In the 5th round of the Champions League, the players of Slavia Prague drew at home with Bilbao without goals. The Czech champion got the third point in the table for a draw, but he again extended his wait for a victory in the main part of the millionaire competition to 16 matches.
The Basque semi-finalists of last year’s Europa League were closer to winning in Eden, goalkeeper Jindřich Staněk caught Roberto Navarro in three great chances at the beginning of the second half.
Slavia did not get revenge for the 0:1 defeat in Bilbao in the opening match between them last October in the Europa League. The leader of the Czech top league has not won 12 consecutive duels in the cups, he only won in the main phase of the Champions League at the beginning during his first participation in 2007.
After five out of eight rounds in the incomplete table, Slavia is in 30th place, Bilbao two places higher. The league part of the cups has been played under a new system since last season. All 36 participants form one common table, from which the 24 best teams will go to the knockout stage, eight of which go directly to the round of 16. Prague’s next match will be against Tottenham on December 9 in London.
Slavia’s starting line-up included midfielder Zafeiris, who missed the weekend league match with Bohemians 1905 due to a cold. This time, coach Trpišovský opted for a formation with four defenders, with Moses playing at right back and Douděra above him. Bilbao coach Valverde made several changes in the starting eleven, only the biggest star Nico Williams, the author of one of Spain’s goals from last year’s winning Euro final, started on the bench.
The people of Prague entered the match actively, but the Basque team had the first big chance. In the sixth minute, Chaloupek made a mistake in the middle of the pitch, the guests got into a two-on-one outnumbering, but Sancet was picked up by Staněk after a pass from Guruzeta. On the opposite side, in the 12th minute, he headed just wide of Provod.
The rest of the first half was an even match with no major chances. After the change of sides, the visitors started with a big onslaught and goalkeeper Staněk stopped Slavia three times in short succession, each time against Navarro. In the 49th minute, the national team goalkeeper blocked a shot from the Bilbao winger in the box, in the 52nd minute he canceled out a separate escape from the left side, and then, almost miraculously, a header against the post.
The home team recovered a little from the unsuccessful start of the second half, helped by a triple substitution in the 55th minute. Moments later, Choré’s “scissors” attempt over the head was stopped by a defender on the line, but the Lithuanian referee had previously whistled the Slavist striker for a foul.
The Red and Whites gradually leveled the game and at times put the currently eighth team in the Spanish league under pressure. In the 81st minute, Chaloupek could have decided, but after an extended corner, pressured by Boire, he headed over the back post. In a disjointed finish, with constant snow and rain, none of the teams had a clear chance.
Slavia did not score in the Champions League for the fourth time in a row, they only made it to the start in September in a 2:2 draw with Bodö/Glimt. In the home competition, the still undefeated Praguers have not won in the cups in their own stadium for the seventh time in a row, and their chances of advancing to the knockout stages are receding.
Bilbao, which suffered a 0-4 debacle in Barcelona at the weekend, won only one of the last six competitive duels.
Football Champions League – Round 5:
Slavia Prague – Athletic Bilbao 0:0
Referees: Rumšas – Radiuš, Sužiedelis (all Lit.) – Ruperti (video, Niz.). ŽK: Provod, Chorý, Trpišovský (coach) – Guruzeta, De Galarreta, Paredes, Valverde (coach). Spectators: 19,169.
Slavia: Staněk – Moses, Zima, Chaloupek, Mbodji (55. Bořil) – Zafeiris (79. Chytil), Sadílek – Douděra (55. Holeš), Provod, Sanyang (55. Kušej) – Chorý. Coach: Trpišovský.
Bilbao: Simón – Areso (79. Lekue), Vivian, Paredes, Boiro – De Galarreta (64. Jauregizar), Rego – Berenguer (58. N. Williams), Sancet (58. Sánchez), Navarro – Cruzeta (79. Gómez). Coach: Valverde.
Football Champions League – Round 5:
Ajax Amsterdam – Benfica Lisbon 0:2 (0:1), Galatasaray – Saint-Gilloise 0:1 (0:0), Bodö/Glimt – Juventus Turin 2:3 (1:0), Dortmund – Villarreal 4:0 (1:0), Chelsea – FC Barcelona 3:0 (1:0), Manchester City – Leverkusen 0:2 (0:1), Marseille – Newcastle 2:1 (0:1), Napoli – Karabakh 2:0 (0:0).
Table:
| 1. | Bayern Munich | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14:3 | 12 |
| 2. | Arsenal | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11:0 | 12 |
| 3. | Inter Milan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11:1 | 12 |
| 4. | Dortmund | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 17:11 | 10 |
| 5. | Chelsea | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12:6 | 10 |
| 6. | Manchester City | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10:5 | 10 |
| 7. | Paris St. Germain | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 14:5 | 9 |
| 8. | Newcastle | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11:4 | 9 |
| 9. | Real Madrid | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8:2 | 9 |
| 10. | Liverpool | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9:4 | 9 |
| 11. | Galatasaray | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8:7 | 9 |
| 12. | Tottenham | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7:2 | 8 |
| 13. | Leverkusen | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8:10 | 8 |
| 14. | Sporting Lisabon | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8:5 | 7 |
| 15. | FC Barcelona | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12:10 | 7 |
| 16. | Karabakh | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8:9 | 7 |
| 17. | Bergamo | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3:5 | 7 |
| 18. | Naples | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6:9 | 7 |
| 19. | Marseille | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8:6 | 6 |
| 20. | Atlético Madrid | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10:9 | 6 |
| 21. | Juventus Turin | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10:10 | 6 |
| 22. | Saint-Gilloise | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5:12 | 6 |
| 23. | PSV Eindhoven | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9:7 | 5 |
| 24. | Monaco | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4:6 | 5 |
| 25. | Pathos | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2:5 | 5 |
| 26. | FC Bruges | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8:10 | 4 |
| 27. | Frankfurt | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7:11 | 4 |
| 28. | Bilbao | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4:9 | 4 |
| 29. | Benfica Lisbon | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4:8 | 3 |
| 30. | Slavia Prague | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2:8 | 3 |
| 31. | Bodö/Glimpse | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7:11 | 2 |
| 32. | Olympiakos Piraeus | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2:9 | 2 |
| 33. | FC Copenhagen | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4:12 | 1 |
| 34. | Villarreal | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2:10 | 1 |
| 35. | Kajrat Almaty | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2:11 | 1 |
| 36. | Ajax Amsterdam | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1:16 | 0 |
