AC Milan and defending champions Barcelona both reached the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday, but Premier League giants Arsenal and Chelsea were made to wait to secure qualification. Arsenal, 5-3 victors at Chelsea on Sunday, needed victory at home to Marseille to book their place in the knockout phase but they were held to a goalless draw.
The hosts enjoyed the best of the first half, with OM goalkeeper Steve Mandanda saving well from Theo Walcott and Gervinho, while Aaron Ramsey volleyed over from close range. "It's difficult to be at your maximum three days after a big match," explained Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
The result preserved Arsenal's one-point lead over second-placed Marseille in Group F, while Borussia Dortmund resurrected their qualifying hopes with a 1-0 win at home to Olympiakos that took them to within three points of OM. Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw at Belgian champions Genk, although Valencia's 3-1 defeat of Bayer Leverkusen meant that the Blues' would not have been able to qualify in any case.
Valencia scored the second-fastest goal in competition history against Leverkusen, with Jonas netting after 10.6 seconds at the Mestalla - 0.3sec slower than Roy Makaay's effort for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid in 2007. Stefan Kiessling drew the German side level on the half hour but Roberto Soldado flicked home Jeremy Mathieu's cross to restore Valencia's lead in the second half before Adil Rami made it 3-1 with 15 minutes to play.
Chelsea now lead Leverkusen by two points at the top of Group E, while Valencia's qualification hopes have been rekindled as they are now just a point beneath the top two ahead of a home game with Genk on November 23. Lionel Messi sent fresh landmarks tumbling as he netted another superb hat-trick in a 4-0 success for Barcelona at 10-man Czech champions Viktoria Plzen. Surprise package APOEL Nicosia preserved their lead in Group G by beating Europa League champions FC Porto 2-1 in dramatic last-gasp fashion. Hulk appeared to have rescued a point for the Portuguese side with an 89th-minute penalty, only for Gustavo Manduca to restore the hosts' advantage with a header just a minute later. Zenit Saint Petersburg are a point behind APOEL in second place after a 1-0 win at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
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