game on Sunday - against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Just like the Mancunians, the English champions thought more about the head-to-head meeting and therefore did not strain themselves too much. Midway through the first half, the tall Per Mertesacker headed the ball into Carlo Cudicini's goal. In the second half, Andrei Shevchenko appeared on the field, but he was not remembered for anything special.

If Chelsea have decided their affairs, then Barcelona, in a head-to-head confrontation with Werder Bremen, will have to find out which of them is the odd one out. The current European club champion improved its fortunes in Sofia, beating Levski there, which, like Hamburg, did not score a single point. The result was ensured by Julie and Iniesta. And no matter how much we like Werder, we have to admit that Barcelona has a better chance of qualifying from the group.

In Group C, both Champions League participants - Liverpool and PSV - became known. Their head-to-head meeting at Anfield ended in victory for the Liverpudlians, with their compatriot Dirk Kuyt causing the greatest trouble for the Dutch champions. The forward did not score any goals, but he made two such amazing passes, after which Gerrard and Crouch were ashamed not to score. 2:0 in favor of Liverpool, and both participants in the meeting were quite happy. The consolation prize in the form of a ticket to the UEFA Cup went to Bordeaux, who beat Galatasaray at home 3:1.

Now about group “D” , where the situation has become very confusing. If Valencia, after the victory over Olympiacos, strengthened its already strong position as number one, then Roma, with its loss to Shakhtar, clearly revived the intrigue. Of course, a victory with a score of 1:0 cannot be called a full-fledged revenge for the Roman 0:4, but is that really the point? Now Shakhtar, which recently looked hopeless, is two points behind the Giallorossi. The solution to the puzzle is scheduled for the last day. Moreover, Shakhtar has three options at once - from entering the Champions League to complete failure. To secure a place in the UEFA Cup, the Donetsk team only needs to avoid losing to Olympiacos. In order to hit a more substantial jackpot, it will not be enough for Mircea Lucescu’s wards to win in Greece; they also need Valencia to help - to beat Roma in the Eternal City. Alas, this option still looks fantastic.

The main result of the second game day of the fifth round was that the number of lucky participants in the playoffs increased to ten: Chelsea, Bayern, Inter, Liverpool, PSV, Valencia, Lyon, Real Madrid, Celtic, Milan. It remains to find out the names of six more clubs.

Results of the 5th round matches. Group "A". Werder - Chelsea - 1:0 (Mertesacker 27) , Levski - Barcelona - 0:2 (Julie 5, Iniesta 65) . Group "B". Inter - Sporting - 1:0 ( Crespo 36 ), Spartak - Bayern - 2:2 (Kalinichenko 16, Kovac 72 - Pizarro 22, 39). Group "C". Bordeaux - Galatasaray - 3:1 (Alonso 22, Lalande 47, Faubert 50 - Inamoto 73) , Liverpool - PSV - 2:0 (Gerrard 65, Crouch 89) . Group "D". Shakhtar - Roma - 1:0 (Marika 61) , Valencia - Olympiacos - 2:0 (Angulo 45, Morientes 46) .

Group "A" I V N P M O

Group "B" I V N P M O

Group "C" I V N P M O

Group "D" I V N P M O

Oleg TIMOFEEV