The group stage of the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League is now complete with the Round of 16 teams set and those dropping into the Europa League learning their fate.
Reigning champions Chelsea are now unable to defend their title despite beating Nordsjaelland 6-1 at Stamford Bridge tonight as Shakhtar Donetsk failed to beat Juventus with the Italians winning 1-0 in Ukraine to top Group E.
The Blues finished third in the group despite being level on points with Shakhtar and ahead on goal difference with the tie-breaking criteria allowing the Ukrainians to go through because they scored more away goals in the two matches between the clubs.
In Group F, Bayern Munich and Valencia finished well clear of BATE Borisov and Lille with the Germans cruising past the Belarusians 4-1 and Los Che getting the better of Lille 1-0.
Scottish champions Celtic achieved a huge result in qualifying for the knockout stages by beating Spartak Moscow 2-1 at Parkhead. Gary Hooper opened the scoring for the Hoops in the 21st minute before Ari chipped Spartak level late in the first half but a Kris Commons penalty in the 81st minute, which cannoned in off the underside of the crossbar, allowed Neil Lennon's men a path through to the Round of 16.
They join Barcelona in the next stage as the Catalan giants topped the Group G table but they will be sweating on the fitness of Lionel Messi who required a stretcher to leave the pitch late in the game.
And finally, Group H had Manchester United already through despite losing 1-0 at home to Cluj as Galatasaray came from behind to beat Sporting Braga 2-1 to finish second ahead of the Romanians.
The draw for the Round of 16 will take place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on December 20.
2012/13 UEFA Champions League scores - Match Day 6
Group E
Chelsea (ENG): 6 (David Luiz (p) 38', Fernando Torres 45+2'/56', Gary Cahill 51', Juan Mata 63', Oscar 71') Nordsjaelland (DEN): 1 (Joshua John 46') Stamford Bridge, London, England - 40,084
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR): 0 Juventus (ITA): 1 (Aleksandr Kucher (og) 56') Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine - 50,104
Group standingsJuventus - Round of 16 Shakhtar - Round of 16 Chelsea - Europa League Nordsjaelland
Group F
Bayern Munich (GER): 4 (Mario Gomez 22', Thomas Muller 54', Xherdan Shaqiri 66', David Alaba 83', red card: Jerome Boateng 50') BATE Borisov (BLR): 1 (Egor Filipenko 89', red card: Denis Polyakov 69') Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - 68,000
Lille (FRA): 0 Valencia (SPN): 1 (Jonas (p) 36') Grand Stade Metropole, Lille, France - 40,036
Group standings Bayern - Ro16 Valencia - Ro16 BATE - EL Lille
Group G
Barcelona (SPN): 0 Benfica (POR): 0 Nou Camp, Barcelona, Spain - 50,659
Celtic: 2 (Gary Hooper 21', Kris Commons (p) 81') Spartak Moscow: 1 (Ari 39', red card: Kim Kallstrom 88') Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland - 59,168
Group standingsBarcelona - Ro16 Celtic - Ro16 Benfica - EL Spartak
Group H
Manchester United (ENG): 0 CFR Cluj (ROM): 1 (Luis Alberto 56') Old Trafford, Manchester, England - 71,521
Sporting Braga (POR): 1 (Marcio Mossor 32') Galatasaray (TUR): 2 (Burak Yilmaz 58', Aydin Yilmaz 79') Estadio AXA, Braga, Portugal - 13,000
Group standings Man Utd - Ro16 Galatasaray - Ro16 Cluj - EL Braga
