Champions League round-up

The group phase of the UEFA Champions League concluded with Barcelona safely avoiding elimination and Liverpool, Arsenal and Rangers all losing.

The three British sides all suffered narrow defeats but it mattered little as their fates were already known before kick-off, with Arsenal progressing as Group H winners, Liverpool dropping down to the Europa League and Rangers bowing out of continental competition entirely.

Group F commanded the most attention and reigning champions Barcelona overcame Dynamo Kiev 2-1 to seal top spot, meaning they will not face any of the three remaining English sides in the next round.

Barcelona started the night in control of their own destiny at the top of the group, but with all four teams still in contention to qualify and a complex set of permutations in place it was always going to be a nervy night for the Catalan giants.

Tensions escalated after just two minutes when Victor Valdes fumbled Artem Milevskiy's glancing header into his own net, but Barca responded strongly and Xavi equalised with a close-range finish from Eric Abidal's left-wing cross before half-time.

Barcelona starved Dynamo of possession in the second period and wrapped up an impressive night's work with a fabulous late free-kick from the brilliant Lionel Messi.

Inter Milan joined Barca in the knockout stages following a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Russian champions Rubin Kazan, who must now take their place in the Europa League.

Mario Balotelli was the star of the show for Jose Mourinho's side, first setting up Samuel Eto'o for the opening goal with a neat pass and then netting with a superb free-kick midway through the second half.

Guaranteed to fall into the Europa League as the third-placed team in Group E regardless of the outcome of their clash with Fiorentina, the main point of interest for Liverpool fans was the performance of Alberto Aquilani on his first start.

The Italian midfielder showed a few neat touches but looked understandably rusty after a long spell on the sidelines as the Reds were beaten 2-1 draw at Anfield.

Yossi Benayoun headed Liverpool into a 1-0 lead from Steven Gerrard's free-kick two minutes before the break, only for Martin Jorgensen to draw Fiorentina level with a fine effort from the edge of the box.

Alberto Gilardino then popped up with an injury-time winner for the Italian side and it was a crucial strike as it secured first place in the group.

Lyon therefore had to settle for second spot despite ending their group campaign with an emphatic 4-0 success against Hungarian minnows Debrecen.

Goalkeeper Djordje Pantic could only parry a weak effort from Sidney Govou and Bafetimbi Gomis seized on the rebound to put Lyon ahead in the 25th minute.

Debrecen have conceded more goals than any other team in the competition this season and poor defending was again in evidence as Michel Bastos struck home a powerful second on the stroke of half-time after being left unmarked in the box.

Miralem Pjanic added a third just before the hour mark and Aly Cissokho drove home a fourth to complete the rout.

Olympiakos sealed their place in the last 16 with a 1-0 victory over Group H winners Arsenal in Greece.

There may have been a famous name in the Arsenal defence but young defender Tom Cruise was one of several unfamiliar faces in a line-up showing 11 changes from the side that beat Stoke in the Premier League over the weekend.

The Gunners acquitted themselves well throughout but the onus was on Olympiakos to press forward and their urgency was rewarded when Leonardo slotted past Lukasz Fabianski early in the second half.

There was late drama in Belgium as Standard Liege goalkeeper Sinan Bolat scored a last-minute equaliser to deny AZ Alkmaar a Europa League adventure.

Jeremain Lens broke the deadlock for AZ four minutes before half-time, darting towards the near post to volley in a pinpoint delivery from Sebastien Pocognoli.

AZ looked set to pip Liege for third spot until Bolat sparked wild celebrations with a headed goal right at the death that rescued a 1-1 draw and a vital point.

Rangers already knew they would finish bottom of Group G and they were not able to bring their European campaign to a close on a high note as they went down 1-0 to Sevilla in Spain.

Fredi Kanoute fired Sevilla in front from the penalty spot after just eight minutes following a clumsy challenge by Steven Whittaker on Fernando Navarro and Rangers lacked the potency to find an equaliser in an uninspiring second half.

Stuttgart needed to beat surprise package Unirea Urziceni to claim second spot behind Sevilla and they rose to the challenge in style with a comprehensive 3-1 triumph.

The damage was done inside 11 minutes as Ciprian Marica, Christian Trasch and Pavel Pogrebnyak found the target for Stuttgart to stun their Romanian visitors

Unirea reduced their arrears through Antonio Semedo in the first minute of the second half but Stuttgart held on to give new manager Christian Gross the perfect start to his reign.