Champions League round-up

Gunners and United progress as Celtic suffer European woe

By Rob Parrish   Last updated: 25th November 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Champions League round-up

Bendtner: Arsenal hero

Click for individual match stats and reports
Villarreal 0 Man Utd 0
Aalborg 2 Celtic 1
Bayern 3 Steaua 0
Fiorentina 1 Lyon 2
Fenerbahce 1 Porto 2
Arsenal 1 Dynamo Kiev 0
Zenit 0 Juventus 0
BATE 0 Real Madrid 1

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Arsenal and Manchester United are through to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League but Celtic are out of Europe.

The Gunners finally put their recent troubles behind them although they rode their luck at times and left it late before seeing off Dynamo Kiev 1-0 in Group G.

Reigning European champions United travelled to Villarreal and left Spain with a point after a drab 0-0 draw which sees both teams progress from Group E.

Celtic's miserable away record in Europe continues as they were beaten by Aalborg in Denmark, although the result from El Madrigal means Gordon Strachan's side would have been out even if they had won.

Porto have joined Arsenal in the knockout stages thanks to their 2-1 victory away to Fenerbahce in Group G's other match.

Juventus and Real Madrid secured their progress from Group H with Zenit St Petersburg given the scant consolation of being able to defend their Uefa Cup crown after drawing with the Italians, while Real triumphed 1-0 against BATE Borisov.

Lyon and Bayern Munich are the teams to emerge unscathed from Group F with only top spot left to play for after their respective victories over Fiorentina and Steaua Bucharest.

Captain fantastic

Cesc Fabregas marked his first game as Arsenal captain by setting up substitute Nicklas Bendtner for the only goal of the game against Dynamo Kiev.

The Spaniard's quick-thinking from a late drop-ball released the striker, who controlled the ball suspiciously close to his arm before beating Stanislav Bogush at his near post three minutes from time.

The visitors' frustrations boiled over in the closing seconds and Olexandr Aliyev was dismissed for pushing referee Alain Hamer.

Former skipper William Gallas was the centre of attention in the first half as he first allowed Ismael Bangoura to get away and hit the post with Manuel Almunia beaten, before the Frenchman had a goal ruled out for offside on the stroke of half-time.

Gallas then somehow failed to turn the ball home from close range after a goalmouth scramble at the start of the second period.

Manchester United and Villarreal played out a dull goalless draw in Spain which ensures both teams go through from Group E.

The only real flashpoint of the match came in the closing stages when Joan Capdevila was dismissed after a crude lunge on Cristiano Ronaldo which caught the United ace on the inside of the knee and left him writhing on the turf.

Ronaldo had seen a powerful drive from Wayne Rooney's lay-off tipped onto the crossbar by Diego Lopez while the England international had an early effort ruled out for offside.

Celtic's European season is over after they allowed a 1-0 lead to slip away to go down 2-1 to AaB Aalborg in Denmark as their miserable away form in the Champions League continued.

Mark Wilson provided a great curling cross into the penalty area where Barry Robson powered a superb header beyond Karim Zaza and into the bottom corner in the 53rd minute.

But Aalborg levelled 17 minutes from time when Caca was allowed to advance towards the Celtic box before unleashing a shot which deflected off Stephen McManus and looped over Artur Boruc.

And even the consolation of a place in the Uefa Cup was snatched from their grasp in the closing moments after Gary Caldwell turned the ball into his own net.

Porto host Arsenal in their final game with top spot in Group G up for grabs after the Portuguese side triumphed 2-1 away to Fenerbahce.

Lisandro Lopez scored twice in the first 28 minutes as he first took advantage of some questionable goalkeeping and then some below-par officiating.

Volkan Demirel flapped after Bruno Alves' great control and cross to allow Lisandro to volley home the opener, before the forward appeared to handle as he controlled a deep throw before beating Volkan at the second attempt.

Colin Kazim-Richards pulled one back for the hosts in the 64th minute when his long-range shot took a wicked deflected off Bruno Alves and looped over Helton.

Raul landmark

Legendary striker Raul reached a personal landmark as Real Madrid ensured they would go through from Group H with a 1-0 win away to BATE Borisov.

The former Spain international joined Filippo Inzaghi as the leading scorer in European club competition with his 64th in continental competition - and 62nd in Europe's premier tournament - to give Real Madrid an early lead.

Royston Drenthe burst down the left flank and cut a dangerous ball across the box which evaded everyone until Raul demonstrated his predatory instincts to score off the underside of the bar.

Juventus remain at the summit of Group H as their 0-0 draw with Zenit St Petersburg, coupled with Real's victory, dumped the Russians back into the Uefa Cup where they will at least be able to defend their trophy.

Danny missed two good chances for the home side, while Olof Mellberg and Vincenzo Iaquinta struck the woodwork for Juve before the interval.

Alessandro Del Piero then flashed a glorious opportunity wide and Pavel Pogrebnyak beat Alex Manninger only to see his curling effort hit the post.

Lyon's rapid start set them on their way to victory away to Fiorentina in Group F and ensured they will be in the last 16 of this season's competition.

The French club raced into a 2-0 lead as Karim Benzema set up Jean Makoun for a routine finish with the home defence chasing shadows, before Benzema drilled a low right-foot shot across Sebastien Frey and into the bottom corner.

Cesare Prandelli's men pulled one back on the stroke of half-time as Alberto Gilardino rose highest into the area to head home, moments after Adrian Mutu had struck the inside of the post, but it was not enough.

Bayern Munich, who had to settle for Uefa Cup action last season, are also through to the latter stages after a 3-0 victory over Steaua Bucharest.

After being frustrated by the visitors throughout the first half, Bayern effectively wrapped the game up with two goals in the space of five second-half minutes.

Miroslav Klose broke the deadlock in the 57th minute with a predatory finish after Massimo Oddo's cross was flicked on by Franck Ribery.

Klose then had a hand in the second as he provided the flick to Lucio's ball into the area for Luca Toni to dive and head home.

The Germany international then added a third 19 minutes from time after Ribery's driving run towards the Steaua box.