English teams into Champions League KO

Saturday, November 21, 2009 7:37 PM

LATEST NEWS:

Sport

AFP

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

PARIS, France (AFP) - English giants Chelsea and Manchester United made hard work of it, but ended up coming from behind to both qualify for the Champions League knockout stages yesterday.

French champions Bordeaux joined them as they earned an impressive 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Munich, while Porto can also look forward to Champions League football in the spring after winning 1-0 at APOEL Nicosia.

However, things look stark for Bayern Munich and their Champions League-winning coach Louis van Gaal as his side trail second-placed Juventus by four points in Group A with two matches remaining.

Chelsea came from 1-0 down to draw 2-2 with Atletico Madrid - Didier Drogba scoring both goals on his return from a three-match Champions League suspension.

United had to come from even further behind as they trailed 3-1 late into the match against CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford before two goals levelled matters and pushed them through.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was relieved to have progressed but was left less than happy by the referee's performance, especially over a penalty that was not awarded for a trip on Darren Fletcher - the Scottish midfielder being booked instead.

AC Milan and Real Madrid's group has become one of the tightest as the two giants fought out a 1-1 draw in Milan, while rivals Marseille thrashed FC Zurich 6-1 to stand just a point behind the duo.

Milan and Real shared the spoils at the San Siro, with both goals coming in the first half.

Karim Benzema got his first goal in seven matches for the visitors before Ronaldinho drew Milan level from the penalty spot.

Marseille had wrapped things up shortly after half-time as captain Mamadou Niang was on hand to round off a nicely worked move by the French side to make it 3-1 against FC Zurich and then romped away to leave themselves in with a real chance of making the knockout stages.

On a good night for French sides Bordeaux qualified after securing a splendid 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich - French international Yoann Gourcuff netting in the first half and Moroccan international Marouane Chamakh sealing victory late on in the second-half.

Bayern's position is even more precarious given that Juventus beat Maccabi Haifa 1-0 in Israel - World Cup winner Mauro Camoranesi scoring in the first half.

Should user fees at public health facilities be reinstated?
	Yes
	No

View Results
Results published weekly in Sunday Finance

Username:
Password: