Champions League: Five down-but-certainly-not-outs

Galatasaray showed real threat against Man United
With the opening matches done and dusted, Christian Crowther believes that five teams can still qualify despite losing starts...
Manchester City (lost 3-2 at Real Madrid)
The champions of England were mightily close to earning a point at the Bernabeu before Cristiano Ronaldo's less than spectacular effort squeezed under the flailing Joe Hart. If the usually so unswerving Vincent Kompany had opted for a header rather than the most untimely of swerves, City would have come away happy. With Sergio Aguero's return imminent, there is plenty more to come from them who are still fifth favourites at 13.5n/a to win the Champions League.
Valencia (lost 2-1 away to Bayern Munich)
Losing in the Allianz Arena is certainly no crime. Defeat in Munich is something that all six visitors in last season's competition tasted - apart from winners Chelsea - and Valencia did make a fist of it towards the end. The Spaniards have been massively helped out by Belarusians BATE Borisov beating Lille, who were expected to be their main challengers for second place.
Zenit St Petersburg (lost 3-0 away to Malaga)
Admittedly this was one of the more eyebrow-raising results; however the scoreline slightly flattered Malaga. New Zenit signing Hulk came inches away from levelling when crashing a shot against the bar in the first half, which could easily have changed the course of proceedings. The Russians won three out of four home games in last year's competition, drawing the other, and with Milan dropping points at home to Anderlecht the group is still wide open. Zenit are attractively priced at 3.55n/a to top Group C.
Galatasaray (lost 1-0 away to Man United)
Despite Nani's penalty miss, no one inside Old Trafford could have complained too bitterly if Galatasaray had walked away with something from their encounter. Turkey's finest offered plenty to suggest they can have a big say in Group H, especially with former Bayern Munich and Real Madrid maestro Hamit Altintop orchestrating things from midfield. Braga's shock home loss to CFR Cluj weighs heavily in Galatasaray's favour too.
Spartak Moscow (lost 3-2 away to Barcelona)
Any team which scores twice at the Camp Nou is probably worthy of a place in the second stage, and Spartak certainly gave Barcelona a good old fashioned run around. If the Catalans were not blessed with probably the most prodigious talent of all time in Lionel Messi then the Russians may still have walked away with an epic scalp. Main threats to qualification, Benfica - who only managed a 0-0 draw with Celtic - have been depleted by summer raids on their best resources, so Spartak have a real chance.