Porto and debutants Malaga became the first teams to reach the last 16 of the Champions League when they guaranteed their pro-gress from the group stage with two games to spare yesterday.
Both sides saw their 100 per cent starts end – with Porto drawing 0-0 away to Dynamo Kiev and Malaga earning a 1-1 draw with Milan at San Siro – but moved on to 10 points from four games in Groups A and C to secure a KO round place.
England champions Manchester City, however, stand on the verge of a second successive group-phase exit from the competition after a 2-2 draw at home to Ajax left their hopes hanging by a thread.
Milan dominated the first half but spurned several opportunities before Eliseu put Malaga ahead against the run of play.
Brazilian Alexandre Pato then gave Milan hope of a second win in the group phase when he levelled in the 73rd, but despite the hosts’ push for a late winner the Rossoneri were to be denied.
Having survived some early pressure, Porto soon started to take control of the midfield in Ukraine.
Jackson Martinez went close for the 1987 and 2004 champions when he forced Kiev keeper Maxym Koval into a stunning save from a header that seemed destined for the bottom corner of the net.
Goal chances were few and far between in the first half but James Rodriguez set up Porto team-mate Silvestre Varela early in the second half only for the midfielder to hit the outside of the Kiev post.
The Ukrainians built a promising attack in the closing stages but the move had to be halted when a fan suddenly invaded the pitch and had to be taken off the field by security guards.
Sloppy defending saw City fall 2-0 down to a pair of early goals from Siem de Jong, and although Roberto Mancini’s team rallied and drew level through Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero, the last 16 remains an unlikely objective.
The result left Manchester City with two points from four games and even victories in their remaining Group D games against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund may not be enough to keep them in the competition.
Aguero thought he had claimed a dramatic winner in the 88th minute, but substitute Aleksandar Kolarov was controversially judged to have strayed offside in the build-up.
There were angry scenes at the final whistle with City’s players surrounding referee Peter Rasmussen after he failed to award a penalty when Mario Balotelli went down in the Ajax area.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid’s Mesut Ozil netted an 89th-minute free-kick to rescue a 2-2 home draw with Borussia Dortmund and boost his side’s chances of reaching the next round as group winners.
Ozil curled a left-foot effort into the net off a post to put Real level for the second time and deny Dortmund the win that would have put them in pole position to top the group.
Marco Reus had volleyed Dortmund in front in the 28th minute at the Bernabeu before Pepe equalised with a header six minutes later and Real’s Alvaro Arbeloa poked the ball into his own net on the stroke of half-time.
Real enjoyed lots of possession but created few genuine chances and Dortmund’s tactic of playing on the break almost earned them another victory after they beat Jose Mourinho’s expensively assembled side 2-1 at home last month.
Schalke bravely battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with visitors Arsenal thanks to goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jefferson Farfan to maintain their slim lead in Group B.
First-half goals from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud seemed to be meting out immediate justice for Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat by the Germans in London a fortnight ago.
Schalke comeback
Schalke, however, devoured their lead with Huntelaar cutting the deficit in first-half stoppage time and Peruvian Farfan completing their comeback with deflected shot midway through the second half.
The result leaves the group wide open with Schalke in the lead on eight points and Arsenal a point behind in second place.
Olympiakos beat Montpellier 3-1 to increase their tally to six points.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic set up all four goals as Paris St Germain thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 to knock the Croatians out of the Champions League.
The Sweden striker, playing in a deeper position than usual, laid on goals for Alex, Blaise Matuidi, Jeremy Menez and Guillaume Hoarau as PSG took their points haul to nine from four matches behind group winners Porto.
PSG were below their best in a dull first half but they turned on the style in the second period to outclass their opponents.
