The Marseille miracle

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Three clubs (Chelsea, Olympique Marseille and Zenit St. Petersburg) booked their spots in the knockout round while four others (Valencia, Borussia Dortmund, Olympiakos and Porto) were eliminated from contention. Four teams (Viktoria Plzen, Valencia, Olympiakos and Porto) will get kicked over to the Europa League after finishing third in their respective groups.

The results

Chelsea blanked Valencia 3-0 at home; Barcelona bested visiting BATE Borisov 4-0; Shakhtar Donetsk defeated APOEL Nicosia 2-0 on the road; FC Porto and Zenit St. Petersburg battled to a goal-less draw in Portugal; Olympiakos defeated Arsenal 3-1 at home; Viktoria Plzen held AC Milan to a 2-2 draw at home; Racing Genk and Bayer Leverkusen fought to a 1-1 draw in Belgium; and Olympique Marseille came from two goals down on the road to stun Borussia Dortmund 3-2.

Match of the day

Is there any debate over this?

Borussia Dortmund took a 2-0 lead after 32 minutes through Jakub Blaszczykowski and Mats Hummels as the German champs were running rampant. Even after Loic Remy scored for Marseille on a marvellous header in first-half injury time, there still appeared no way back for L’OM.

But Didier Deschamps’ men pressed forward and nicked two very late goals in dramatic fashion - Andre Ayew on a header off a corner kick in the 85th, and Mathieu Valbuena two minutes later on a fantastic individual effort – to complete the comeback and stun the Germans.

No doubt that the events at Stamford Bridge will garner the majority of attention from the international press, but Marseille’s incredible victory reminded us of why these European nights are so special.

Interesting tidbits

-- Barcelona did not dress Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, David Villa and Andres Iniesta, as Pep Guardiola decided to give them some rest ahead of Saturday’s visit to Real Madrid.

-- Arsenal back-up ‘keeper Vito Mannone – who came on in place of the injured Lukasz Fabianski in the 25th minute - slipped as he made his way back to his goal-line after making a clearance, allowing David Fuster to lob him with a left-footed shot and give Olympiakos a 2-0 advantage.

-- Leverkusen’s 1-1 draw in Belgium allowed the Germans to earn its first road point of the group stage, but that’s little consolation. A victory would have sealed first place in the group – and a weaker opponent in the knockout stage – and knowing how they’ve struggled on the road, the Germans could have used the home-field advantage for the second-leg in the next round.

Upset of the day

It was a meaningless game, and you have to wonder how hard AC Milan was trying, but Victoria Plzen’s come-from-behind 2-2 draw with the Italians in Prague was a shocker. The rossoneri jumped out to the lead early in the second half with goals from Pato and Robinho before conceding a pair of goals in injury time.

Goal of the day

Olympique Marseille’s Mathieu Valbuena scored the winner in the 87th minute against Dortmund, and what a goal it was. The Frenchman exhibited some fabulous footwork, cutting in from the touchline and expertly dribbling his way past three Dortmund players into the box before curling a gorgeous shot inside the far post.

Save of the day

Shortly after Didier Drogba gave Chelsea a 1-0 in the third minute at Stamford Bridge, Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech brilliantly parried away a 30-yard blast from Valencia’s David Albelda that was destined for the top-left corner.

Burning questions

-- What was with Didier Drogba copying Nicolas Anelka’s “butterfly” celebration after scoring his first goal against Valencia? Was it a tribute to his teammate who has filed a transfer request or just a lack of creativity on Drogba’s part?

-- You can hardly blame Pep Guardiola for fielding what could charitably called a “B team” against BATE, as Barcelona had already claimed first place in their group. It makes you wonder though what, exactly, did Lionel Messi do on his night off? Watch the game on TV at home? Stroll down Las Ramblas?

-- Did Arsene Wenger’s pre-game team talk consist of him simply telling his players to roll over for Olympiakos and let the Greeks have their way? What other explanation could there be for the Gunners looking so uninterested and lethargic right from the start?

3 stars

1.) Didier Drogba: The Ivory Coast forward scored two goals and set up another in the Blues’ 2-0 win and looked like the Didier Drogba of old – fast, committed ruthless in front of goal, and lively right from the opening kick-off.

2.) Vyacheslav Malafeev: The Zenit St. Petersburg goalkeeper made a series of great saves throughout the game to help the Russian champions earn a draw in Portugal and clinch a first-ever berth in the knockout round of the Champions League.

3.) Juan Mata: The Spaniard had another magnificent outing for the Blues, displaying a sublime touch on the ball, impeccable distribution and setting up both of Drogba’s goals.