Paris: Manchester United became the third club to reach the Champions League knockout stages after coming from behind to beat Braga 3-1 and ensure they also top their group.
However, it was the side that beat them to being Britain’s first ever winner of the European Cup, Celtic, that stole the glory on Wednesday as they recorded a deserved 2-1 home win over four-time champions Barcelona just a day after the hosts celebrated their 125th birthday.
Another British winner of European club football’s premier competition – defending champions Chelsea – kept their hopes alive of avoiding the humiliation of becoming the first champions to go out at the group stage with a last gasp 3-2 home win over talented Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
However, while they top the group on goal difference from Shakhtar their fate probably hangs on their trip to Italian champions Juventus in a fortnight as their hosts are just a point behind them having demolished Nordsjaelland 4-0 in Turin.
The biggest winners of the night were last season’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich who humiliated hapless French side Lille 6-1 with Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro scoring a hat-trick in the first-half.
Bayern are battling it out on the same points as Valencia, who also enjoyed an easy night at home beating early pacesetters BATE Borisov 4-2. The Belarus side trail the top two by just three points but appear to have gone off the boil.
“This was a superb game and especially the first half was as good as it can ever get,” said winger Arjen Robben, gradually hitting top form after a month out with a back injury.
“But we have to remain with both feet on the ground and have to continue in exactly the same way. We have keep playing like that and not let off.”
“At the moment everything is going great but we have to make sure that we hit top form in every game.”
The Bavarians, who are also in command in the Bundesliga, seven points clear at the top, have so far dispelled any fears of a possible dip in form similar to last season that eventually cost them any silverware.
A frantic pace set from the start as well as the commitment of several players, including Ribery, to work hard in defence as well, gave the French team no chance as the Bavarians struck five times in the opening 33 minutes.
“I think everyone saw that my team was very motivated and very concentrated,” said coach Jupp Heynckes. “It was flawless in the first half. We played as a team with textbook combinations and great finishes.”
“Obviously we had great plays in the first half, but the opponent was not in top form. I do not want to put a dampener on things but that is what it is,” he told reporters.
United were second best for most of their match with Braga but having resumed after a second-half power cut they scored three times in the last 10 minutes to give the scoreline a rather unfair look about it but still a place in the last 16.
That above all was a relief to Alex Ferguson and his players after they missed out on the knpockout stages last season.
“I think we were all disappointed (we didn’t progress from the group stage last year),” said veteran Ryan Giggs.
Celtic had been unfortunate to lose 2-1 to Barcelona a fortnight ago having taken the lead but they did not make the same mistake on Wednesday more than holding their own after an early goal by the outstanding Victor Wanyama.
They sealed the points through a superbly-taken late second from 18-year-old Tony Watt – Lionel Messi grabbed a stoppage time consolation goal – prompting wild celebrations.
“I said when I took the job that I wanted to bring the thunder back to the club and I have never heard anything like that at the end of the match,” said manager Neil Lennon.
“This is simply unbelievable. The club has been the in doldrums. This is not the pinnacle, there is more to come from this team, but the progression is great. It gives us a great chance of qualifying.”
His Barcelona counterpart Tito Vilanova was gracious in defeat.
“Congratulations to Celtic and their fans. The credit is theirs,” Vilanova said. “It was an amazing show. If we had scored first it would have been a more open match. We hit the post twice but their goalkeeper did very well.”
“We are still in first place and we are relaxed,” Barca’s World Player of the Year Messi, told reporters.
“I think we did everything well, we got into goal-scoring positions but the ball just didn’t go in,” added the Argentine, who became a father for the first time when his son Thiago was born on Friday.
“They were comfortable closing ranks in defence, waiting for a chance to counterattack, a corner or a freekick and that’s how they managed to score the two goals.”
Chelsea showed terrific grit to seal their victory in the fourth minute of stoppage time through Victor Moses, his first goal in the competition, but their opponents deserved a share of the spoils.
“We’ve got a crucial three points. It was crucial for us to win this tough home game,” said Di Matteo.
“Now it’s probably going to go down to the last kick of the last game in this group.”
Juventus will provide equally tough opposition for di Matteo’s side later in the month and the Italian side’s assistant coach Angelo Alessio admitted it would be crucial as to which of them progressed.
“We must beat Chelsea at home in the next game if we are to earn our place in the next round,” said Alessio.
“We wanted to go out there with the right degree of intensity and the lads got it right for this type of performance.” (AFP)