Marseille leaves it late, Chelsea through
Source: Agencies |
December 8, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
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OLYMPIQUE Marseille snatched a last-gasp 3-2 victory at Borussia Dortmund to reach the Champions League knockout stages while Chelsea spared itself an anxious night with a comfortable 3-0 win over Valencia to join Marseille in the last 16 on Tuesday.
Zenit St. Petersburg also grabbed a place among Europe's elite thanks to a gritty 0-0 draw in Porto.
All seemed lost for Marseille when it trailed the German champion 0-2 after 32 minutes and rival Olympiakos was beating Group F winner Arsenal in Greece but Loic Remy gave it a lifeline when he scored in first-half stoppage time.
Andre Ayew made it 2-2 after 85 minutes and, with Marseille needing victory to edge out Olympiakos Piraeus, Mathieu Valbuena curled in a sensational winner with three minutes of normal time remaining to send the French side through as runner-up.
Dortmund, which began the night with a remote chance of qualification, finished bottom.
"This win will be engraved in the history of Marseille," coach Didier Deschamps told reporters. "Football is marvellous when you win. We believed right until the end, both the players and the fans."
Olympiakos had looked like taking second place as it marched towards a 3-1 victory over Arsenal but Marseille's Houdini act means the Greek side has to settle for a place in the last 32 of the Europa League instead.
With nine of the last 16 having already been decided, three of the remaining seven spots were up for grabs in some tension-filled clashes in groups E-H.
Chelsea began its final Group E match at home to Valencia with its hopes balanced on a knife edge, knowing it needs a win to be sure of qualifying.
Nerves
Once Didier Drogba fired it ahead after three minutes, however, the nerves disappeared and Ramires's strike in the 22nd knocked the stuffing out of Valencia, which was also vying for second spot.
Drogba, back to his best, struck again in the 76th minute with a neat finish to snuff out Valencia's rapidly fading hopes of snatching a place in the knockout round.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said his team's performance was indicative of its recent defensive improvements and the victory was a very good emotional win before next week's Premier League clash with Manchester City.
Bayer Leverkusen' drew at Racing Genk 1-1.
Genk was on the verge of a first Champions League victory courtesy of a Jelle Vossen volley but Eren Derdiyok equalized late on to safeguard the Bundesliga side's record of never having lost to a club from Belgium.
Zenit St. Petersburg also grabbed a place among Europe's elite thanks to a gritty 0-0 draw in Porto.
All seemed lost for Marseille when it trailed the German champion 0-2 after 32 minutes and rival Olympiakos was beating Group F winner Arsenal in Greece but Loic Remy gave it a lifeline when he scored in first-half stoppage time.
Andre Ayew made it 2-2 after 85 minutes and, with Marseille needing victory to edge out Olympiakos Piraeus, Mathieu Valbuena curled in a sensational winner with three minutes of normal time remaining to send the French side through as runner-up.
Dortmund, which began the night with a remote chance of qualification, finished bottom.
"This win will be engraved in the history of Marseille," coach Didier Deschamps told reporters. "Football is marvellous when you win. We believed right until the end, both the players and the fans."
Olympiakos had looked like taking second place as it marched towards a 3-1 victory over Arsenal but Marseille's Houdini act means the Greek side has to settle for a place in the last 32 of the Europa League instead.
With nine of the last 16 having already been decided, three of the remaining seven spots were up for grabs in some tension-filled clashes in groups E-H.
Chelsea began its final Group E match at home to Valencia with its hopes balanced on a knife edge, knowing it needs a win to be sure of qualifying.
Nerves
Once Didier Drogba fired it ahead after three minutes, however, the nerves disappeared and Ramires's strike in the 22nd knocked the stuffing out of Valencia, which was also vying for second spot.
Drogba, back to his best, struck again in the 76th minute with a neat finish to snuff out Valencia's rapidly fading hopes of snatching a place in the knockout round.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said his team's performance was indicative of its recent defensive improvements and the victory was a very good emotional win before next week's Premier League clash with Manchester City.
Bayer Leverkusen' drew at Racing Genk 1-1.
Genk was on the verge of a first Champions League victory courtesy of a Jelle Vossen volley but Eren Derdiyok equalized late on to safeguard the Bundesliga side's record of never having lost to a club from Belgium.
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