The Hindu : Sport / Football : Liverpool exits despite posting victory

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 26, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Football

Liverpool exits despite posting victory

Barca bests Inter; Fiorentina, Arsenal progress

— Photo: AFP

INTENSE ACTION: Barcelona captain Carles Puyol checks former teammate and Inter Milan star Samuel Eto’o during their Champions League match at Camp Nou on Tuesday.

LONDON: Five-time winner Liverpool was knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages despite a 1-0 win at Debrecen on Tuesday, while Fiorentina and Arsenal qualified for the last 16.

Holder Barcelona revived its campaign with a surprisingly comfortable 2-0 triumph over Inter Milan in the night’s top match, scoring twice in the first 26 minutes through Gerard Pique and Pedro.

Arsenal reached the last 16 for the 10th season in a row thanks to a 2-0 home win over Standard Liege.

Vargas scores

Fiorentina went through by beating already-qualified Olympique Lyon 1-0 through a penalty by Peru’s Juan Vargas to join Girondins Bordeaux, Manchester United, Chelsea, Porto and Sevilla in the next round.

The win by the Italians also ended Liverpool’s chances in Group E.

Rafa Benitez’s team arrived in Hungary knowing its fate was largely out of its hands and David Ngog’s fourth-minute winner, which condemned debutant Debrecen to its fifth straight defeat, proved in vain.

Fiorentina’s win took it to the top with 12 points, two ahead of Lyon with Liverpool a further three points behind. Even if Liverpool pulls level with Lyon, the French side will qualify on the head-to-head record.

Even without injured Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Barcelona was too good for Inter. Pique volleyed in from a 10th-minute corner before Pedro finished off a flowing attacking move to double the lead.

The win sent Barcelona top of Group F with eight points, two ahead of Jose Mourinho’s side and third-placed Russian champion Rubin Kazan, which was held to a goalless draw at home in the snow by Dynamo Kiev.

Kiev is bottom with five points but could still qualify. The results:

Group E: Debrecen 0 lost to Liverpool 1 (Ngog 4), Fiorentina 1 (Vargas 28-pen) bt Olympique Lyon 0.

Group F: Rubin Kazan 0 drew with Dynamo Kiev 0, Barcelona 2 (Pique 10, Pedro 26) bt Inter Milan 0.

Group G: Unirea Urziceni 1 (Dragutinovic 45 OG) bt Sevilla 0, Rangers 0 lost to VfB Stuttgart 2 (Rudy 16, Kuzmanovic 59).

Group H: Arsenal 2 (Nasri 35, Denilson 45+2) bt Standard Liege 0, AZ Alkmaar 0 drew with Olympiakos Piraeus 0. — Agencies

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport