Dinamo put CSKA in trouble
Date: 02-12-2005 15:56
UEFA Cup holders CSKA Moscow are in real danger of crashing out of the competition after they went down 1-0 to a Vlad Munteanu goal for Dinamo Bucharest in Romania. The other game in Group F saw Levski Sofia beat Marseille in Bulgaria by a single Hristo Yovov goal to ruin CSKA's night.
Last year's winners sank to a single second half strike in a highly entertaining game in a rainy Bucharest. The conditions made the going tough for both teams as the pitch cut up easily and the rain pounded down for the entirety of the ninety minutes.
The game ebbed and flowed with both teams having their fair share of chances, but neither team seemed capable of finding the net.
But that changed in the 72nd minute.
Munteanu finally broke the deadlock, capitalising on a Ianis Zicu effort at goal which took a heavy deflection and crashed off the bar into the path of the Dinamo striker. All that was left for Munteanu to do was knock the ball into the unguarded net.
It proved to be the winner as the home side's defence held on to the lead, despite the best efforts of the Brazilian pair of Wagner Love and Daniel Carvalho.
The win is enough to set up a fascinating final day of action, as both teams are locked on four points each, and still stand a chance of qualifying for the next round.
LEVSKI MASTER MARSEILLE
Hristo Yovov's superb curling effort was enough to give Levski Sofia a 1-0 win over Marseille and reignite the Bulgarian side's chances of progressing to the knockout stages.
The midfielder's 55th-minute effort - which ricocheted in off the far post with Fabian Barthez a spectator - was the unique moment of inspiration in a dull match played on a glue-pot of a pitch.
Marseille were poor, perhaps deflated by the fact they have already found their way into the last 32, and offered very little by means of attacking intent.
But for all their dominance of possession, Levski made hard work of it, despite former Rennes forward Cedric Bardon looking in sparky form against his compatriots.
The goal came from nothing, Yovov nipping in past two to bend a shot out of the grasp of Barthez, before the France keeper was called on to make two fine stops to give his side a sniff of getting something from the game.
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