Wayne Rooney scored his 30th goal of the season to help Manchester United beat AC Milan emphatically 4 - 0 at Old Trafford in their Champions League encounter on Wednesday night.
On a night that saw David Beckham return to where it all started for him, it was the current darling of the Old Trafford faithful who steered United into the quarterfinals by following up his double in the 3-2 first leg victory in Milan with another brace.
A first-half header put Sir Alex Ferguson’s side firmly in control and the the England striker killed the tie in the opening seconds of the second period.
Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher round off a memorable night as United eliminated their opponents for the first time in five attempts since two of European football’s iconic institutions first met, 52 years ago.
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Cesc Fabregas missed training on Monday night and will not be fit for Arsenal’s crucial UEFA Campions League clash against Port on Tuesday.
The midfielder suffered a hamstring injury in the 3-1 victory over Burnley at the Emirates at the weekend, and his absence from training led to confirmation that will not play for his side in their crucial second leg tie against the Portuguese champions.
The Gunners are 2-1 down after the first leg, and manager Arsene Wenger said at the weekend that he would be prepared to risk his captain in order to get his side through to the quarter-finals. But the midfielder’s injury has now ruled him out of the game. ”We cannot even take a gamble because he is just not available,” Wenger said.
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Do you want to know who qualified for the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League? Or who still has a chance of qualifying? Check out all the info you need below….
The top two teams qualify for the Round of 16, with clubs finishing top of their group enjoying a seeded place for that round of the knockout stage. Teams finishing third end up in the Europa League. Those who end up fourth exit European competition entirely.
The top two teams qualify for the Round of 16, with clubs finishing top of their group enjoying a seeded place for that round of the knockout stage. Teams finishing third end up in the Europa League. Those who end up fourth exit European competition entirely.
Right now, eight teams have already qualified:
- Bordeaux
- Manchester United
- Chelsea
- Porto
|
- Lyon
- Sevilla
- Fiorentina
- Arsenal
|
GROUP A
| Team |
Games |
Goals |
|
|
Pts |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
|
| Bordeaux |
10 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
Qualified |
| Juventus |
8 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
|
| Bayern Munich |
4 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
|
| Maccabi Haifa |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
|
- Bordeaux have qualified from Group A. They have yet to guarantee top spot. (Victory for Bordeaux over Juventus will be sufficient for this.)
- Juventus have not yet qualified. If Juventus beat Bordeaux in matchday 5 they will guarantee at least second place and thus qualify. Either that, or they must hope that Bayern Munich lose to Maccabi Haifa.
- Bayern Munich need Juventus to fail to beat Bordeaux to keep their hopes of qualification alive.
- Maccabi Haifa cannot qualify for the next stage. They must beat Bayern Munich to be in with a chance of finishing 3rd for the Europe League spot.
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Lyon went through to the knockout phase of the Champions League thanks to a late goal by Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez at the Stade Gerland in Lyon, France against Liverpool to draw the match 1 - 1.
Liverpool missed a series of chances in the first half and were less convincing in the second until a screamer from Ryan Babel silenced the Lyon crowd with less than five minutes to play.
Lisandro, however, struck in the final two minutes to give Lyon ten points with two Group E games still to play.
Fiorentina’s 5-2 hammering of Debrecen leaves them on nine points while Liverpool, five points adrift of the Italians, would have to hope for a miracle to have any chance of finishing in the top two.
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Didier Drogba made a scoring return to European action to help Chelsea through to the last 16 of the Champions League, even though his brace could not help the Blues continue their 100% record against Atletico Madrid.
Drogba had missed Chelsea’s opening three Group D games through suspension, but he was brought straight back into the starting line-up and looked to have earned Carlo Ancelotti’s side the win with two goals in the last eight minutes.
Those strikes cancelled out a stunning volley by Atletico striker Sergio Aguero in the 66th minute, but the young Argentinian had the last say as he curled home a brilliant injury-time free-kick to salvage a 2-2 draw for the hosts.
