CSKA and Spartak missed out on Zulte-Waregem

However, the Rapid collision has a double bottom. Not only that, the Romanian club did not experience the bitterness of fiasco. He did not know the taste of victory! In all four matches, the squad of Rezvan Lucescu cost the world. And without Victoria, they never made it to the playoffs.

At the same time, “Rapid”, who played in Group G, shot off before the competition and last evening, although he did not lose the chance to finish in the coveted three, could not affect the final situation. As often happens in such situations, everything turned out against. First, the Tel Aviv “Hapoel” achieved the home draw he needed with the “Mlada Boleslav”. And secondly, PSG easily figured out on his field with the unmotivated “Panathinaikos” - 4: 0. The Greeks prematurely ensured participation in the next stage and, apparently, they had nothing against the Christmas present to the Parisians. The final score was formed at the 54th minute, when Bonaventure Kalu drew a line under the hurricane aftermath: within eight minutes, Pauleta and Kalu (twice) increased the lead from 1: 0 to 4: 0.

Hello from Takahara

Quintet H suggested the most confusing collision. Four applicants also appeared in two vacant places, but everyone still had to enter the field! “Fenerbahce” took “Eintracht”, and the hosts needed not to lose, and the German club was satisfied only with a victory. Despite a clear disposition, the Istanbul people, like unconscious children, got involved in a dashing exchange of injections and were quickly punished. Distinguished Japanese Takahara, who won horse martial arts. The psychological and strategic advantage immediately passed to the Frankfurt, and at the beginning of the second half they secured success. Takahara again successfully worked on the “second floor”, thereby conveying fiery greetings to the coach of “Fener” Zico - half a year ago they worked together for the good of the Japanese team.

I immediately remembered the statistics that were not joyful for Fenerbahce: in eight previous meetings with the German teams, the Istanbul team shared the points only once, and suffered a fiasco seven more times. And the Eintracht coach Friedhelm Funkel always (both a footballer and a coach) has successfully opposed Turkish clubs - not a single defeat in six games.

Traditions are not broken. However, this did not console Funkel's squad. She could not keep such a significant backlog (Tuncai Shanli and Semih Shentyurk were the rescuers of the owners) and remained with nothing.

Camouflage sincerity

In the other pair of group H, everything was exactly the opposite. Arriving, “Celta” thought about a draw, and “Palermo” should have won. His helmsman Francesco Gvidolin positioned the upcoming fight as almost the most important of the season. But the game itself has cast doubt on the sincerity of the Sicilian coach. Always assertive in their native walls, they often gave in to the “Celta”, which often owned the ball and looked good on “Renzo Barber”. The result - a fair world, but for “Palermo”, it seems, all the same, the next Sunday's match with “Roma” is more important.

Not without the Dutch

In the other two groups, they played one vacant ticket. Both went to the Dutch clubs. “Ajax” and “Feyenord” confidently put on the shoulder blades of the Krakow “Vistula” and the Belgian “Zulte-Waregem”. By the way, the crushing victory of the Amsterdam team made it possible to establish parity in the European Cup relations between the Dutch and Belgian teams: 18 wins and 6 peaceful outcomes.

So, the offender of the Moscow “Locomotive” finished third, and in the 1/16 finals will fight with one of the winners of the groups. So, CSKA and Spartak may not be afraid of a February meeting with him. But “Ajax”, who took second place, will meet with one of the former participants in the Champions League, demoted to the UEFA Cup. This rule of the Friday draw, of course, applies to all quintets.