Chelsea became the first Champions League holders to exit at the group stage after a 6-1 rout of Nordsjaelland proved irrelevant yesterday with Juventus reaching the last 16 after a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
A second-half own goal was enough for Juve to secure top spot in Group E and progress alongside Shakhtar.
Galatasaray and Celtic secured the other two knockout stage places decided in the final round of group matches.
The much-maligned Fernando Torres scored twice, with David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Juan Mata and Oscar also on target for Chelsea who finished their group campaign with 10 points – level with Shakhtar but below the Ukrainian champions by virtue of an inferior head-to-head record.
The result gave interim coach Rafael Benitez his first win in four games at the Stamford Bridge helm, but Chelsea’s only hope of securing silverware in Europe for a second successive season now lies in the Europa League.
Juventus qualified after Olexandr Kucher’s own goal gave the Serie A champions a 1-0 win and dropped Shakhtar Donetsk to second.
Shakhtar had sealed qualification for the last 16 a fortnight ago but came into their final group game looking for the draw or win that would seal first place.
But with Juventus in need of at least a point to go through, the Italian team displayed more urgency throughout and it showed in the period leading up to Kucher’s blunder which gave Juve the winner in the 56th minute.
Second-half goals from Galatasaray’s in-form striker Burak Yilmaz and substitute Aydin Yilmaz cancelled out Braga’s opener in a memorable comeback 2-1 win that sends the Turkish champions through for the first time in a decade.
Galatasaray were second in Group H before the match, with the same points as CFR Cluj but ahead on goal difference.
They needed to achieve a result that at least matched the Romanians’ at Manchester United to reach the last 16.
Cluj won 1-0 against a second-string United but the Turkish side matched them by muscling out a late win in a cold evening at Braga’s “quarry” stadium.
Kris Commons fired Celtic into the last 16 when his penalty helped them to a 2-1 victory over Spartak Moscow in their final Group G match at Celtic Park.
It was a big reward for Celtic, who took a giant step into the knockout round last month when they stunned Barcelona 2-1, and they will be appearing in the last 16 for the first time since 2007-08.
Celtic went ahead in the 21st minute with Gary Hooper’s low drive after a blunder by Spartak centre back Juan Insaurralde but the Russian side pulled one back five minutes before half-time through Ari’s delightful lob.
The hosts, who finish as runners-up to group winners Barcelona, pushed hard for a winner but had to wait until the 82nd minute when Commons struck home from the spot after Giorgios Samaras was pushed over in the area.
Benfica missed out on a place in the last 16 when they were held to a 0-0 draw by a weakened Barcelona to finish third behind Celtic.
The visitors carved a number of openings in the first half but were profligate with their shooting. They ran out of ideas and steam, although they almost grabbed a dramatic goal in time added on.
Lionel Messi came on as a second-half substitute but failed to add to his calendar year tally of 84 and ended up leaving the pitch on a stretcher after a collision with Benfica goalkeeper Artur at the end of the match.
Meanwhile, a first-half penalty by Jonas was enough for Valencia to see off already-eliminated Lille 1-0 away but the Spanish side had to settle for second in Group F.
Jonas converted a penalty nine minutes from the interval as Valencia finished on 13 points, level with Bayern Munich but behind the German team who beat Bate Borisov 4-1.
Lille finished bottom with three points, three adrift of Europa League-bound Borisov.
Valencia were without new coach Ernesto Valverde who will take over from the sacked Mauricio Pellegrino today.
Summaries
S. Donetsk 0
Juventus 1
Kucher 56 og;
Chelsea 6
Luiz 38 pen; Torres 45, 56; Cahill 51; Mata 63; Oscar 71;
N’sjaelland 1
John 46;
Missed penalty: Stokholm (N) 32.
Missed penalty: Hazard (C) 35.
Lille 0
Valencia 1
Jonas 36 pen;
B. Munich 4
Gomez 22; Mueller 54; Shaqiri 66; Alaba 83;
B. Borisov 1
Filipenko 89;
Red cards: Boateng (BM) 51; Polyakov (BB) 69.
Barcelona 0
Benfica 0
Celtic 2
Hooper 21; Commons 82 pen;
S. Moscow 1
Ari 40;
Red card: Kallstrom (SM) 88.
Man. United 0
CFR Cluj 1
Alberto 56;
Braga 1
Mossoro 32;
Galatasaray 2
Yilmaz 58, 78;
Group winners
Paris SG, Schalke, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Man. United.
Runners-up
Porto, Arsenal, Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Valencia, Celtic, Galatasaray.
Notes
• In the last 16, group winners play runners-up other than teams from their own pool or nation. From the quarter-finals on the draw is free.
• Last 16 first legs will be played on Feb. 12-13 and 19-20 with the return legs on March 5-6 and 12-13.
• The Last 16 draw will be held in Nyon on December 20.
Group E
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Juventus (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 12 |
| S. Donetsk (Q) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 10 |
| Chelsea | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 10 |
| Nordsjaelland | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 22 | 1 |
S. Donetsk vs Nordsjaelland - 2-0
Chelsea vs Juventus - 2-2
Juventus vs S. Donetsk - 1-1
Nordsjaelland vs Chelsea - 0-4
Nordsjaelland vs Juventus - 1-1
S. Donetsk vs Chelsea - 2-1
Juventus vs Nordsjaelland - 4-0
Chelsea vs S. Donetsk - 3-2
Nordsjaelland vs S. Donetsk - 2-5
Juventus vs Chelsea - 3-0
S. Donetsk vs Juventus - 0-1
Chelsea vs Nordsjaelland - 6-1
Group F
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| B. Munich (Q) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 13 |
| Valencia (Q) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 13 |
| B. Borisov | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 6 |
| Lille | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 3 |
Lille vs Bate Borisov - 1-3
B. Munich vs Valencia - 2-1
Valencia vs Lille - 2-0
Bate Borisov vs B. Munich - 3-1
Bate Borisov vs Valencia - 0-3
Lille vs Bayern Munich - 0-1
Valencia vs B. Borisov - 4-2
Bayern Munich vs Lille - 6-1
Bate Borisov vs Lille - 0-2
Valencia vs B. Munich - 1-1
Lille vs Valencia - 0-1
B. Munich vs B. Borisov - 4-1
Group G
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Barcelona (Q) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 13 |
| Celtic (Q) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| Benfica | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| S. Moscow | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
Barcelona vs S. Moscow - 3-2
Celtic vs Benfica - 0-0
Benfica vs Barcelona - 0-2
S. Moscow vs Celtic - 2-3
S. Moscow vs Benfica - 2-1
Barcelona vs Celtic - 2-1
Benfica vs S. Moscow - 2-0
Celtic vs Barcelona - 2-1
S. Moscow vs Barcelona - 0-3
Benfica vs Celtic - 2-1
Barcelona vs Benfica - 0-0
Celtic vs Spartak Moscow - 2-1
Group H
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man. United (Q) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 12 |
| Galatasaray (Q) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 10 |
| CFR Cluj | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 10 |
| Braga | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 3 |
Man. United vs Galatasaray - 1-0
Braga vs CFR Cluj - 0-2
CFR Cluj vs Man. United - 1-2
Galatasaray vs Braga - 0-2
Galatasaray vs CFR Cluj - 1-1
Man. United vs Braga - 3-2
Cluj vs Galatasaray - 1-3
Braga vs Man. United - 1-3
Galatasaray vs Man. Utd - 1-0
CFR Cluj vs Braga - 3-1
Man. United vs CFR Cluj - 0-1
Braga vs Galatasaray - 1-2