Buenos Aires, November 25 (NA) - The first matchday of the Champions League's fifth round took place this Tuesday and featured several Argentine footballers, with midfielder Enzo Fernández being the standout. According to the Argentine News Agency, the product of River Plate's youth system provided the assist for Chelsea's third goal in a 3-0 thrashing of Barcelona, helping the London side secure fifth place in the standings. Earlier in the day, Benfica of Portugal, which features Albicelestes Nicolás Otamendi and Enzo Fernández (both from the start), along with Gianluca Prestianni, won 2-0 away to Ajax. Meanwhile, Galatasaray, led by forward Mauro Icardi, who has a past with Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, played the full 90 minutes but failed to score in a 1-0 home victory over Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium. Central defender Juan Foyth of Villarreal suffered a heavy defeat, being crushed 4-0 by Borussia Dortmund, which left his team in 34th place, far from the qualification spots for the next stage of Europe's most prestigious club tournament. In turn, offensive midfielder Claudio Echeverri witnessed Bayer Leverkusen's surprising 2-0 victory over Manchester City. The French side reached 19th place in the table and is fighting for a spot in the round of 16. However, the ex-River player did not get any minutes. Finally, Leonardo Ballerdi, who started, celebrated a victory after Olympique de Marseille's 2-1 win over Newcastle.
