Ajax kept themselves in contention for progress to the next round of the Champions League after becoming the first side to beat Barcelona this season with a 2-1 triumph in their Group H match yesterday.
Last season’s Champions League runners-up Borussia Dort-mund beat Napoli 3-1 with a stellar offensive performance to earn a lifeline and stay in the hunt for a knockout stage spot as Milan kept their hopes alive with a comfortable 3-0 win over a lacklustre Celtic side in Glasgow.
Thulani Serero and Danny Hoesen scored to give Ajax a surprise half-time lead but straight after the break defender Joel Veltman was red carded for a tackle on Neymar and Xavi pulled a goal back from the penalty spot.
Injury-plagued Barcelona app-lied pressure in search of an equaliser but Ajax held out to thunderous applause from a capacity Amsterdam Arena.
Ajax stay third in the group, one point behind Milan, who they must now beat away on Dec. 11 if they are to advance.
Barcelona, without injured Lionel Messi, still need one point to make sure of top place in the group but were already through to the knockout phase before yesterday’s game.
Kaka scored Milan’s first after 13 minutes when the home side’s defence stood still as Valter Birsa’s corner came in and the unmarked Brazilian headed home.
Four minutes after half-time Antonio Nocerino was left alone to prod another Birsa corner across the goal and Cristian Zapata tapped in.
Mario Balotelli made it 3-0 on the hour from close range after controlling a long ball by Riccardo Montolivo and out-muscling Efe Ambrose.
The result keeps Milan second in the table on eight points from five games, two behind Barcelona.
Germany international Marco Reus converted a 10th minute penalty and Jakub Blaszczykowski added another goal on the hour for Dortmund before Lorenzo Isigne’s 71st minute strike set up what looked like a nervous finale to the Group F match.
However, Dortmund substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made sure of the three points with his first Champions League goal seven minutes later to lift Dortmund into second place ahead of Napoli with both teams on nine points.
Dortmund, who got their first win after three straight defeats in all competitions, including a 3-0 Bundesliga loss to rivals Bayern Munich, visit Marseille in their last group match next month.
Arsenal brushed Marseille aside 2-0 to make it four Champions League wins out of five but they are still not certain of qualifying for the knockout stage with one round of matches left to play.
Two goals from Jack Wilshere, the first after 30 seconds, sealed the points for Arsenal who head the group with 12 points followed by Dortmund.
Marseille have none after five straight losses.
Arsenal’s last match in the group is away to Napoli meaning the Gunners, Dortmund and Napoli could all finish with 12 points in which case results between the three would decide who advances to the last 16.
Arsenal were superior to a Marseille team already out of contention with coach Elie Baup fielding a weakened side with key players rested for their league exploits.
Wilshere put Arsenal ahead with a clever curler and added a second in the 65th minute after a superb move with the final pass exquisitely played by Mesut Ozil who missed a first-half penalty.
Mohamed Salah scored a breakaway goal in the 87th minute as Basel beat Chelsea 1-0 to complete an unlikely Champions League double over the Londoners.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech produced a string of outstanding saves in the first half to keep the dominant Swiss team at bay.
Basel, who beat Chelsea 2-1 away earlier in the campaign, then struck the winner when Egyptian Salah broke down the left before sliding the ball past Cech into the corner of the net.
Leaders Chelsea have nine points from five games in Group E and qualified for the knockout stages despite the upset.
Basel are second on eight points while Schalke are third on seven points after drawing 0-0 at bottom club Steaua Bucharest.
Summaries
Basel 1
Salah 87;
Chelsea 0
S. Bucharest0
Schalke 0
Arsenal 2
Wilshere 1, 65;
Marseille 0
Missed penalty: Ozil (A) 38.
B. Dortmund 3
Reus 10 pen; Blaszczykowski 60; Aubameyang 78;
Napoli 1
Insigne 71;
Porto 1
Martinez 48;
A. Vienna 1
Kienast 11;
Zenit SP 1
Alderweireld 74og;
Atl. Madrid 1
Adrian 53;
Celtic 0
Milan 3
Kaka 13; Zapata 49; Balotelli 60;
Ajax 2
Serero 19; Hoesen 41;
Barcelona 1
Xavi 49 pen;
Red card: Veltman (A) 48.
Group E
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Chelsea | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 9 |
| Basel | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 8 |
| Schalke | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| S. Bucharest | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
Schalke vs Steaua Bucharest - 3-0
Chelsea vs Basel - 1-2
Basel vs Schalke - 0-1
S. Bucharest vs Chelsea - 0-4
Steaua Bucharest vs Basel - 1-1
Schalke vs Chelsea - 0-3
Basel vs S. Bucharest - 1-1
Chelsea vs Schalke - 3-0
Basel vs Chelsea - 1-0
Steaua Bucharest vs Schalke - 0-0
11/12/13: Schalke vs Basel
11/12/13: Chelsea vs S. Bucharest
Group F
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Arsenal | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 12 |
| B. Dortmund | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 9 |
| Napoli | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Marseille | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 0 |
Marseille vs Arsenal - 1-2
Napoli vs B. Dortmund - 2-1
B. Dortmund vs Marseille - 3-0
Arsenal vs Napoli - 2-0
Arsenal vs Bor. Dortmund - 1-2
Marseille vs Napoli - 1-2
B. Dortmund vs Arsenal - 0-1
Napoli vs Marseille - 3-2
Arsenal vs Marseille - 2-0
B. Dortmund vs Napoli - 3-1
11/12/13: Marseille vs B. Dortmund
11/12/13: Napoli vs Arsenal
Group G
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Atl. Madrid | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 13 |
| Zenit SP | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Porto | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| A. Vienna | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 2 |
Austria Vienna vs Porto - 0-1
Atletico Madrid vs Zenit SP - 3-1
Zenit SP vs A. Vienna - 0-0
Porto vs A. Madrid - 1-2
Porto vs Zenit SP - 0-1
A. Vienna vs Atl. Madrid - 0-3
Zenit SP vs Porto - 1-1
A. Madrid vs A. Vienna - 4-0
Porto vs A. Vienna - 1-1
Zenit SP vs A. Madrid - 1-1
11/12/13: A. Vienna vs Zenit SP
11/12/13: A. Madrid vs Porto
Group H
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Barcelona | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 10 |
| Milan | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 8 |
| Ajax | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Celtic | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 3 |
Milan vs Celtic - 2-0
Barcelona vs Ajax - 4-0
Ajax vs Milan - 1-1
Celtic vs Barcelona - 0-1
Celtic vs Ajax - 2-1
Milan vs Barcelona - 1-1
Ajax vs Celtic - 1-0
Barcelona vs Milan - 3-1
Celtic vs Milan - 0-3
Ajax vs Barcelona - 2-1
11/12/13: Milan vs Ajax
11/12/13: Barcelona vs Celtic
Playing today
Group A
B. Leverkusen vs Man. United
S. Donetsk vs Real Sociedad
Standings: Man. Utd 8; B. Leverkusen 7; S. Donetsk 5; R. Sociedad 1.
Group B
Real Madrid vs Galatasaray
Juventus vs Copenhagen
Standings: R. Madrid 10; Galatasaray, Copenhagen 4; Juventus 3.
Group C
Anderlect vs Benfica
Paris SG vs Olympiakos
Standings: Paris SG 10; Olympiakos 7; Benfica 4; Anderlecht 1.
Group D
CSKA Moscow vs B. Munich - 18.00
Man. City vs Viktoria Plzen
Standings: B. Munich 12; Man. City 9; CSKA Moscow 3, Viktoria Plzen 0.