Summaries
D. Kiev 0
Porto 0
Paris SG 4
Alex 16; Matuidi 61; Menez 65; Hoarau 80;
D. Zagreb 0
Schalke 2
Huntelaar 45; Farfan 67;
Arsenal 2
Walcott 18; Giroud 26;
Olympiakos 3
Machado 4; Greco 80; Mitroglou 82;
Montpellier 1
Belhanda 67 pen;
Anderlecht 1
Mbokani 17;
Zenit SP 0
Milan 1
Pato 73;
Malaga 1
Eliseu 40;
Man. City 2
Y. Toure 22; Aguero 74;
Ajax 2
De Jong 10, 17;
R. Madrid 2
Pepe 34; Ozil 89;
B. Dortmund 2
Reus 28; Arbeloa 45 og;
Group A
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Porto | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 10 |
| Paris SG | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 9 |
| Dynamo Kiev | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
D. Zagreb vs Porto - 0-2
Paris SG vs D. Kiev - 4-1
D. Kiev vs Dinamo Zagreb - 2-0
Porto vs PSG - 1-0
Porto vs D. Kiev - 3-2
D. Zagreb vs PSG - 0-2
D. Kiev vs Porto - 0-0
Paris SG vs D. Zagreb - 4-0
21/11/12: Porto vs D. Zagreb
21/11/12: D. Kiev vs Paris SG
04/12/12: D. Zagreb vs D. Kiev
04/12/12: Paris SG vs Porto
Group B
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Schalke | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 8 |
| Arsenal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
| Olympiakos | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Montpellier | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
Montpellier vs Arsenal - 1-2
Olympiakos vs Schalke - 1-2
Schalke vs Montpellier - 2-2
Arsenal vs Olympiakos - 3-1
Arsenal vs Schalke - 0-2
Montpellier vs Olympiakos - 1-2
Schalke vs Arsenal - 2-2
Olympiakos vs Montpellier - 3-1
21/11/12: Arsenal vs Montpellier
21/11/12: Schalke vs Olympiakos
04/12/12: Montpellier vs Schalke
04/12/12: Olympiakos vs Arsenal
Group C
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Malaga | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 10 |
| Milan | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Anderlecht | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Zenit SP | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
Milan vs Anderlecht - 0-0
Malaga vs Zenit SP - 3-0
Anderlecht vs Malaga - 0-3
Zenit SP vs Milan - 2-3
Zenit SP vs Anderlecht - 1-0
Malaga vs Milan - 1-0
Anderlecht vs Zenit SP - 1-0
Milan vs Malaga - 1-1
21/11/12: Zenit SP vs Malaga
21/11/12: Anderlecht vs Milan
04/12/12: Malaga vs Anderlecht
04/12/12: Milan vs Zenit SP
Group D
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Bor. Dortmund | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| Real Madrid | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Ajax | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 |
| Man. City | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
B. Dortmund vs Ajax - 1-0
R. Madrid vs Man. City - 3-2
Man. City vs B. Dortmund - 1-1
Ajax vs R. Madrid - 1-4
Ajax vs Man. City - 3-1
B. Dortmund vs R. Madrid - 2-1
Man. City vs Ajax - 2-2
R. Madrid vs B. Dortmund - 2-2
21/11/12: Ajax vs B. Dortmund
21/11/12: Man. City vs R. Madrid
04/12/12: B. Dortmund vs Man. City
04/12/12: R. Madrid vs Ajax
Playing today
Group E
Juventus vs Nordsjaelland
Chelsea vs S. Donetsk - TVM 2
Standings: S. Donetsk 7; Chelsea 4; Juventus 3; Nordsjaelland 1.
Group F
Valencia vs Bate Borisov
Bayern Munich vs Lille
Standings: Valencia, B. Borisov, B. Munich 6; Lille 0.
Group G
Benfica vs Spartak Moscow
Celtic vs Barcelona
Standings: Barcelona 9; Celtic 4; Spartak Moscow 3; Benfica 1.
Group H
CFR Cluj vs Galatasaray
Braga vs Manchester United
Standings: Man. United 9; CFR Cluj 4; Braga 3; Galatasaray 1.