SwantonS's BLOG

Chelsea ultimately made sure of progression to the knock-out stages of the Champions League but they left it very late.

Chelsea ultimately made sure of progression to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, but had to ensure a night of tension first as it took until late in the second half for Group A to take shape.

The Blues took a first-half lead at home to CFR Cluj, but when the Romanians equalised 10 minutes after the break, all eyes were on Italy where a goal for Bordeaux against Roma would have left Chelsea on their way out.

Instead, it was the hosts who broke the deadlock at the Stadio Olimpico en route to a 2-0 win, while Chelsea secured their own passage as Didier Drogba came off the bench to make it 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea prodded and probed the Cluj defence before eventually making the breakthrough five minutes before the break, with Solomon Kalou losing his marker to easily prod home Deco's free-kick.

But Cluj stunned Stamford Bridge in the 55th minute as Cristian Panin's fine cross picked out Yssouf Kone who headed the ball beyond the reach of Petr Cech and into the top left-hand corner of the goal.

Chelsea fans were left biting their nails until news came through from Italy that Roma had scored.

Drogba then made sure, latching on to Joe Cole's through ball to quickly control and shoot beyond Nuno Claro with a fine piece of skill.

In Rome, the hosts needed until the 61st minute to break the deadlock, with Matteo Brighi smashing the ball home from Simone Perrotta's free-kick.

Talisman Francesco Totti then added a second with a powerful low shot from the edge of the area.

Liverpool overhauled Atletico Madrid to finish top of Group D as the Reds beat PSV Eindhoven 3-1 away, and Atletico were held to a goalless draw by Marseille.

Liverpool fell behind to Danko Lazovic's 36th minute strike, with the Serbian taking advantage of a lucky bounce to fire beyond Diego Cavalieri.

But the visitors were level in first-half injury-time as Ryan Babel met Lucas' free-kick to head beyond Andreas Isaksson.

Albert Riera's first Champions League goal was a 25-yard screamer that made it 2-1 to Liverpool in the 68th minute, and young striker David Ngog sealed the deal when he latched on to Robbie Keane's pass to fire home 13 minutes from time.

Liverpool finish top ahead of Atletico, while defeat for PSV secures third spot and UEFA Cup football for Marseille.

Panathinaikos booked their place in the knock-out stages with a 1-0 win over Anorthosis Famagusta in Group B.

The goal came in the 69th minute when Giorgos Karagounis found the net to send Pana top of their group.

Inter Milan were already sure of going through, and went down 2-1 in Germany to a Werder Bremen side who needed to win to secure UEFA Cup football.

The hosts went ahead in the 63rd minute, taking advantage of a defensive mess as Claudio Pizzaro fired in when Julio Cesar could only parry Mesut Ozil's shot.

It was 2-0 nine minutes from time with Ozil again the creator, this time setting up Markus Rosenberg for an easy finish.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a wonderful late goal for Inter, but there was no time for a comeback.

With Group C already settled, Barcelona sent in the kids against Shakhtar Donetsk as they rested first-team players ahead of the El Clasico against Real Madrid this weekend.

Shakhtar took full advantage, grabbing the lead through Oleksandr Gladkyy in the 31st minute and doubling their advantage as Gladkyy got his second 13 minutes after the break.

Barca responded quickly as Silvinho, one of the few senior players on the pitch, lashed a left-footed shot just inside the post, but Shakhtar were not done and Luis Fernandinho scored with an outstanding long-range strike in the 76th minute.

Sergei Busquets' late strike made Shakhtar sweat but it came too late for Barca who lost 3-2.

Group D's other game saw Sporting Lisbon travel to Basle with only pride to play for having already wrapped up qualification, but there were no signs of a lack of motivation as they won 1-0 thanks to Yanick Djalo's 19th-minute goal.

There were hints of offside as Marat Izmailov collected the ball on the right wing, but his cross found Yannick who made no mistake from close range. 

Juande Ramos marked his first game in charge of Real Madrid with a convincing victory at the Bernabeu with a 3-0 win.

Juande Ramos marked his first game in charge of Real Madrid with a convincing victory at the Bernabeu but it was not enough for his new side to finish top of Champions League Group H.

Raul grabbed a brilliant brace as the Ramos era began with a 3-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg, but it was Italian giants Juventus who progressed as group winners courtesy of a goalless draw against BATE Borisov.

Madrid and Juve progress to the last 16 level on 12 points, although Claudio Ranieri's side could have made it through in more convincing fashion had Sebastian Giovinco not missed a 53rd-minute penalty.

Madrid hit the front in their game after 25 minutes, Zenit goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev dropping Rafael van der Vaart's cross into the path of Raul who fired home with ease.

Arjen Robben made it 2-0 with a stunning chipped effort early in the second period, while Raul continued the sublime forward play in the 57th minute when he lifted a sumptuous lob over the advancing Malafeev.

Manchester United progressed of winners of Group E after a 2-2 draw with Aalborg at Old Trafford. With Villarreal losing 2-0 at Celtic, United's point confirmed them at the head of the standings.

Ryan Giggs played in Carlos Tevez for United's opener inside five minutes but Aalborg levelled against the run of play after 31 minutes when Martin Pederson's free-kick was flicked beyond Thomas Kuszczak by Michael Jakobsen.

And worse was to come for United when Anders Due crossed for Jeppe Curth to head home two minutes into added time at the end of the half.

United wasted no time getting back on terms in the second period, however, Wayne Rooney firing home under the Aalborg goalkeeper after being played in by Anderson.

At Celtic Park, the hosts went ahead after 14 minutes when Villarreal goalkeeper Sebastian Viera let Mark Wilson's cross to slip through his grasp to allow Shaun Maloney to nod home.

Aiden McGeady doubled the hosts' advantage in stoppage time at the end of the first half, 10 minutes after Guille Franco had been sent off for Villarreal for elbowing Gary Caldwell.

Bayern Munich ensured they progressed as winners of Group F after a 3-2 win at Lyon.

The German champions raced out to a 3-0 lead inside the first half but a spirited fightback by their French counterparts after the break made for a thrilling encounter.

Miroslav Klose's fired home right-footed to open the scoring for Bayern after 11 minutes while midfielder Franck Ribery made it 2-0 after 34 minutes and Klose added his second of the night three minutes later.

Sidney Govou pulled one back for Lyon after 53 minutes, while the fightback moved on apace in the 68th minute when Karim Benzema fired home, but Claude Puel's men failed to find a leveller and progress as runners-up.

Also in Group F, Fiorentina sealed their place in the UEFA Cup as Alberto Gilardino's 66th-minute strike secured a 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest, who had Pawel Golanski sent off 18 minutes from time.

In Group G, Porto made sure they finished top of the pile after a 2-0 win over Arsenal at Estadio do Dragao.

Porto went ahead after 39 minutes courtesy of a Bruno Alves header, while Lisandro Lopez heaped further misery on the Gunners early in the second half when he lashed home a brilliant second for the hosts.

Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev made sure of their place in the UEFA Cup courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Turkish outfit Fenerbahce, Roman Eremenko grabbing the game's only goal after 20 minutes.