Drogba was handed the ban following his foul-mouthed confrontation with Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo at the end of May’s Champions League semi-final exit at the hands of Barcelona.
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Sir Alex Ferguson believes his Manchester United team are well on their way to the knockout stages of the Champions League with their win over CSKA Moscow last night.
United maintained their 100% record in Group B after Antonio Valencia struck a late goal to secure a 1-0 win in the Russian capital on Wednesday night.
With three games still remaining, Ferguson hopes his side can now secure their passage with something to spare.
Ferguson said: “We are very pleased with our performance.
“The situation in the group is now nine points. I have always maintained that you need 10 to qualify.
“We now have a home game against CSKA in two or three weeks’ time which we hope can take us to the next stage.”
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Liverpool and Arsenal lost out on vital points last night by losing and drawing their respective games against Lyon and AZ Alkmaar in the Champions League.
Lyon piled the pressure on Liverpool with a 2-1 Champions League Group E win at Anfield to condemn the Reds to their fourth straight loss.
The Reds went into the match needing a morale-boosting victory to lift spirits ahead of Sunday’s colossal showdown with champions Manchester United.
And when the hosts went into the interval with a 1-0 lead handed to them by the dependable Yossi Benayoun, they seemed to be on their way - and that inspite of losing captain Steven Gerrard after 25 minutes to a recurrence of his calf injury.
But Maxime Gomis’ second-half header pulled Lyon level, before Cesar Delgado stunned Anfield into silence with an injury-time winner.
Liverpool now sit in third place in the group, six points behind Lyon and three adrift of Fiorentina.
Arsenal paid the price for a sloppy second half as AZ Alkmaar equalised in stoppage time to earn a 1-1 draw in Champions League Group H.
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Fiorentina’s teenager Stevan Jovetic scored two goals to help his team beat Liverpool 2 - 0 in their Champions League Group E match on Tuesday night.
The Reds went into the game without hamstring injury victim Javier Mascherano, and really missed his composure and passing in midfield, with his replacement Fabio Aurelio struggling to fill the Argentinian’s boots.
Rafael Benitez’s troops failed to register a single shot on target in a first half which saw young striker Jovetic beat Pepe Reina on 28 and 37 minutes.
The opening goal came when Cristiano Zanetti’s throughball found the 19-year-old, who coolly slotted past Reina from 15 yards.
And it was 2-0 to the hosts when Juan Manuel Vargas’ fierce cross into the box from the left was deftly turned past the Reds stopper at his near post.
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Arsenal staged a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to beat Standard Liege 3-2 in their Champions League Group H opener on Wednesday evening.
The Gunners went into the game having lost successive league games to Manchester United and City - and it looked like it would be three defeats on the spin as they were 2-0 behind within five minutes in Belgium.
The opener came on two minutes when Eduardo’s fancy flick fell to Eliaquim Mangala, who beat Vito Mannone with a low drive from 18 yards.
William Gallas then fouled Milan Jovanovic in the box, with the striker easily beating Mannone from the penalty spot.
Arsene Wenger’s men were shell-shocked but recovered their composure as the first half went on, and pulled a goal back on 45 when Nicklas Bendtner coolly converted Abou Diaby’s defence-splitting pass.
The visitors enjoyed more possession after the break and grabbed a controversial equaliser on 78, when Cesc Fabregas’ free-kick appeared to be handled by an offside Alexandre Song, who squared for Thomas Vermaelen to bundle home from close range.
Eduardo and Vermaelen were both denied goals by a brilliant save and a goalline clearance - but the Gunners grabbed an unbelievable third goal on 81 when Eduardo turned the ball home from a corner to spark wild celebrations.
Rafael Benitez brushed aside criticism of Liverpool’s downbeat 1-0 Champions League victory over Hungarian champions Debrecen by insisting he was happy because it was a win.
Liverpool’s display in their opening Group E clash was way short of their best, and they were made to struggle by a team playing in the group stages for the first time.
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