Roma 1-1 Man. United
Manchester United FC and AS Roma ended the UEFA Champions League group stage with an honourable draw as Mancini struck on 71 minutes to cancel out Gerard Piqué's first-half header.
Parity reigns
It was Piqué's second goal in as many games in Europe's élite club competition and he was hoping it would help his team to their sixth consecutive Group F success. However, Mancini's strike was true and a fair reflection of an entertaining, open match.
United changes
With the top two places in the section already secured by these two clubs on Matchday 5, Sir Alex Ferguson made nine changes to the side that defeated Derby County FC on Saturday and his fledglings made a promising start. Their first shot on goal came within 60 seconds albeit from a United 'veteran' – the 22-year-old Wayne Rooney firing over from the left edge of the penalty area after Taddei had conceded possession in midfield.
Impressive start
The visitors began well. Piqué looked particularly assured at the back for the group winners, making a timely intervention to dispossess Francesco Totti as the hosts threatened a first attack, and denying Taddei in Roma's subsequent foray forward. At the other end, Rooney again tried to mark his first professional game as captain with a goal, his 18th-minute effort soaring over the crossbar. Roma settled, though, David Pizzarro testing Tomasz Kuszczak from distance and Antunes forcing the United goalkeeper to turn his left-wing cross over the bar.
Piqué goal
Cicinho then found Mauro Esposito with a curling centre from the opposite flank, which the striker glanced wide of the far post from no more than six metres out. United had provided aerial menace moments earlier when John O'Shea called Doni into action from Rooney's lofted delivery, and it was a header that broke the deadlock soon afterwards, Piqué nodding in Nani's corner from the left.
Narrow escape
The Serie A high-fliers, quite literally piqued, sought to rally and on 38 minutes almost drew level when Mancini hit the woodwork. Cicinho had found Totti in the box and the Giallorossi captain feigned to shoot before teeing up his team-mate. Cicinho lifted the ball over Kuszczak only for it to rebound off the post and fall to Esposito, who headed over under pressure from O'Shea.
Dangerous game
Mancini again came close shortly before the break, meeting Antunes's cross only to be thwarted by Kuszczak's full-stretch save, while on the hour, Ahmed Apimah Barusso rifled narrowly wide from distance as the group runners-up pressed forward. Roma's approach left them exposed on the counterattack, however, and Chris Eagles almost made them pay when Nani raced clear only to send his centre a shade too far for the midfielder to direct at goal.
Vučinić impact
Doni kept his team in the match when he blocked Louis Saha's attempt, yet as the contest became stretched so Roma equalised. Substitute Mirko Vučinić played in Mancini who cut inside before curling a shot past Kuszczak. Vučinić had made an immediate impact and he almost made it 2-0 a minute later, blasting against the far post with Kuszczak again beaten. Then Luciano Spalletti's men almost stole the three points, Ludovic Giuly driving wide and Antunes testing Doni, but that would have been more than his side deserved.
Sporting 3-0 Dynamo Kyiv
Sporting Clube de Portugal will go into the UEFA Cup in good spirits after ending their Group F campaign with their first home win of this season's UEFA Champions League against a spirited FC Dynamo Kyiv.
Sporting success
Goals from Anderson Polga, captain João Moutinho and Liedson meant the Lisbon club matched their highest points tally in the competition and inflicted a a sixth successive defeat on the Ukrainian visitors, already guaranteed to finish bottom of the section. Dynamo therefore become only the eighth club to finish the a group stage of the UEFA Champions League without a single point.
Dynamic Dynamo
Dynamo had started determined to avoid that unwanted honour and give their small but noisy band of followers something to reward their faith. In the second minute Oleh Gusev raced on to a through-ball and his shot was pushed around the post by Rui Patrício. That proved misleading, however, as the home side swiftly gained the upper hand with 18-year-old debutant Adrien Silva looking particularly composed in midfield.
Sporting chances
Ten minutes in Abel's cross was nodded down by Liedson to give Milan Purović a clear chance he poked just wide and Sporting came even closer midway through the first half as Abel unleashed a speculative 30-metre shot that clipped the top of the crossbar. The visitors carved out an excellent opening of their own three minutes past the half-hour, Ismaël Bangoura turning smartly before forcing an excellent low save from Rui Patrício, and the breakthrough did finally arrive two minutes later – at the other end.
Polga composure
Liedson touched the ball beyond Andriy Nesmachniy on the edge of the Dynamo penalty area and was promptly felled, giving Polga – who had scored his first goal for Sporting in Kiev on Matchday 2 – the chance to slot past Taras Lutsenko from the penalty spot. The lead might have been further increased before half-time, Maksim Shatskikh blocking another Purović effort and the goalkeeper touching over a thunderous long-range shot from Izmailov as Dynamo battled to stay in the game.
Sucker punch
A slow start to the second half helped the visitors compose themselves and begin to push forward, Goran Gavrančić and Shatskikh combining neatly to find Serhiy Rebrov in space, but the veteran pulled his shot well wide. Dynamo substitute Kravets Artem's low cross was then deflected against the post by Polga, who had scored an own goal in Sporting's last UEFA Champions League home game against Roma and, perhaps inevitably, the home side produced a sucker punch. Izmailov broke down the left on to Adrien Silva's incisive pass and cut back for João Moutinho to side-foot into the far corner.
Liedson third
Dynamo, trying to impress new coach Yuri Semin, who will succeed Oleh Luzhny after the game, battled on but Sporting had another great chance when Purović met a Miguel Veloso cross with a header that was cleared off the line. Liedson finally wrapped things up in the 89th minute, touching his fourth UEFA Champions League goal of the season over Lutsenko from substitute Vukčević's pass, sustaining an injury as he collided with the goalkeeper – but it could not spoil Sporting's night.
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