Celtic and AC Milan reached the second round of the Champions League on Tuesday, joining six other clubs that have already qualified.
Bayern Munich, Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia, Lyon and Real Madrid had already gained berths in the final 16 of Europe's top club tournament.
Celtic reached the knockout round for the first time, beating Manchester United 1-0 on a curving free kick in the 81st minute from Japan winger Shunsuke Nakamura.
Louis Saha had a chance to equalize for United in the 90th minute, but Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc made the save diving to his right.
Manchester United needed only a draw to reach the second round from Group F.
With the victory, Celtic matched Manchester United atop the group with nine points. Benfica, which beat FC Copenhagen 3-1, has seven points.
Because Celtic has a better away goal record in its two games against United, it will advance as one of the top two teams in the group.
``Just to beat Manchester United alone is enough,'' Celtic captain Neil Lennon said. ``Shunsuke's free kick was world class. He's right up there with the best in the world for his free kicks. We've also got to thank the goalkeeper (Boruc) for saving the penalty.''
United faces Benfica in the final group game on Dec. 6. United will advance with a draw at Old Trafford, and Benfica will go through if it wins. Celtic plays at FC Copenhagen the same night.
The Manchester United versus Benfica showdown is a repeat of last season in the Champions League, when Benfica eliminated United from the group stage with a 2-1 victory in Portugal.
In the other Group F game, Benfica hammered Copenhagen 3-1. Fabrizio Miccoli scored twice in the first half and defender Leo added another.
Six-time champion AC Milan lost 1-0 at AEK Athens, but is still guaranteed one of the two spots from Group H. Julio Cesar scored on a 32nd-minute free kick to give AEK the victory.
In the other Group H game, Lille drew 2-2 with Anderlecht. Mbo Mpenza scored twice for Anderlecht, while Lille got goals from Peter Odemwingie and Nicolas Fauvergue.
AC Milan leads with 10 points, followed by AEK with seven, Lille with six and Anderlecht with three.
Also, it was: Real Madrid 2, Lyon 2, and Steaua Bucharest 1, Dynamo Kyiv 1 in Group E; Arsenal 3, Hamburg 1, and CSKA Moscow 0, Porto 2 in Group G.
Lyon and Real Madrid had already qualified. The draw guaranteed that Lyon will finish first in Group E and, in theory, draw a weaker team for the knockout stage.
Lyon went ahead 2-0 on goals in the first 32 minutes from John Carew and Florent Malouda. Mahamadou Diarra and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored for Madrid.
Van Nistelrooy, who also missed a late penalty for Madrid, equalized in the 83rd minute.
In the other Group E game, Dynamo midfielder Florin Cernat put the visitors ahead in the 29th minute with an 18-yard free kick. Dica got the equalizer in the 69th from 17 meters (yards).
Group G remains wide open with two berths still open.
Arsenal rallied with three second-half goals to beat Hamburg 3-1.
Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart scored the first goal in the fourth minute. Robin van Persie equalized in the 52nd and Emmanuel Eboue added another in the 83rd. Julio Baptista scored an insurance goal in the 88th.
FC Porto, which beat CSKA Moscow 2-0 in Tuesday's other Group G game, and Arsenal lead with 10 points each. CSKA has eight points and Hamburg has zero.
Arsenal is at Porto and Hamburg hosts CSKA on Dec. 6 in the final group games.
Arsenal, the runner-up last season, needs only a draw to advance, but it could be tough. Captain Thierry Henry picked up a yellow card and will miss the game.
``It's sad but you have to cope with everything,'' goalkeeper Jens Lehmann said.
On Wednesday, it's: Werder Bremen vs. Chelsea, and Levski Sofia vs. Dynamo Kiev in Group A; Spartak Moscow vs. Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan vs. Sporting Lisbon in Group B; Bordeaux vs. Galatasaray, and Liverpool vs. PSV Eindhoven in Group C; and Valencia vs. Olympiakos, and Shakhtar Donetsk vs. AS Roma in Group D.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
