Manchester City concluded one of the great Champions League Houdini acts yesterday as they qualified for the knockout stages with goals from Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta sinking Roma 2-0 to eliminate the Italians at the Olympic Stadium.

Neymar scored a spectacular goal as Barcelona came from behind to beat Paris SG 3-1 for top spot in Group F and an opportunist goal by 19-year old substitute Max Meyer gave Schalke 04 a 1-0 win at Maribor that propelled them into the knockout stage of the competition.

Nasri’s 60th-minute thunderbolt, before he laid on a second for Argentine Zabaleta in the 86th minute, ensured the English champions did not suffer another frustrating early exit in Group E.

City’s great escape into the last 16 seemed unthinkable when they trailed in their penultimate game at home to Bayern Munich with just five minutes remaining before Sergio Aguero completed his famous hat-trick.

Victory or a score draw offered City’s most realistic chance of progressing from the group behind Bayern Munich in a fevered atmosphere in Rome and even without their injured totem Aguero, Manuel Pellegrini’s men produced a performance full of resolve.

Nasri, given too much space on the edge of the box, hammered a glorious 20-metre shot which cannoned off the post and into the net, and City defended manfully before Nasri freed the rampaging full-back Zabaleta to score his first Champions League goal.

Already qualified Bayern Munich beat CSKA Moscow 3-0 with another dominant performance to complete their fifth win in Group E and leave the Russians bottom of the table and out of Europe.

With teenagers Gianluca Gaudino and Pierre Hojbjerg alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger, making his first start of the season, and Xabi Alonso and Arjen Robben on the bench, Bayern never hit top form, having already secured top spot in Group E with two games to spare.

Thomas Mueller scored in the 18th minute after Franck Ribery was brought down and Sebastian Rode headed in after a fine move in the 84th before Mario Goetze added another in the 90th.

Former Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic put the French side ahead after 15 minutes with their first threat on goal but Lionel Messi restored parity as he maintained his remarkable scoring form with his eighth goal in Europe this season.

The Argentine slotted in at the far post from a Luis Suarez cross and although they continued to look exposed at the back, Neymar scored with a drive from distance which nestled in the corner of the net.

It was a disjointed performance from Barca and they were hanging on before Suarez knocked in a rebound from a Neymar shot that was saved by Salvatore Sirigu.

The win put them on 15 points, two more than Paris SG who beat Barca in France.

Chelsea gave a helping hand to a former hero last night by rounding off the group stage with a 3-1 victory over Sporting which sent the Portuguese side packing and opened the door for Schalke to reach the last 16.

The English side finished comfortably clear at the top of Group G after a Cesc Fabregas penalty and a rasping strike from Andre Schuerrle set them on their way and John Obi Mikel rounded off the scoring after Jonathan Silva had given Sporting hope.

The result proved a boon to Chelsea’s former Champions League-winning coach Roberto Di Matteo whose Schalke side clinched the runners-up spot. The win lifted Schalke above Sporting Lisbon into second place.

Meyer pounced just after the hour mark, six minutes after replacing the ineffective Tranquillo Barnetta, when Maribor keeper Jasmin Handanovic failed to clear a low cross by midfielder Marco Hoger.

Schalke dominated possession in the first half but Maribor, roared on by their 12,000 home fans who lit flares midway through the opening period, looked more dangerous on the break.

Meanwhile, Porto completed the group stage with an unbeaten record after a stunning late strike from Vincent Aboubakar gave them a 1-1 draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.

The result had no effect on the standings as Porto, who finished with 14 points, had already guaranteed top spot in Group H and Shakhtar, who finished with nine, were already assured of second place.

