While only Barcelona clinched first place in their group today, all but one knock-out stage spot available from groups A through D were decided on Wednesday. Three teams were eliminated from Europe all together, while two teams know they’ll be relegated going to Europa League.
UEFA Champions League, Quick Review: Seven Of Eight Knock-Out Round Spots Confirmed
We start in Group A, where Tottenham and Internazionale remain atop the group, each now having 10 points. Tottenham beat Werder Bremen 3-0, locking the Germans into fourth place, putting Spurs a win in Enschede away from winning the group. They hold the tiebreaker on Inter thanks to a superior goal difference in head-to-head matches, though the holders stayed even on points thanks to a 1-0 win over Twente at the San Siro.
Group B has a new leader thanks to Schalke’s 3-0 win over Lyon, with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar bagging a brace. The Germans may barely be in the top 16 teams of the Bundesliga, but having clinched a top two finish in group, they will be amongst the 16 teams surviving into to Champions League’s next round. Lyon also clinched a spot in the next round thanks to Benfica’s loss in Tel Aviv, Hapoel posting a 3-0 win over the Portuguese champions.
Manchester United got a 1-0 win at Ibrox thanks to a late Wayne Rooney penalty kick conversion. Now on 13 points, they stay three up on Valencia, who routed Bursaspor 6-1 at the Mestella. Bursa managed to score their first goal in five matches, but with no points with a -14 goal difference, their Champions League is a confirmed disaster. Valencia’s lopsided win gives Los Che a chance to steal the group at Old Trafford next round. Rangers, on five points, have confirmed third place.
In Group D, Barcelona got two goals from Pedro and the sixth goal of the tournament from Lionel Messi, beating Panathinaikos 3-0 in Athens. Barcelona’s won the group, with Panathinaikos destined for last. In between, Copenhagen’s lead on Rubin Kazan is down to one after Christian Noboa’s spot kick on the stroke of half gave Rubin a 1-0 win in Tartarstan.
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