UEFA Champions League round-up

The final group games of four of the eight groups in the UEFA Champions League, was played out on Tuesday, with group winners and second-placed qualifications to the knock-outs confirmed.

Group A -

Holders Inter Milan gave themselves a tough task to retain the elite trophy after a second placed finish in Group A with a 3-0 defeat at Werder Bremen. Second place means there are high chances of them clashing against a top European side in the knock-out stages.

It was Bremen's first win in the group after Sebastien Prodl opened the scoring with a header in the first half. The second came when former Inter man Marko Arnautovic volleyed brilliantly before substitute Claudio Pizzaro struck in the second half to doom Inter. However, the win came a bit too late for them as FC Twente's 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur meant the German side finished fourth in Group A and failed to qualify for the Europa league, with Twente claiming third spot with a point more and with it a place in the Europa League knock-outs.

Tottenham however finished as group winners after their 3-3 draw with Dutch club FC Twente. In a thrilling encounter, Spurs led thrice through an unfortunate Peter Wisgerhof own goal before Jermaine Defoe struck twice. However, Twente equalized all three times, first through a controversial twice-taken penalty by Denny Landzaat and then with goals from Roberto Rosales and Nacer Chadlli. Spurs needed a win to ensure top spot, but Inter's defeat against Bremen meant a draw was enough.

Group B -

Schalke finished as winners of Group B with an impressive 2-1 victory away to a disappointing Benfica. The German side had already qualified for the knock-outs with a 3-0 win over Lyon a fortnight ago. However, Jose Manuel Jurado's opener and Benedikt Howedes second ensured that Luisao's goal was just a consolation for Benfica, as they finished the group at the top.

French side Lyon had Alexandre Lacazette to thank for after his equalizer three minutes from time gave them a 2-2 draw against Hapoel Tel Aviv. The goal denied Hapoel a place in the Europa League. It was an entertaining game, with second half goals from Ben Sahar and Eran Zahavi cancelling out Lisandro Lopez's opener for Lyon. However, their hopes of a Europa League place faded away when Lacazette popped up late to score the equalizer to deny the Israeli side. Lyon finished second in the group, with Benfica qualifying for the last 32 of the Europa league.

Group C -

Manchester United and Valencia played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, with the English side finishing the group as winners while Valencia qualified for the knockout stages with a second placed finish. Valencia went into the break with a 1-0 lead after Pablo Hernandez's strike, but Anderson scored the equalizer for the English side.

In the group's other game, Rangers drew 1-1 away at Bursaspor, though it made no consequence to the table, with the Scottish side claiming a spot in the last 32 of the Europa league.

Group D -

Already qualified Barcelona, despite resting most of their starting squad, dealt Rubin Kazan a 2-0 defeat and denied them a place in the last 16. Goals from Andreu Fontas and Victor Vazquez at the Camp Nou meant Rubin Kazan placed third in the group but qualified for the last 32 of the Europa league.

FC Copenhagen finished second and qualified for the knock-outs after a 3-1 win against Panathinaikos at the Parken. Martin Vingaard put them ahead in the 26th minute before a 50th-minute penalty from Jesper Gronkjaer and Djibril Cisse's own goal deeming Cedric Kante's late strike for Pana a mere consolation.