Chelsea and AC Milan became the latest teams to seal their places in the Champions League knockout stage after the penultimate batch of group matches on Wednesday.

 

This duo joined Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Roma and Sevilla, who have already ensured their presence in the next round, leaving eight tickets still to be claimed.

 

Among those sides with work to do in the final cluster of group games next month is nine-time European champion Real Madrid, which came unstuck 3-2 at Werder Bremen.

 

Real's loss blew Group C wide open, leaving any one of the four teams with a chance of making it to the last 16.

 

In contrast to the Spanish giant Chelsea can now approach its final group phase fixture at home to Valencia in the safe position as Group B leaders irrespective of the result on December 11 after a 4-0 stroll at Rosenborg.

 

Chelsea's last meeting with the Norwegians - that drab 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, which triggered Jose Mourinho's departure - was a distant memory as Chelsea tore apart Rosenborg's sometimes dreadful defending.

 

With a goal apiece from Alex and Joe Cole and a brace from Didier Drogba, Avram Grant's side warmed up its travelling supporters who braved the freezing temperatures in Trondheim - including the hardy fan who watched the entire game shirtless.

 

Blue's skipper John Terry was evidently pleased and happy to get through to the next round.

 

"We started really well. The pitch was a bit wet and difficult but we adapted well. We knew it was going to be difficult, but the early goal helped and all the front boys performed really well today.

 

"It was a great Chelsea performance, we wanted to get as many goals as possible and thankfully we're through and that's all that matters," he told Sky Sports.

 

Liverpool put itself back in business with a 4-1 stroll over Group A leaders FC Porto at Anfield with Fernando Torres getting a double and Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch striking late.

 

That left Rafael Benitez's 2005 champion needing a win against Marseille, beaten 2-1 in Istanbul by Besiktas, to ensure their place in the last 16.

 

Benitez's very public disagreements with Tom Hicks and George Gillett over transfer policy could have proved a fatal distraction at the pivotal moment of Liverpool's European campaign.

 

But his players bailed the Spaniard out and he was more contrite after the match, insisting there was no personal issue with his employers.

 

"I don't have any personal problem with the owners. I was not angry. I was just surprised with the situation because we were talking about the future of the club," he said.

 

In Glasgow, Celtic was on course for a 1-1 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk after the opener from the Ukrainian's Brandao had been cancelled out by Jiri Jarosik until Massimo Dontai produced a dramatic injury-time winner.

 

A shell-shocked Gordon Strachan praised his players' determination for battling to this vital Group D victory.

 

The Celtic manager said: "Just when you think you've seen it all, you think about every scenario but you can never predict what's going to happen in football.

 

"We had a central midfielder at left-back, a center half at right back and a 34-year-old defender coming on who has not played for four or five months.

 

"But we won the game with big hearts and to give a team like Shakhtar almost no chances in the second half was fantastic."

 

The win left Celtic in second in Group D on nine points ahead of next month's final game away to AC Milan, which squeezed through after a 1-1 draw at Benfica.

 

That left Milan needing only a point against Celtic to top the standings.

 

Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti insisted that his side was determined to secure top spot in the group and would be concentrating on that.

 

"We played well in the first half but in the second half we found it difficult. Maybe we made some mistakes in defense and we were under a lot of pressure, but in the end we could have won."

 

(AFP via China Daily November 30, 2007)