Champions League 2015, Week 4: Live coverage and score updates

However, if that’s what Arsène Wenger wanted from his players in the second half, they couldn’t deliver it. It took just 10 minutes for Bayern to add a fourth, when a low Alaba cross was smashed into the roof of the net by Arjen Robben. It was the Dutchman’s very first touch of the match, having been on the field for just 38 seconds.

Bayern Munich: Neuer; Alaba, Martínez, Boateng (Benatia 68’), Lahm; Alonso; Coman (Robben 55’), Thiago, Müller, Costa; Lewandowski (Vidal 71’).

That’s just not fair. Goalkeepers shouldn’t be able to do things like that. How is Mozolevski ever supposed to live down being clowned like that? His great-great grandchildren will still be living with that shame.

SB Nation presents: The Champions League explained in two minutes

The most astounding thing about this performance is that Arsenal aren’t even playing poorly. They haven’t made any glaring defensive mistakes -- some are critical of their defense on Bayern’s first goal, but that was far more about a note-perfect run from Robert Lewandowski to beat the offside trap than anything Arsenal did or didn’t do -- and have played perfectly competently elsewhere on the pitch. Bayern are just playing so much better that it makes Arsenal look hopelessly poor in comparison, even though they’ve been anything but.

Once again, Jose Mourinho has elected to bench arguably his most talented attacker in Eden Hazard, as the Belgian star has continued to under-perform this season. He’ll be hoping that an attacking midfield group of Oscar, Willian and Cesc Fabregas will be enough to break down Dynamo Kyiv’s defense, something they couldn’t do in a scoreless draw two weeks ago.

For their part, Dynamo have put out a strong side, one that appears set up to press high and try to catch Chelsea off-guard on a rapid-fire counter. Andriy Yarmolenko will be facing down Cesar Azpilicueta, who hasn’t been as defensively solid as he used to be this season -- given Yarmolenko’s immense talent, that could be the key matchup of the entire game.

Given Barcelona’s depth issues at the moment, you could perhaps excuse them for overlooking BATE Borisov a bit in Wednesday’s Champions League match and not putting out a terribly strong side, resting key starters in confidence of getting a result anyways.

Luis Enrique has elected not to take that risk, with only Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba rested from his usual starters. That’s actually a smart play, because BATE have been a troublesome side to their opponents during this Champions League group stage, beating Roma 3-2 at home and giving Barcelona a much tougher match than expected two weeks ago.

Still, the match should be plenty interesting. Bayern are always fun when they have a point to prove, and they certainly have that today. Arsenal have finally rounded into consistently good form of late, and obviously figured out some chink in Bayern’s armor, although it was one that took a lot of prying at before they could beat the Germans in their last match. Seeing how both sides adjust after their last match, and after Bayern’s Bundesliga winning streak ended last weekend, will be fascinating to watch play out.

Match Date/Time: Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local

Barcelona will book their place in the Champions League knockout stages if they beat BATE Borisov at Camp Nou on Wednesday, providing Bayer Leverkusen avoid defeat away at AS Roma. Barça have bounced back from a draw away at the Italian outfit in the opening matchday with two straight wins, and would at the very least be within touching distance of the next round if they add a third.

In the absence of Messi, who continues to recover from a knee injury, it has been Brazilian attacker Neymar who has shouldered the creative burden. He’s scarcely been in better form since making the move to Europe from Santos a couple of years ago, and has scored eight goals in his last nine games in all competitions. Whether he’s darting inside off the flank to shoot, or picking the perfect pass for a teammate, he’s a nightmare for opposition defenders and a joy for the neutral observer.

However, Arsenal have a world class danger man of their own in the shape of Chilean winger Alexis Sánchez. After a slow start to the season, the former Barcelona man has sprung to life with 10 goals in his last nine games for club and country. When considering he usually is deployed out wide, that record’s almost as impressive as Lewandowski’s. He’ll likely be up against the wily old right back Philipp Lahm in this match, in a battle that should be fascinating to watch.

Bayern have no new injury concerns, with only their long-term injured players set to be unavailable. The same can’t be said of Arsenal, who will be without several of their recently injured first-teamers: full back Bellerín, midfielders Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ramsey and striker Walcott have all recently picked up problems severe enough to rule them out.

It’s been a disappointing season for Chelsea so far, and the heat under Jose Mourinho’s chair has been increasing steadily of late. Now with Dynamo Kyiv coming to town for a Champions League tilt, one that sees Chelsea start the day in third place in Group G, the pressure is as high as ever.

