Defending champions Barcelona and Roma captured places in the second round of the Champions League on Tuesday by winning their final group games.
Ronaldinho’s low free kick and Eidur Gudjohnsen’s tap-in helped Barcelona beat Werder Bremen 2-0 to finish second in Group A behind Chelsea, who beat Levski Sofia 2-0.
”The team made a huge effort tonight [Tuesday] to get the lead,” Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard said. ”We played attractive football. It’s not always easy, but we played well, got the result and are into the next round.”
Bremen’s consolation for finishing third means a place in the Uefa Cup.
Christian Panucci scored the lone goal in Roma’s 1-0 win over Valencia, putting the Italian team in second place in Group D behind the Spanish club, who had already qualified.
Shakhtar Donetsk finished third and will play in the Uefa Cup after a 1-1 draw at Olympiakos.
In a meeting of two clubs who had already qualified from Group B, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan drew 1-1. That means four-time champions Bayern win the group.
Spartak Moscow won at Sporting Lisbon 3-1 to capture third place after the two teams finished level on points.
Group C winners Liverpool lost at last-placed Galatasaray 3-2 despite two goals from Robbie Fowler, while second-place PSV Eindhoven, who also had already qualified, lost to visiting Bordeaux 3-1. The French team moves on to the Uefa Cup.
Barcelona and Roma join 10 clubs who had already qualified: Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia, Lyon, Real Madrid, Celtic and AC Milan.
Eight more games are scheduled for Wednesday, and they will determine the last four berths. Manchester United and last season’s finalists Arsenal are still not sure of qualifying for the knockout round.
While Barcelona needed a victory to make it to the last 16, Bremen had a two-point advantage going to the Nou Camp and needed only a draw. But that all changed when Ronaldinho sent a low free kick under the defensive wall in the 13th minute after he had been fouled just outside the area by Cameroon left back Pierre Wome.
Gudjohnsen added the second five minutes later when Ronaldinho sent Ludovic Giuly clear down the right and the Iceland striker arrived unmarked in the middle to prod the ball home.
Gudjohnsen’s former club, Chelsea, made sure of first place in the group by winning comfortably at Stamford Bridge.
Struggling in the Premier League, Shevchenko scored in the 27th minute, taking a through ball from Frank Lampard and deftly flicking it past goalkeeper Bozhidar Mitrev with the outside of his right foot.
It was the Ukraine striker’s 57th goal in European club competition, putting him alone in second place on the all-time list behind Gerd Mueller, who has scored 62. Raul Gonzalez and Eusebio are tied with 56 goals.
Substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips, who is frustrated he doesn’t get more starts for the Blues, added the second with six minutes to go.
”The only thing we know is we don’t play Barcelona or any of the English teams,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said of the next stage. ”But we can play Real Madrid, Roma, Inter Milan — so it’s going to be tough. We play the second game at home. That can be a little, little advantage.”
Panucci, who won the title while with Real Madrid in 1998, scored the only goal of the game to put 1984 runners-up Roma into the last 16.
”Panucci was fundamental,” Roma coach Luciano Spalletti said.
”He also had a good game in central defence. We never had the result in doubt tonight.”
In the other Group D game, Francelino Matuzalem gave Shakhtar a 27th-minute lead but Nery Castillo replied for Olympiakos.
Roy Makaay gave Group B leaders Bayern the lead in the 62nd minute, but Patrick Vieira levelled for Inter in injury time.
Roman Pavlyuchenko and Maxym Kalynychenko scored in the first 16 minutes to put Spartak in control at Sporting Lisbon.
Carlos Bueno replied for the Portuguese team in the 31st but Denis Boyarintsev added a third for the Russian club in the 89th as Spartak took the Uefa Cup spot and left Sporting in last place.
Although the two clubs finished on five points, Spartak had a better head-to-head record.
Liverpool were already sure of finishing in first place in Group C and fielded a weakened line-up at Galatasaray. Fowler gave the five-times European champions a 22nd-minute lead but Necati Ates, Okan Buruk and Sasa Ilic turned the game around before Fowler scored a second in the 90th.
Goals by Julien Faubert, Stephane Dalmat and Jean Claude Darcheville in the first 36 minutes put Bordeaux in charge against host PSV in another meaningless game. The French club were already assured of third place and a place in the Uefa Cup and Alex’s reply three minutes from the end was no more than consolation.
”This was not worthy of PSV,” PSV coach Ronald Koeman said. ”I was very angry. We were playing at home in front of 30 000 people … you can’t start like that.” — Sapa-AP