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UEFA Champions League group stage matches concluded with eight matches on Wednesday. For the first time in 10 years, after failing in the last round of their group, "Man Utd" club will not participate in the knockout stages. The famous English club's loss allowed "Benfica" to advance to the quarterfinals, along with them "Villarreal" also progressed, while in Group C "Werder" took the second position and stayed in the tournament. Group A 1 - 1 21` [0 - 1] Claudio Pizarro 32` [1 - 1] Javier Portillo 1 - 3 35` [0 - 1] Alessandro Del Piero 42` [0 - 2] Zlatan Ibrahimovic 45` [0 - 3] Alessandro Del Piero 52` [1 - 3] Marek Kincl Group table: 1. "Juventus" 6 5 0 1 12-5 15 2. "Bayern" 6 4 1 1 10-4 13 3. "Brugge" 6 2 1 3 6-7 7 4. "Rapid" 6 0 0 6 3-15 0 Easily in Group A, Turin's "Juventus" secured the first place, defeating Vienna's "Rapid" away and taking advantage of Munich's "Bayern" drawing in Brugge. The visitors took the lead in one of the matches after a penalty kick by Alessandro Del Piero. Towards the end of the first half, Zlatan Ibrahimovic doubled the score after a pass from A.Del Piero, and just before the break, the first goalscorer A.Del Piero scored the third goal, being the first to reach the ball after a shot by Z.Ibrahimovic. Though a mistake in the "Juve" defense allowed Marek Kincl to soften the score at the beginning of the second half, it was all "Rapid" could do against much more titled opponents. In the other group matches, there was a surprising draw for Munich's "Bayern", playing 1-1 away with "Brugge" who finished third and entered the UEFA Cup tournament. Although the visitors took the lead first, when Claudio Pizarro redirected the ball into the goal after a penalty kick by Sebastiano Deisler, the hosts managed to equalize the score after a little over ten minutes - it was done by Javier Portillo, on loan from "Real" Madrid. Group B 0 - 0 0 - 0 Group table: 1. "Arsenal" 6 5 1 0 10-2 16 2. "Ajax" 6 3 2 1 10-6 11 3. "Thun" 6 1 1 4 4-9 4 4. "Sparta" 6 0 2 4 2-9 2 The Group B matches ended without goals, allowing modest Swiss club "Thun" to secure a spot in the UEFA Cup tournament. The Swiss managed to withstand Prague's "Sparta", who only managed one victory and finished in third place in the group. Both teams finished with ten players as "Sparta" defender Martin Petraš was sent off for a late foul, and shortly after, a red card was shown to home player Jose Goncalves. In the other matches at London's "Highbury" stadium, "Arsenal" failed to defeat Amsterdam's "Ajax" players. Although the hosts could have taken the lead already in the added time of the first half, Thierry Henry missed a penalty kick earned by Jose Antonio Reyes - the Frenchman shot wide. In the second half, both teams showed little desire to win, so the match ended 0-0. As expected before this round, "Arsenal" finished first in the group, with "Ajax" coming in second. This "empty" result interrupted a streak of 21 consecutive matches in which the team scored at least one goal. Group C 5 - 1 2` [1 - 0] Johan Micoud 28` [2 - 0] Nelson Haedo-Valdez 31` [3 - 0] Nelson Haedo-Valdez 51` [4 - 0] Miroslav Klose 53` [4 - 1] Nasief Morris 90` [5 - 1] Torsten Frings 0 - 2 85` [0 - 1] Santiago Ezquerro 90` [0 - 2] Andres Iniesta Group table: 1. "Barcelona" 6 5 1 0 16-2 16 2. "Werder" 6 2 1 3 12-12 7 3. "Udinese" 6 2 1 3 10-12 7 4. "Panathinaikos" 6 1 1 4 4-16 4 A real thriller took place in Group C where until the 85th minute of the match, it was not clear who would advance to the next stage. Bremen's "Werder" not only had to beat "Panathinaikos" but also hope that the already qualified "Barcelona" would defeat "Udinese". The "Werder" players did everything they could: they even thrashed Athens' "Panathinaikos" 5-1, but only Santiago Ezquerro's goal in another group match in the 85th minute allowed them to breathe easier, and a second goal at the end of the match by Andres Iniesta let "Werder" relax even more. Though "Udinese" and "Werder" both collected the same points, due to the better head-to-head result, the latter advanced. Group D 2 - 1 6` [0 - 1] Paul Scholes 16` [1 - 1] Geovanni 34` [2 - 1] Beto 1 - 0 67` [1 - 0] Jose Antonio Guayre Group table: 1. "Villarreal" 6 2 4 0 3-1 10 2. "Benfica" 6 2 2 2 5-5 8 3. "Lille" 6 1 3 2 1-2 6 4. "Man Utd" 6 1 3 2 3-4 6 However, the Group D matches ended unexpectedly, with "Villarreal" and "Benfica" clubs advancing to the quarterfinals. In an intriguing contest in Lisbon, the home team fell behind against "Man Utd" after Paul Scholes' goal, but soon Geovanni equalized with a header, and later Beto scored with a header to take the lead. The hosts held on for the remaining part of the match, and defeated the illustrious "Man Utd" 2-1, pushing them to fourth place in the group. In the other match, "Villarreal" defeated "Lille" thanks to a lone goal by Jose Antonio Guayre, securing the first place in the group and also advancing to the knockout stages. So, in the most prestigious tournament on the continent, 16 teams will continue to compete - the eight group winners and the eight teams that finished second in the groups. In the quarterfinal draw on December 16, these two baskets will be paired, but teams from the same countries (except "Liverpool" who don't have that right) and teams that already met in the groups will not be drawn against each other. The first quarterfinal matches will be played on February 21 and 22 of next year, with the return legs being played on March 7-8. Clubs advancing to the quarterfinals: Teams that finished first in the group: Turin "Juventus" (Italy) London "Arsenal" (England) "Barcelona" (Spain) "Villarreal" (Spain) "Milan" (Italy) "Lyon" (France) "Liverpool" (England) Milan "Inter" (Italy) Teams that finished second in the group: Munich "Bayern" (Germany) Amsterdam "Ajax" (Netherlands) Bremen "Werder" (Germany) Lisbon "Benfica" (Portugal) Eindhoven "PSV" (Netherlands) Madrid "Real" (Spain) London "Chelsea" (England) Glasgow "Rangers" (Scotland) Teams advancing to the UEFA Cup - Teams that finished third in the groups: "Brugge" (Belgium) "Thun" (Switzerland) "Udinese" (Italy) "Lille" (France) Gelsenkirchen "Schalke" (Germany) Trondheim "Rosenborg" (Norway) Seville "Betis" (Spain) Bratislava "Artmedia" (Slovakia)
