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Champions League Roundup, Nov. 5

Associated Press

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Updated: November 7, 2008, 5:28 AM EST
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LONDON (AP) - Juventus joined Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon in the knockout round of the Champions League on Wednesday after two goals by Alessandro Del Piero gave the Italian team a 2-0 victory at Real Madrid.

Champions League

Group Stage Matchday 4
Tue., Nov. 3
Matchday Wrap Matchday Photos
AC Milan 1-1 Real Madrid Recap
Man United 3-3 CSKA Moscow Recap
Atletico Madrid 2-2 Chelsea Recap
Bayern Munich 0-2 Bordeaux Recap
Marseille 6-1 FC Zurich Recap
Maccabi Haifa 0-1 Juventus Recap
Besiktas 0-3 Wolfsburg Recap
APOEL 0-1 FC Porto Recap
Wed., Nov. 4
Matchday Wrap Matchday Photos
Rubin Kazan 0-0 Barcelona Recap
Arsenal 4-1 Alkmaar Recap
Fiorentina 5-2 Debreceni Recap
Lyon 1-1 Liverpool Recap
Dyn. Kiev 1-2 Inter Milan Recap
Unirea Urziceni 1-1 Rangers Recap
Sevilla 1-1 Stuttgart Recap
Standard 2-0 Olympiakos Recap

Defending champion Manchester United is almost through following Ryan Giggs' 84th-minute header in a 1-1 draw at Celtic. But two more group leaders, Bayern Munich and Arsenal, were also held to draws and still have work to do from their final two matches.

With new Argentina coach Diego Maradona watching to see some of his countrymen in action, Italian veteran Del Piero, who first played in a Champions League final 12 years ago, scored in the 17th and 67th minutes at Bernabeu Stadium to give Juventus 10 points from four games.

"I'm pleased to have scored in front of Maradona. I hope Diego comes to watch us play more often," said Del Piero, who received a standing ovation from the Madrid fans in the 80,000 crowd.

"I live off these types of emotions. I'm pleased the fans gave me that applause when I came off. This is a crazy stadium and it was a very important game for us. It's a good moment for me."

Claudio Ranieri's team is four ahead of Madrid and six ahead of Zenit St. Petersburg, which won 2-0 at BATE Borisov.

"Fortune wasn't on our side on several occasions, but this is a Champions League game so you have to move on," Madrid coach Bernd Schuster said. "There are still more games to play."

Although Zenit, last season's UEFA Cup winner, can reach 10 points by winning its last two games, that would mean Madrid could only finish with a maximum of nine, ensuring Juventus is guaranteed of finishing in the top two spots in Group H.

Celtic stunned Man United before the Scottish club's intimidating 60,000-strong fans in Glasgow when Australia striker Scott McDonald lobbed goalkeeper Ben Foster in the 13th minute. It was the first goal Celtic had scored and the first United had conceded in Group E.

United dominated possession and finally broke through with six minutes to go when goalkeeper Artur Boruc failed to hold a wickedly swerving shot from Cristiano Ronaldo and Giggs headed home the rebound.

"It's always worth following up a shot like that with the ball moving all over the place," Giggs said. "I just gambled and it fell right onto my head."

The draw means that United has eight points from four games, the same as Villarreal, which drew 2-2 at Aalborg. But Alex Ferguson's team still has a six-point lead over Celtic and Aalborg, has a better head-to-head record over the Scottish champion and could only be edged by the Danish team if it loses its final two games heavily and Aalborg wins twice by big margins.

Villarreal is almost there too, but could miss out if it loses its last two games to Celtic and Man United.

Bayern Munich was held 1-1 at Fiorentina after Adrian Mutu gave the Italian side a 10th-minute lead. Tim Borowski replied in the 78th minute for Bayern. The result means the Bundesliga champions have eight points, the same as Lyon, which beat Steaua Bucharest 2-0 after goals by Juninho - a trademark free kick - and Anthony Reveillere.

"It was a very important point, because we kept Fiorentina at bay," Bayern coach Juergen Klinsmann. "We've got a very good chance of advancing.

"We knew it was going to be a difficult game. In the second half, we were able to increase the pace and we could have even won, but I think a draw was a fair result."

Fiorentina has three points and can still advance to the next round, but Steaua cannot qualify.

"We have two games to play and the math doesn't leave us much wiggling room," Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli said. "We're going to have to give our all."

Arsenal was held 0-0 at home by Fenerbahce just two weeks after winning 5-2 in Istanbul against the same opponents.

Arsene Wenger's team has eight points, two ahead of FC Porto, which won 2-1 at Dinamo Kiev. Kiev has five and still in contention.

Chelsea lost 3-1 at AS Roma and Liverpool needed an injury-time penalty for a 1-1 home draw with Atletico de Madrid on Tuesday, meaning that the Premier League clubs' sprint to the last 16 has slowed to a crawl.

Last season, Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool all made it to the semifinals. United won the title by edging Chelsea in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in the final in Moscow.

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