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Champions League round-up: Arsenal through after beating Belgrade

Walcott celebrates his game changing goal

Walcott celebrates his game changing goal

Arsenal progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions League after a 3-1 win against Partizan Belgrade but missed out on top spot in Group H to Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Gunners went into the game knowing a win was needed to guarantee they made it through the group and made a dream start to the game when Robin Van Persie put them ahead from the spot.

The Dutchman won the penalty and converted it confidently to put his side in the driving seat. From there Arsenal went in search of the killer second goal but couldn’t find it.

The longer the game went on the more the frustration within the ground grew until Partizan equalised through Cleo.

The Brazilian striker’s shot took a huge deflection off Sebastien Squillaci before flying past Lukasz Fabianski and into the back of the net to leave the Gunners on a knife edge before super sub Theo Walcott restored the lead.

Marko Jovanovic headed the ball into Walcott’s path allowing him the time to fire home to the delight of the home fans. That goal took the pressure off Arsenal’s shoulders and allowed them to seal the win with a third from Samir Nasri.

Alex Song and Nicklas Bendtner combined to great effect allowing Nasri to dribble into the box before turning and slotting home. There was a brief worry when Bacary Sagna was sent off for a foul on Aleksandar Lazevski but Arsenal finished worthy winners to seal second spot in the group and progress.

Shakhtar’s 2-0 win against Braga was enough to ensure they went through as group winners.

Chelsea’s poor form continued unabated as they crashed to a 1-0 defeat in Marseille.

Carlo Ancelotti’s out-of-sorts side had already qualified as group winners but named a strong side as they attempted to regain some form and confidence ahead of a testing trio of Premier League fixtures against Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal.

French champions Marseille started the stronger dominating the opening exchanges and were unlucky not to go ahead when Mathieu Valbuena’s stinging long shot came back off the crossbar with Petr Cech beaten. Later in the half Gabriel Heinze put the ball in the back of the net only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

Chelsea too had chances and could have had a penalty through Didier Drogba but were unable to find the breakthrough they needed and they were made to pay for their profligacy when Brandao struck a deserved 81st minute winner for Marseille.

The Brazilian tapped in following Taye Taiwo’s shot deflected into his path, leaving Chelsea with just one win in six games.

That result sees Marseille safely through to the knockout stages behind Chelsea while Spartak Moscow now head for the Europa League despite a 2-1 away win against MSK Zilina.

Elsewhere Real Madrid continued their unbeaten European campaign this season with an easy 4-0 win against Auxerre. A Karim Benzema hat-trick was complimented by the usual Cristiano Ronaldo goal.

Second-placed Milan went down to a 2-0 defeat to managerless Ajax who qualify for the Europa League.

Bayern Munich also romped through confidently winning 3-0 against Basle. Goals from Franck Ribery (2) and Anatoliy Tymoschuk saw the German champions win Group E at a canter.

Roma followed them through despite a 1-1 draw against Cluj. Basle now head to the Europa League.