Dynamo Kyiv injuries and suspensions

PSG were dominant throughout the first half, going close to scoring several times before Madrid delivered their sucker punch. The first chance came after some good work down the right by Serge Aurier, though it culminated in a tame shot by Blaise Matuidi from the edge of the area. Zlatan Ibrahimović twice went closer in the following few minutes, though both his low shot from inside the box and his ambitious long-range free kick flashed just wide.

The French side continued in the ascendancy into the second half, but without having the goal to show for it. As the clock ticked on, the intensity that had characterized PSG’s play began to fade. Isco could’ve killed the game off inside the final 20 minutes, though he was denied from point-blank range by the legs of Trapp. The German shot-stopper was called into action again a few minutes later, beating Kroos’ near-post drive to safety.

On a rainy night at Old Trafford, it looked like another match bound for a scoreless draw as Manchester United and CSKA Moscow struggled to score. Late in the match, though, Wayne Rooney finally found a way to the back of the net, breaking Manchester’s goalless streak at 404 minutes and giving his team a 1-0 win and three vital points in their Champions League group.

The less said about the first half, the better. It was extraordinarily dull, with both teams struggling to hold possession or generate quality chances at goal, with sloppy execution and a slow pace all over the pitch. Manchester were particularly poor for much of the half, with several promising counters wasted by poor passing, and a 1-2 between Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney that had Martial clear through on goal ruined by Rooney blasting his return pass well away from Martial.

Just how Rafa Benitez drew it up!

Manchester United’s return to the UEFA Champions League isn’t going according to plan so far. They’ve struggled through all of their matches, and they need a win against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday.

Because of last week’s results, this could be a very decisive game in Group B. Wolfsburg are currently the leaders, with Manchester United sitting on just four points through three games after last week’s draw. CSKA Moscow have four points, as well, so if either side can grab a win on Tuesday, they’ll be in an excellent position to advance.

Real Madrid. Paris Saint-Germain. Two of the biggest names in world football, with squads full to the brim of star talent. Not all of it will be in this match -- Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Javier Pastore are all out -- but with the names still on the pitch, all eyes will be on the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.

These two teams sit high atop Group A in the Champions League, even on seven points apiece after their draw last time out. While the last match between them wasn’t as exciting as hoped, you know that Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic won’t be happy with a second straight matchup without a chance to one-up each other.

Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are both cruising into the knockout stages of the Champions League, and sit level on seven points at the top of their group. They’re four clear of nearest competitors Malmö FF, and it would take a slip-up of monumental proportions for either to fall at the first hurdle. However, that doesn’t mean they have nothing to play for when they face off at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday. They’ll both be gunning for victory in the knowledge that the winner of this match will likely go on to win the group, guaranteeing themselves (at least theoretically) an easier draw in the first knockout round.

Hopefully that means we’ll see an exciting encounter between two teams throwing caution to the wind, though don’t bank on it. The reverse fixture a few weeks ago dismally failed to live up to its promise, with coaches Laurent Blanc and Rafael Benítez’s overly cautious approaches ensuring it was a game of few chances and even less entertainment. We can probably anticipate another cagey game in Madrid, with perhaps a moment of individual brilliance necessary to make the difference.

Manchester City will look to continue their recent good form away at Sevilla in the Champions League on Tuesday. Manuel Pellegrini’s side have won six of their last seven matches after a shock Premier League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in September, and will give themselves a strong chance of making the knockout stages if they record a third straight European victory.

However, Sevilla know that they’d move level on points with City if they were to win, with the sides currently battling over the group’s second spot behind Juventus. Sevilla only lost the reverse fixture 2-1 courtesy of a goal in stoppage time, and the defending Europa League champions will be looking to use the hostile atmosphere of the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to unnerve their English visitors. City are favourites, but it’d be surprising if this was anything other than a close match.

The Champions League group stage is a thing eternally full of ups and downs. Rarely does a team just glide through the group stage without taking some lumps along the way, and in Group B, everyone has taken a lump or three. Take these two teams playing in England today. When Manchester United and CSKA Moscow faced off last month in Russia, both had a win and a loss on their record, then played each other to a standstill in a draw.

Now, Manchester and CSKA have a chance to get one over on the other in the return match of the group stage, with Manchester hoping to use the home crowd at Old Trafford to their advantage. Whether that’s going to be enough to get a better result today has yet to be seen, but they’re not going to want to risk falling farther behind first-place Wolfsburg. Of course, CSKA won’t want to fall behind either, so this match could go down to the wire.