© EuroFootball.com
On Wednesday evening, a moment dawned in the UEFA Champions League when it was time to say goodbye to the prestigious tournament for a while. The last matches of the E-H groups took place in European stadiums.
Earlier, eight teams secured their tickets to the quarterfinals, and a total of sixteen teams will participate in the next stage. All eight clubs that will move on to the Europa League were also determined.
In the "Group of Death," two teams emerged as the strongest to continue their journey in the most powerful European tournament. Dramatically, Napoli defeated London's Arsenal, but the Italian vice-champions still remained in third place.
The situation developed painfully for Rafael Benitez's players. "Borussia," "Arsenal," "Napoli" - three teams with equal points. However, Dortmund unexpectedly ended up in first place, while the "Gunners" were in second.
Jurgen Klopp's players faced "Marseille" and snatched a minimal victory at the end of the match. Meanwhile, the team from Naples defeated Arsene Wenger's squad 2-0, but still remained in third place due to a lower goal difference.
London's Chelsea celebrated a minimal victory in front of their fans and secured the first place in Group E. The "Blues" defeated Bucharest's Steaua, who remained in last place with three points.
Meanwhile, Gelsenkirchen's Schalke remained in second place with 10 points. The Germans achieved a convincing victory against Basel and the latter will continue their journey in the Europa League.
In Group H, "Barcelona" humiliated their opponents from Glasgow, defeating them 6-1. Young Neymar scored three goals, and the Catalans took the first place with 13 points. AC Milan was in second place after a goalless draw with Ajax.
Two teams from Group G also secured their place in the quarterfinals. These are Madrid's "Atletico" and St. Petersburg's "Zenit." The wealthy Russian team lost to Vienna's "Austria," but with 6 points managed to outperform "Porto" in third place.
The Champions League will return in February. The first quarterfinal matches will be played on February 18, 19, 25, and 26, while the second leg matches will take place on March 11, 12, 18, and 19.
All results:
AC Milan 0 - 0 Ajax
"Atletico Madrid" 2 - 0 "Porto" 14‘ [1 - 0] R.Garcia 37‘ [2 - 0] D.Costa 28‘ Josue ("Porto") missed a penalty kick
Austria 4 - 1 Zenit 35‘ [0 - 1] A.Kerzhakov 44‘ [1 - 1] P.Hosiner 48‘ [2 - 1] T.Jun 51‘ [3 - 1] P.Hosiner 90‘ [4 - 1] S.Kienast
Barcelona 6 - 1 Celtic 7‘ [1 - 0] G.Pique 40‘ [2 - 0] Pedro 45‘ [3 - 0] Neymar 48‘ [4 - 0] Neymar 58‘ [5 - 0] Neymar 72‘ [6 - 0] C.Tello 88‘ [6 - 1] G.Samaras
Chelsea 1 - 0 Steaua 10‘ [1 - 0] D.Ba
Marseille 1 - 2 Borussia 4‘ [0 - 1] R.Lewandowski 14‘ [1 - 1] S.Diawara 87‘ [1 - 2] K.Grosskreutz 34‘ D.Payet ("Marseille") sent off
Napoli 2 - 0 Arsenal 73‘ [1 - 0] G.Higuain 90‘ [2 - 0] J.Callejon 76‘ M.Arteta ("Arsenal") sent off
Schalke 2 - 0 Basel 51‘ [1 - 0] J.Draxler 57‘ [2 - 0] J.Matip 32‘ I.Ivanov ("Basel") sent off