Summaries

Roma 0
Man. City 2
Nasri 60, Zabaleta 86;

B. Munich 3
Mueller 18p, Rode 84, Goetze 90;
CSKA Moscow 0

Barcelona 3
Messi 19, Neymar 42, Suarez 77;
Paris SG 1
Ibrahimovic 15;

Ajax 4
Schoene 45p, 50, Klaassen 53, Milik 74;
APOEL 0

Chelsea 3
Fabregas 8p, Schuerrle 16, Obi Mikel 56;
Sporting 1
Silva 50;

Maribor 0
Schalke 1
Meyer 62;

Porto 1
Aboubakar 87;
S. Donetsk 1
Stepanenko 50;

A. Bilbao 2
San Jose 47, Laskurain 88;
BATE Borisov 0

Group A

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Atl. Madrid	6	4	1	1	14	3	13
Juventus	6	3	1	2	7	4	10
Olympiakos	6	3	0	3	10	13	9
Malmo	6	1	0	5	4	15	3

Group B

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
R. Madrid	6	6	0	0	16	2	18
Basel	6	2	1	3	7	8	7
Liverpool	6	1	2	3	5	9	5
Ludogorets	6	1	1	4	5	14	4

Group C

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Monaco	6	3	2	1	4	1	11
B. Leverkusen	6	3	1	2	7	4	10
Zenit SP	6	2	1	3	4	6	7
Benfica	6	1	2	3	2	6	5

Group D

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
B. Dortmund	6	4	1	1	14	4	13
Arsenal	6	4	1	1	15	8	13
Anderlecht	6	1	3	2	8	10	6
Galatasaray	6	0	1	5	4	19	1

Group E

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
B. Munich	6	5	0	1	16	4	15
Man. City	6	2	2	2	9	8	8
Roma	6	1	2	3	8	14	5
CSKA Moscow	6	1	2	3	6	13	5

Roma vs CSKA Moscow - 5-1
B. Munich vs Man. City - 1-0
Man. City vs Roma - 1-1
CSKA vs B. Munich - 0-1
CSKA Moscow vs Man. City - 2-2
Roma vs Bayern Munich - 1-7
Man. City vs CSKA Moscow - 1-2
Bayern Munich vs Roma - 2-0
CSKA vs Roma - 1-1
Man. City vs B. Munich - 3-2
Roma vs Man. City - 0-2
B. Munich vs CSKA Moscow - 3-0

Group F

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Barcelona	6	5	0	1	15	5	15
Paris SG	6	4	1	1	10	7	13
Ajax	6	1	2	3	8	10	5
Apoel	6	0	1	5	1	12	1

Barcelona vs APOeL - 1-0
Ajax vs Paris SG - 1-1
Paris SG vs Barcelona - 3-2
APOeL vs Ajax - 1-1
APOeL vs Paris SG - 0-1
Barcelona vs Ajax - 3-1
Paris SG vs APOEL - 1-0
Ajax vs Barcelona - 0-2
APOeL vs Barcelona - 0-4
Paris SG vs Ajax - 3-1
Barcelona vs Paris SG - 3-1
Ajax vs APOEL Nicosia - 4-0

Group G

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Chelsea	6	4	2	0	17	3	14
Schalke	6	2	2	2	9	14	8
Sporting	6	2	1	3	12	12	7
Maribor	6	0	3	3	4	13	3

Maribor vs Sporting - 1-1
Chelsea vs Schalke - 1-1
Sporting vs Chelsea - 0-1
Schalke vs Maribor - 1-1
Schalke vs Sporting - 4-3
Chelsea vs Maribor - 6-0
Sporting vs Schalke - 4-2
Maribor vs Chelsea - 1-1
Schalke vs Chelsea - 0-5
Sporting vs Maribor - 3-1
Chelsea vs Sporting - 3-1
Maribor vs Schalke - 0-1

Group H

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Porto	6	4	2	0	16	4	14
S. Donetsk	6	2	3	1	15	4	9
A. Bilbao	6	2	1	3	5	6	7
Bate Borisov	6	1	0	5	2	24	3

Porto vs Bate Borisov - 6-0
A. Bilbao vs S. Donetsk - 0-0
S. Donetsk vs Porto - 2-2
Bate Borisov vs A. Bilbao - 2-1
Bate Borisov vs S. Donetsk - 0-7
Porto vs Athletic Bilbao - 2-1
S. Donetsk vs Bate Borisov - 5-0
Athletic Bilbao vs Porto - 0-2
B. Borisov vs Porto - 0-3
S. Donetsk vs A. Bilbao - 0-1
Porto vs S. Donetsk - 1-1
Athletic Bilbao vs B. Borisov - 2-0