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Inter Milan, Chelsea in second round

ON CLOUD NINE: Hernan Crespo can't hide his emotions after scoring the winning goal for Inter Milan in the Champions League. — Photo: AFP

LONDON: Inter Milan and Chelsea claimed spots in the second round of the Champions League on Wednesday, leaving six berths to be filled.

Inter advanced from Group B after beating Sporting Lisbon 1-0 on Hernan Crespo's 36th-minute goal. Bayern Munich has already clinched the other group place.

Chelsea, despite losing 1-0 at Werder Bremen on Per Mertesacker's 27th-minute goal, guaranteed itself a place in the knockout round from Group A.

Ten spots in the final 16 have now been claimed, with the rest to be decided in two weeks in the final round of the group games.

Celtic and AC Milan qualified on Tuesday and six other teams were already in — Bayern, Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia, Lyon and Real Madrid.

Defending champion FC Barcelona, which won 2-0 at Levski Sofia in Group A, is among the clubs on the outside. Ludovic Giuly put the Catalans ahead in the fifth, and Andres Iniesta got the second goal in the 65th.

Barcelona needs to beat Werder Bremen at Camp Nou in its final group match on December 5 to advance. The German team needs only a draw.

Better record

Chelsea and Werder Bremen each have 10 points and Barcelona has eight. Chelsea is guaranteed of a place in the last 16 because of its superior head-to-head record against Bremen.

Eleven teams still have a chance to earn one of the final six places. Among them are English powers Manchester United and Arsenal, and Portuguese clubs FC Porto and Benfica.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was an unhappy man despite advancing. Chelsea meets English leader Manchester United on Sunday in the Premier League.

``I've just lost a football game and what I said on Wednesday was true,'' Mourinho said. ``I like to lose against my kids but not to real opponents.''

Liverpool, which had already reached the final 16 from Group C, clinched first place with a 2-0 victory over PSV at Anfield.

Steven Gerrard scored in the 65th minute — only his second goal in all competitions this season — and Peter Crouch added the second in the 89th on a header.

Injury worries

Liverpool had three players taken off injured — Xabi Alonso, Mark Gonzalez and Jermaine Pennant.

``The first injury to Xabi (Alonso) was a big problem for us,'' Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. ``Then Mark Gonzalez and (Jermaine) Pennant went, too.''

Bayern, which leads Group B with 11 points, got two goals from Claudio Pizarro. Maxym Kalynychenko and Radoslav Kovac scored for Spartak.

Inter Milan has nine points and faces Bayern in Germany in two weeks.

``To win our last three games in the Champions League is a great achievement,'' Inter coach Roberto Mancini said.

Alejandro Alonso, Lilian Laslandes and Julien Faubert scored to lead Bordeaux to a 3-1 win over Galatasaray. The win ensures that Bordeaux will finish third in Group C and play in the UEFA Cup.

Shakhtar beats Roma

Shakhtar got back into the chase in Group D, beating Roma 1-0 on Ciprian Marica's goal in the 61st. Roma needed only a draw to advance.

The Italians can also reach the final 16 with a draw in two weeks, but they will be facing a tougher Valencia team.

Valencia, which had already reached the second round, defeated Olympiakos 2-0 on goals by Miguel Angel Angulo and Fernando Morientes.

Valencia leads Group D with 13 points. Roma is next with seven points, followed by Shakhtar with five and Olympiakos with two.

``The most important thing is that we now have two months to recover and rest before the knockout round begins,'' Valencia coach Quique Sanchez Flores said.

The results:

Group A: Levski Sofia lost to Barcelona 0-2; Werder Bremen bt Chelsea 1-0; Group B: Inter Milan bt Sporting Lisbon 1-0; Spartak Moscow drew with Bayern Munich 2-2; Group C: Bordeaux bt Galatasaray 3-1; Liverpool bt PSV Eindhoven 2-0; Group D: Shakhtar Donetsk bt AS Roma 1-0; Valencia bt Olympiakos 2-0. — AP

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