Apoel Nicosia 1 Atletico Madrid 1, Champions League, 25/Nov/09

The points were shared in Nicosia, as an unconvincing Atletico Madrid side stayed in third spot, heading into the final round of fixtures. Neither team stood a chance of qualifying ahead of this game, but there was still plenty on the line, with the winner likely to claim a Europa League place. Therefore, both sides put out their strongest possible line-ups. The match got off to an ominous start for the hosts, with Paulo Jorge picking up a booking after just 25 seconds for a foul on Sergio Aguero, just outside the box. However, things soon turned around for Apoel, as Nenad Mirosavljevic send the home crowd into raptures. Nectarios Alexandrou made light work of Tomas Ujfalusi on the left wing, and his cross was comfortably turned in by the striker, leaving Sergio Asenjo with no chance. Needing to chase the game, Atleti started to push forward, but both Simao and Cleber Santana were denied by routine saves from Dionisis Chiotis. Despite the frantic start, the match had lost some of its edge, with Los Rojiblancos dominating possession without doing too much with it. Despite the visitor's slight dominance, it was still Apoel who were creating the best chances, with Mirosavljevic in particular posing plenty of problems. He nearly combined with Alexandrou to devastating effect again on the stroke of half-time, but their one-two fell apart at the last second. The ref then blew the whistle for half-time, with Atleti needing a vast improvement in the second period to avoid another embarrassment. The second half started in a similar vein, with Mirosavljevic heavily involved, but lacking any type of support up front. On the hour mark, Alexandrou was released through on goal, but his weak effort was blocked. Jose Jurado then chipped a great ball through for Diego Forlan, but the Uruguayan dragged his shot wide. Just when it looked as though Atleti were destined not to find the net, they found an equaliser. Aguero played a great ball into the box which was stopped by the keeper, but it fell into the path of Simao, who smashed it home. Having scored the equaliser, the Rojiblancos began to cede possession to he hosts, but their attacking options looked limited. If a goal was to come, it would be from a defensive error, as both sides looked nervous and afraid of conceding a winner. The final ten minutes passed largely without incident, with only the substitute Maxi Rodriguez coming close with a weak shot in the box. Thus it ended 1-1, in a match that illustrated just why both these sides have been rooted to the foot of the Group D table.