Manchester United and Arsenal became the first clubs to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Manchester United and Arsenal are the first to reach the knockout stagePARIS: Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have very little nice to say to each other and little in common, but for once on Wednesday they shared the headlines for good reasons as both Manchester United and Arsenal became the first clubs to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Their means of qualifying like their managers couldn’t have been more contrasting as United whipped once-proud Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev 4-0, while a second-string Arsenal side drew 0-0 away at Slavia Prague — a team they trounced 7-0 a fortnight ago.
It was a night of doubles all round as the two Italian sides in action, Inter Milan and Roma, both came from behind — doubles by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Esteban Cambiasso inspiring Inter to a 4-2 win over CSKA Moscow while despite a brace from Liedson, Sporting Lisbon conceded a late equaliser to Roma to only draw 2-2 at home.
Likewise, a double by Mario Gomez was not enough to save VfB Stuttgart from exiting the competition as they went down 4-2 away at Lyon, for whom Hatem Ben Arfa also scored twice as they crept to within a point of second-placed Rangers, who lost 2-0 away at Barcelona.
Barcelona’s fellow Spaniards, Sevilla, are all but certain to qualify after Renato scored twice in a 2-0 win — giving them a five-point advantage over Slavia Prague with two matches remaining — over Steaua Bucharest and ending any hope Steaua coach Marius Lacatus had of emulating his 1986 European Cup win as a player with the club.
Ferguson, while delighted to have reached the knockout stage, wasn’t wholly satisfied with his side’s performance. “It took time for us to really open up the game,” Ferguson said.
“We needed a break and we got one for the first goal. The second was an excellent piece of football and in the second half we could have scored more goals, although we could also have lost some.”
Barcelona’s Dutch handler Frank Rijkaard was pleased that his star-studded frontline had broken down a defensive-minded Rangers side.
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