Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid can start planning for the knockout stage of this Champions League.
The Milan loss meant that Ajax kept its qualifying chances very much alive with a 2-1 triumph over Auxerre. Marseille and Sporting Braga still are long shots to advance, but both stayed alive with wins while Italy’s AS Roma, that most unpredictable of sides, was stunned by tiny Swiss side Basel 3-1 in the Stadio Olimpico.
We begin in Madrid where Cristiano Ronaldo was the executioner, first powering a free kick through the Milan wall in the 13th minute, then running hard at the Italian defense a minute later to create the opening for Mesut Oezil to make it 2-0. Oezil's shot rocketed off the head of Daniele Bonera to leave Marco Amelia standing without a chance to save.
Although Milan tried to get back in the battle, with Ronaldinho the inspiration behind their best efforts, this was a night in which Jose Mourinho's Real showed how much this team has grown in just two months. Ronaldo looked relaxed, confident and consistently dangerous and his supporting cast often seemed to out-number the famous visitors.
To Cluj's credit they did not simply sit back against the Germans and Bayern again will have frustrated its supporters because its finishing touch is far from succinct. The problems they've had in the Bundesliga were reflected again, lots of possession resulting in shots blocked or flying wide rather than hitting the target.
Their third goal, in fact, was almost by accident, Mario Gomez running into a ball hooked into him by a desperate defender after keeper Eduard Stancioiu parried the initial shot in the 77th minute. That wasn't a true own goal, but Gomez didn't shoot the ball, either.
That proved especially painful for the visitors when the Bayern defense was completely stretched in the 85th minute and Juan Culio roofed an open chance to make it 3-2. And, don't forget, Cluj's Lacina Traore hit the goal post with the last shot of the first half and they finished the night running hard at the Germans.
Roma suffered a night of misery as FC Basel picked up its first points at their expense. Alexander Frei nicked the opener in the 12th and while Marco Borriello drew the home side level just nine minutes later, the erratic Serie A side would go down for good thanks to Samuel Inkoom’s 44th minute winner. The result leaves Roma in dead last in a three-team logjam on three points.
Roma have only themselves to blame because for large stretches, they were feckless, only fully entering the match in the second half, and then finding an unexpectedly resilient Basel side difficult to beat. Franco Costanzo made a game-saving stop on a Francesco Totti free-kick late, but the real kick in the teeth came when Cabral simply danced through the Roma defense to take the insurance goal in the 93rd minute.
Elsewhere, SC Braga strolled to a 2-0 win over Partizan that kept the Serbs dead last with no points. Goals from Lima and Matheus gave Braga their first points in a game that was far too easy. Souleymane Diawara’s 48th minute goal was enough for Marseille in a laboured, card-ridden win over MSK Zilina. The Slovaks are dead last and look certain to go out; the Frenchmen need to overtake Spartak to have a chance at the second slot in the group.
Jamie Trecker is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the UEFA Champions League.
