UEFA Champions League 2014-15 Results & Highlights: Cristiano Ronaldo Passes Raul as he Tries to Catch up to Messi's Scoring Record, Liverpool Eliminated
Liverpool's miserable season continues after being eliminated by Swiss Super League champions FC Basel, managing only a lackluster 1-1 draw playing at home in Anfield.
Liverpool needed a win at home, but Basel midfielder Fabian Frei snuffed all hope, blasting Luca Zuffi's shot from outside the box past Liverpool's Simon Mignolet to give the Swiss club a 1-0 lead. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard attempted to play the role of hero, managing to equalize the game in the 81st minute despite Liverpool being a man down after Lazar Markovic was red carded in the 61st minute for a hard foul.
"We had enough games to try and get enough points but the key one was away to Basel, where we were disappointing and lost," said Liverpool head coach Brendan Rodgers, whose team will now compete in the UEFA Europa League tournament. "If you deserve to go through you get the points. We really wanted to qualify but we weren't good enough."
Real Madrid vs Ludogorets Razgrad
Basel joins Real Madrid in the next round after thumping Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad 4-0 at home in Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed Raul on the UEFA Champions League all-time scorers list, scoring his 72nd career Champions League goal in the 20th minute on a penalty kick after Ludogorets defender Marcelinho picked up a red card for a handball foul in the box on a corner kick. Ronaldo is chasing Barcelona arch-nemesis Lionel Messi on the all-time scorers list; Messi is three goals ahead of him on the list.
Alvaro Arbeloa, Gareth Bale and Alvaro Medran all added goals for Real Madrid, who went undefeated in the Champions League Group Stage and cruised into first place in Group B as they roll into the Round of 16.
Serie A club Juventus punched their ticket into the next round, finishing second in Group A, after a scoreless draw against defending La Liga champ Atletico Madrid at Juventus Stadium. Gianluigi Buffon's three saves helped preserve the draw that helped Juventus finish in second place to advance into the Round of 16 and fend off Greek champion Olympiakos. Olympiakos defeated Swedish champions Malmo FF 4-2 at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, but ended up third place in Group A, headed to Europa League despite the victory.
Ligue 1 squad AS Monaco managed to take the top spot in Group C defeating Russian Premier League club Zenit St Petersburg 2-0 at Stade Louis II to advance to the Round of 16. Monaco defenders Aymen Abdennour's and Fabinho's goals helped the French club leapfrog Bundesliga squad Bayer Leverkusen in the standings, who finished second in Group C after a scoreless draw against Primeira Liga champions Benfica at Estadio da Luz. Zenit St Petersburg's third place finish sends them off to compete in the UEFA Europa League tournament.
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Arsenal bounced back from Saturday's English Premier League (EPL) loss to Stoke City, defeating Turkish Süper Lig champion Galatasaray 4-1 on the road at Türk Telekom Arena. Gunners midfielder Aaron Ramsey and forward Lukas Podolski both had a pair of goals as the Gunners tried to catch Borussia Dortmund in the Group D standings. But Arsenal would end the day in second place, with Borussia Dortmund finishing atop Group D after a 1-1 draw against Belgian Pro League champion Anderlecht -- who finished third and headed to the Europa League tournament.
"There's a little bit of frustration, but we knew at half-time we needed to score six without conceding. Fortunately, it wasn't enough, we finished with 13 points and did the job tonight," said Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger. "We came out strong and that's what I wanted from these players. We had two favourites responding to the fact they were favourites. We won four games and had one draw, we can maybe regret that point at home to Anderlecht. There's some great teams in there and we need to wait and see who we get."
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