Snap Judgments: Quick reactions to UEFA Champions League Tuesday

Coming into the day, only Manchester United had clinched a Round of 16 spot from UEFA Champions League groups E through H. After Tuesday’s action, four more clubs had locked up places in the knockout round, with 2010-11 champions Barcelona joining the Red Devils as group winners.

The other side of that coin: Three teams confirmed they’ll be out of Europe come January, locking up last place spots in their groups.

We’ll spend the rest of the night getting caught up on the action. For now, here are our Snap Judgments.

Group E

Juventus 3-0 Chelsea - There’d be more irony to Chelsea missing the knockout round if a Champions League title didn’t so thoroughly overshadow the Blues’ subsequent slip ups, yet the growing chatter about Roberto Di Matteo’s job (most of which is probably unfounded) will only increase if the defending European champions end up in Europa League. After last year’s first and second place Premier League finishers where relegated to UEFA’s other club tournament, this possibility is more unexpected than shocking.

MORE: Juve rolls over the defending champions.

Nordsjaelland 2-5 Shakhtar Donetsk - Three goals from Luiz Adriano is the footnote to the Brazilian’s foray into amoral pragmatism. After his teammates tried to concede possession to the Danes after a first half drop kick, Adriano collected a long ball, rounded Nordsjaelland’s keeper, and scored into an empty net. When Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu tried to get his team to concede an offsetting goal, this players tackled Nordsjaelland’s attacker. Good thing the game wasn’t closer.

Impact - Shakhtar is through to the second round, sitting on 10 points and holding the tiebreaker advantage over Chelsea (seven points, third). Juventus needs a win or draw in Donetsk on matchday six to send Chelsea to Europa.

Group F

Valencia 1-1 Bayern Munich - Antonio Barragan, a reserve defender getting the start at right back, collected two cards in 33 minutes to handcuff Los Che. Valencia did eventually take the lead, Sofiance Feghouli opening the scoring int he 77th minute, but when Thomas Müller responded five minutes later, Bayern got the result they needed. The draw in Spain gives Bayern the tiebreaker, assuring they’ll take Group F with a matchday six win over visiting BATE.

BATE 0-2 Lille - LOSC’s first points of the tournament came on a barely visible field in Borisov, their two goals through the fog within the first 31 minutes allowed Lille to survive Djibril Sidibe’s late sending off. This was the BATE we expected to see at the tournament’s outset when they were picked to finish last in the group. That’s where the Belarussians may finish, now that Lille holds the tiebreaker between the teams.

Impact - Bayern and Valencia sit tied at 10 points on top of the group. Lille, three points behind BATE for third, can still qualify for Europa League with a win over Valencia and a BATE loss.

Group G

Spartak Moscow 0-3 Barcelona - In a tournament where little has been easy for Barcelona, Spartak Moscow gave the Catalans a day off. If Unai Emery’s side took any inspiration from Celtic’s upset of Barça, it didn’t show. The Russians saw themselves out of Europe.

MORE: Drilling down on Barcelona’s Moscow success.

Benfica 2-1 Celtic - In another match where Celtic took playing without the ball to an extreme, Benfica eventually found a winner, Argentine defender Ezequiel Garay sending his team to second place with a 71st minute goal. Benfica outshot Celtic 30-9, though the shots on target numbers (8-5, Benfica) better approximate the teams’ threats.

Impact - Benfica’s win means Barcelona locks up first in their group. It’s fortunate news for the Eagles, who need a matchday six win over Barça to ensure they advance. Celtic needs to out-point Benfica to advance.

Group H

Galatasaray 1-0 Manchester United - The Red Devils started one first-choice player, and Michael Carrick was in defensive, not midfield. Gala found a second half goal through Burak Yilmaz, the least they could have done against a League Cup-quality team.

CFR Cluj 3-1 Sporting Braga - Rui Pedro, a Portuguese forward who’d accumulated 0 Champions League goals before today, scored three times in 33 minutes to keep Cluj within sight of the knockout round. A 45th minute red card to defender Douglão tossed away what little chance Braga had of coming back for a result.

Impact - Galatasaray and Cluj are tied for second with seven points (and no chance to catch Manchester United). Gala holds the tiebreaker and has a December visit to Braga to close out group play. Cluj visits a Manchester United team that’s unlikely to be stronger than the team of second-choice players Alex Ferguson took to Istanbul.