Former champions Bayern Munich, Juventus and Ajax qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League on Tuesday, while Manchester United have to wait to see if they reach the final 16.
Roy Makaay scored two goals for four-time champions Bayern in a 4-0 win at Rapid Vienna to advance from group A. Juventus joined the German team but needed an 80th-minute goal from Alessandro del Piero to beat FC Brugge 1-0.
Nigel de Jong scored twice for Ajax in a 2-1 over Sparta Prague to join Arsenal in advancing from group B. Arsenal needed an 88th-minute penalty from Robert Pires to beat 10-man FC Thun 1-0 in Switzerland.
FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Lyon are also through to the next round. On Wednesday, Liverpool, Chelsea and Inter Milan get the chance to join them.
The third-place finishers in the eight groups drop into the Uefa Cup.
Also on Tuesday, it was: Barcelona 3, Werder Bremen 1, and Panathinaikos 1, Udinese 2 in group C; and Manchester United 0, Villarreal 0, and Lille 0, Benfica 0 in group D.
The two places in group D are still up for grabs after the two scoreless draws. Villarreal lead with seven points, followed by Lille and Manchester United with six and Benfica with five.
”I don’t think it was a bad performance; we just needed that little break in front of goal but we didn’t get it,” United manager Alex Ferguson said.
In the final round on December 7, Villarreal host Lille and Benfica host Manchester United.
Bayern beat Rapid Vienna without midfield duo Michael Ballack and Mehmet Scholl, who are both injured. Sebastian Deisler scored in the 21st minute from Roy Makaay’s cross.
Ali Karimi made it 2-0 in the 54th minute when he volleyed the ball past Rapid goalkeeper Helge Payer after a corner from substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger. Makaay then added two more in the 72nd and the 76th minutes.
”We could have scored a bigger victory if we had used all our chances,” Deisler said. ”We played very well tonight.”
In Barcelona, Gabri Garcia, Ronaldinho and Henrik Larsson all scored for the hosts in a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen to ensure they advance as group winners. Midfielder Tim Borowski netted for Bremen from a penalty midway through the first half.
Udinese are second in group C after rallying to beat Panathinaikos 2-1 in Athens. The Greek team were leading 1-0 through Costas Charalambides, but Vincenzo Iaquinta scored in the 80th minute and Vincent Candela added the second three minutes later.
Udinese have seven points, with Werder Bremen and Panathinaikos on four. Udinese play Barcelona and Werder host Panathinaikos in the final group matches.
Ajax, who have won the title four times, the last in 1995, scored in the 68th minute when Wesley Sneijder crossed his free kick rather than taking a shot at goal and De Jong headed the ball past goalkeeper Jaromir Blazek. De Jong scored again in the 89th, with Sparta adding its goal in the 90th minute through Martin Petras.
In Thun, Switzerland, the hosts were down to 10 men after 35 minutes when Armaud Deumi was sent off for bringing down Arsenal’s Robin van Persie in the box.
Pires scored with a penalty, earned when Selver Hodzic fouled Van Persie inside the penalty box.
On Wednesday, it’s: Schalke vs PSV Eindhoven; Fenerbahce vs AC Milan; Rosenborg vs Olympiakos; Real Madrid vs Lyon; Liverpool vs Real Betis; Anderlecht vs Chelsea; Inter Milan vs Artmedia Bratislava; and FC Porto vs Rangers. — Sapa-AP