Milan, Marseille through but Arsenal must wait after Braga loss

Milan booked their place in the Champions League knockout phase after goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ronaldinho earned them a 2-0 win at an obdurate Auxerre yesterday.

French champions Marseille also qualified for the last 16 with a convincing 3-0 victory over nine-time Russian champions Spartak Moscow and Roma are on the brink after coming back from a 2-0 half-time deficit to down Bayern Munich 3-2 in a thriller at the Stadio Olimpico

Arsene Wenger, however, opted for pragmatism rather than panache and paid the price as his Arsenal side lost 2-0 in Braga to leave in doubt a berth in the last 16.

Auxerre were unbeaten in their eight previous matches and they had created the match’s most clear-cut chances until Ibrahimovic rifled home the opener in the 65th minute.

Ronaldinho, a late substitute, put the game beyond Auxerre in injury time when he drifted in from the right wing before curling a precise shot into the bottom-left corner with his left foot.

Victory gives Milan eight points from their five group matches, putting them beyond the reach of both Auxerre and Ajax, who will now compete for the consolation prize of a Europa League berth.

In Amsterdam, a double from Cristiano Ronaldo formed the centrepiece of a masterclass by Real Madrid as they eased to a 4-0 away win over Ajax.

The Portuguese winger scored twice in the second half after first-half goals by Karim Benzema and Alvaro Arbeloa had put them in cruise control mode – the only blot on their evening were two late sendings off of Xabi Alonso and Sergi Ramos.

Goals by French internationals Mathieu Valbuena and Loic Remy and one from Brazilian Brandao saw Marseille through with one match to spare.

The hosts finished the match with 10 men as Welliton was sent off in the 63rd minute for pushing over Souleymane Diawara.

While both sides can finish on the same total of points, Marseille would progress by virtue of a better head-to-head record between the two teams as they were beaten 1-0 in the reverse fixture in September.

In Rome, hot-shot Mario Gomez took his tally to 14 goals in his last 10 games as Bayern Munich appeared to be cruising at the break. But Marco Borriello, Daniele de Rossi and a late Francesco Totti penalty completed a remarkable and unlikely turnaround.

The 3-2 defeat still ensured Bayern won the group as only Roma can draw level with them on points in Group E but the Germans have the better head-to-head record.

Roma now need only a point away to CFR Cluj in two weeks to book their passage into the second round.

Arsenal are hoping to reach the knockout phase for the 11th consecutive season, but they did their cause no good at all in shipping two late goals to a side they had thumped 6-0 on home turf.

Their discomfort was music to the ears of Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, who won 3-0 at tailenders Partizan Belgrade to cement top spot with one match remaining.

Donetsk will be through – and likely as group winners – unless they lose by four goals at home to Braga as they lead Group H by three points.

Arsenal will likely see off Partizan in their final group meeting to take them onto 12 points. But Shakhtar will be favoured to beat Braga at home, leaving the English Premier League side to face a group winner in the next round... assuming they belatedly make it to the next round.

Matheus Leite Nascimento’s left-foot shot looped over Lukas Fabianski in the Arsenal goal after a hopeful punt through the middle and then his fine solo effort, beating three defenders, delighted Portuguese fans as Braga claimed a win which keeps them in the hunt for a last 16 place.

Chelsea came from behind to clinch top spot in their group with a 2-1 victory over Slovakian whipping boys MSK Zilina.

Second-half goals from from Daniel Sturridge and Florent Malouda saved Chelsea’s blushes at Stamford Bridge after Babtounde Bello had given Zilina a shock 1-0 lead after 19 minutes.

Chelsea went into the match amid uncertainty over the position of manager Carlo Ancelotti, reported to be increasingly disenchanted at the club following the abrupt sacking of assistant Ray Wilkins.

Needing only a draw to be certain of first place in Group F, Ancelotti rang the changes with youngsters Josh McEachran, Jeffrey Bruma, Gael Kakuta, Patrick van Aanholt and Sturridge all named in the starting line-up.

Summaries

Basel 1
Almerares 15;
CFR Cluj 0

Red card: Piccolo (C) 88.

Roma 3
Borriello 49; De Rossi 81; Totti 84 pen;
B. Munich 2
Gomez 33, 39;

Chelsea 2
Sturridge 51; Malouda 86;
Zilina 1
Bello 19;

S. Moscow 0
Marseille 3
Valbuena 18; Remy 54; Brandao 68;

Red card: Welliton (SM) 63.

Auxerre 0
Milan 2
Ibrahimovic 65; Ronaldinho 90;

Ajax 0
Real Madrid 4
Benzema 36; Arbeloa 44; Ronaldo 70, 81 pen;

Red cards: Alonso (RM) 87; Ramos (RM) 90.

Braga 2
Matheus 83, 90;
Arsenal 0

Partizan 0
S. Donetsk 3
Stepanenko 52; Jadson 59; Eduardo 68;

Playing today

Group A
Inter - Twente
Tottenham - W. Bremen

Group B
Schalke - Lyon
H. Tel Aviv - Benfica

Group C
Rangers - Man. United
Valencia - Bursaspor

Group D
Panathinaikos - Barcelona
Rubin KazanFC - Copenhagen