Beaten Chelsea through but victorious Arsenal must wait
Mohamed Salah’s fine goal three minutes from time earned Basle a deserved 1-0 victory at St Jakob Park and completed a double over Jose Mourinho’s side, who had travelled to Switzerland needing just a point to advance and a win to claim top spot in the pool.
However, Schalke’s 0-0 draw at Steaua Bucharest means the Blues advance to the last 16 ahead of the December 11 meeting at home to the Romanian side.
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Hide AdThe Blues, who have nine matches next month, last season suffered the ignominy of becoming the first winners to exit the tournament at the group stage in defence of their title, before responding by beating Basle in the semi-finals en route to winning the Europa League.
This season, in the premier tournament, Basle have exacted a semblance of revenge.
Murat Yakin’s side were out to prove their win at Stamford Bridge was not a one-off as the Swiss sought a place in the knockout stages, or at least the Europa League.
Mourinho promised a different Chelsea to the one which lost in the opening group game, but saw his side outplayed.
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Hide AdJack Wilshere scored both goals as Arsenal beat Marseille 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium to all but secure a place in the knockout stages.
England midfielder Wilshere showed no signs of any fatigue as he swept the Premier League leaders ahead after just 28 seconds.
Although club-record signing Mesut Ozil missed a first-half penalty, another close-range effort from Wilshere made sure of victory to keep the Gunners top of Group F.
A draw on matchday six away to Napoli, who lost 3-1 at Borussia Dortmund last night, will see Arsene Wenger’s men qualify in first place and seeded for the last 16.
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Hide AdEven a defeat could be enough to go through on head-to-head record and goal difference.
Arsenal had swept into the lead in less than a minute when Wilshere broke clear and cut back inside to smash the ball past Steve Mandanda.
The Marseille goalkeeper then saved from Aaron Ramsey at point-blank range, but Arsenal should have been further ahead just before the break when Ozil’s weak penalty was palmed away.
Eventually, Arsenal’s pressure in the second half told when Wilshere swept home Ozil’s pass on 65 minutes.
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Hide AdCeltic crashed out of Europe after a 3-0 defeat by AC Milan in their Group H encounter at Parkhead.
With Ajax beating Barcelona 2-1 at the Amsterdam ArenA, the Scottish champions do not even have the solace of the Europa League this season.
Brazilian star Kaka put the visitors ahead in the 13th minute when he headed Valter Birsa’s corner past Hoops goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk missed a sitter at the start of the second half, a minute before Rossoneri defender Cristian Zapata made it 2-0 from close range.
Mario Balotelli scored a third with a drive on the hour mark to compound Celtic’s misery.