The Hindu : Sport / Football : Celtic advances

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Thursday, Dec 06, 2007
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Celtic advances

MILAN (Italy): Celtic advanced to the second round of the Champions League football despite the 1-0 loss to AC Milan on Tuesday.

Filippo Inzaghi scored in the 70th minute at the San Siro for his 63rd goal in European play, moving him past former Bayern Munich forward Gerd Mueller.

“I’m happy it happened in my own stadium,” Inzaghi said. “Seeing the names behind me makes me shiver. I have to thank all the teams that have been behind me.”

Kaka started the play by passing to Cafu, who carried the ball toward the endline and shifted it back to a waiting Inzaghi in the goalbox.

It was Inzaghi’s third goal in four Champions League games this season. He also scored both goals when Milan beat Liverpool in last season’s European final.

Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez has the most goals in the Champions League with 58.

Raul and Andriy Shevchenko are tied for third with 60 goals each on the total European list.

“They’re a little younger than me, so I’ve got to try and get a few more,” said Inzaghi, whose first European goal came 12 years ago with Parma, in the Cup Winners Cup. “I still want to play a few more seasons at this level.”

Milan, which had already qualified, finished first in Group D with 13 points.

“We have a lot of objectives this season and this was one of them, winning the group to position ourselves well to defend the cup,” Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

Celtic placed second in the group with nine points to reach the knockout round for the second straight season.

“We must be pleased to get out of that group,” Celtic manager Gordon Strachan said. “I think that could have been the hardest of the group. To get through is just wonderful for the club.”

Benfica posts win

Benfica beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 in the other group game and finished third with seven points to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Shakhtar was last with six points.

Oscar Cardozo scored for Benfica in the sixth and 22nd minutes, and Cristiano Lucarelli converted a penalty for Shakhtar in the 30th. — AP

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