The Hindu : Sport / Football : Arsenal makes the group stage

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Friday, Aug 25, 2006

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Arsenal makes the group stage

LONDON: Arsenal booked its place in the Champions League group stage but needed a late comeback to spare its blushes and see off Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday and 5-1 on aggregate.

The visitor's Brazilian forward Eduardo scored in the 12th minute to give Dinamo a shock lead.

Gunners skipper Freddie Ljungberg headed a 77th-minute equaliser and French midfielder Mathieu Flamini scored an injury-time tap-in — set up by teenage starlet Theo Walcott — to seal Arsenal's first win at its new stadium.

Ajax ousted

Four-time European champion Ajax was ousted from Champions League qualifying on Wednesday, scoring an own-goal in its 2-0 loss at home to FC Copenhagen.

Ajax had a 2-1 lead heading into the second leg of its third round qualifying match at its Amsterdam Arena, but fell behind when Michael Silberbauer scored in the 59th minute.

That tied the aggregate score and Copenhagen went ahead when Ajax defender Thomas Vermaelen put the ball in his own net in the 77th minute.

The result sends Copenhagen to the lucrative group stage of the Champions League at the expense of Ajax, which won the European Cup from 1971-73 and in 1995.

Other results: Spartak Moscow bt Slovan Liberec 2-1; CSKA Moscow bt Ruzomberok 2-0; Steaua Bucharest bt Standard Liege 2-1; Rabotnicki lost to Lille 1-0; AEK Athens bt Hearts 2-0; Mlada Boleslav drew with Galatasaray 1-1; Fenerbahce drew with Dynamo Kiev 2-2; Legia Warsaw lost to Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2; Levski Sofia drew with Chievo Verona 2-2. — Agencies

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