UEFA Champions League: Dortmund, Arsenal and AC Milan qualify for knockout stages
A late goal ensured that Borussia Dortmund topped the ‘Group of Death’ in spite of facing elimination.
In a pulsating end to the group stage of the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League, two of Italy’s biggest teams were eliminated as the final 16 teams were decided for the pre-quarterfinals.
The complete list of qualified teams can be found here: Teams qualified for Round of 16
Group B
After a snowstorm halted the Galatasaray vs Juventus game the night before, the match was replayed and the Turkish club beat the Italian champions 1-0. And it was none other than Wesley Sneijder who scored a late goal to condemn Juventus to the Europa League
Group E
Chelsea beat Steaua Bucharest 1-0 after Demba Ba scored the only goal of the game in the 11th minute. The Blues topped the group with 12 points. Meanwhile, Schalke beat Basel 2-0 to steal the second spot which looked to have been consolidated by the Swiss side. Ivan Ivanov was sent off in the 32nd minute for Basel and Schalke capitalised on the man advantage to score, with Julian Draxler and Matip getting on the score-sheet.
Group F
The Group of Death lived up to its expectations as the two teams to qualify weren’t decided until the final whistle. Arsenal traveled to Napoli’s intimidating San Paolo stadium where a draw was enough to top the group. But the Italian side had other ideas and Gonzalo Higuain scored in the 73rd minute to give them the lead. The night got worse for the Gunners as captain Mikel Arteta was sent off in the 76th minute after picking up his second yellow card.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund were in trouble in Marseille with the score at 1-1. Robert Lewandowski had scored as early as the 4th minute only for Diawara to cancel it out ten minutes later. Payet was then sent off in the 34th minute for a second yellow card. Dortmund still needed a win to progress and Kevin Grosskreutz obliged in the 86th minute with a shot that crept past goalkeeper Steve Mandanda. By this time, Napoli needed to beat Arsenal 3-0 and they came close when Jose Callejon scored in stoppage time. But it was too little too late as Dortmund and Arsenal qualified for the knockout stages thanks to a better head-to-head record.
Group G
Atletico Madrid cruised into the knockout stages after a 2-0 win over Porto with Raul Garcia and Diego Costa scoring a goal each. Meanwhile, Zenit St Petersburg qualified in spite of losing 4-1 to Austria Vienna and tallying just 6 points – a stark contrast to Group F.
Group H
Barcelona thrashed Celtic 6-1 at the Camp Nou with Neymar scoring his first Champions League goals for the Catalan club. The Brazilian forward eventually scored a memorable hat-trick with Gerard Pique, Pedro and Cristian Tello also getting on the score sheet.
AC Milan needed to avoid defeat against Ajax to qualify and in spite of having Riccardo Montolivo sent off for a straight red card, they managed to hold on for a 0-0 draw.