Big guns let qualification chances slip with defeats

ALL the Champions League big guns who hoped to seal their places in the second round of the competition last night stuttered with qualification at their mercy.

While Liverpool kept their qualification hopes alive in Moscow and Arsenal probably will not lose too much sleep in defeat to Auxerre because of their comfortable points position, Real Madrid and Valencia let slip their chance to rubber-stamp qualification.

The biggest story of the night probably came at the Bernabeau Stadium in Madrid, where AEK Athens came from a 2-0 half-time deficit to draw level with the Spanish giants with two goals from Katsouranis and Centeno.

Real had gone in front thanks to two Steve McManaman goals in the first half, but they will be disappointed not to have killed off the Greeks before the 74th minute when Katsouranis got them back into the game. They will have been more disappointed to have conceded the 86th-minute equaliser.

Inter Milan were also left in the doldrums when, despite having led Lyon late in the second half, they allowed the French side a late equaliser.

Indeed, Inter had to come from behind twice in the game before Hernan Crespo scored his second to put them 3-2 ahead in the 66th minute, but they allowed Sonny Anderson in for a 75th-minute equaliser.

That result sees Lyon remain at the top of the table, with Inter and Ajax Amsterdam just behind. Ajax were fancied to take full points from their visitors last night, Rosenborg Trondheim, but they, too, allowed slip a late lead.

They were ahead through a first-half goal by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but in the 84th minute, Van Damme handled on the line when stopping a goal-bound shot from Johnsen, and Enerly scored from the spot to give Rosenborg a share of the points.

Lyon are now two points clear of Inter and Ajax at the head of Group D.

Vanencia were another outfit who, unexpectedly, lost a late goal. This time, it was in their Group B clash with the unfashionable Basel side, who put Celtic out of the competition.

Ivan Ergic scored the opener for Basel and set a landmark by scoring the Champions’ League’s 2,500th goal, but Valencia came back and goals to Ruben Baraja (36) and Curro Torres (72) looked to have sealed the points for them.

But the Swiss side came back with heart and Ergic sent the home fans home happy after his 90th-minute strike to level scores. Basel have, however, slipped behind Liverpool, thanks to the Merseysiders’ emphatic 3-1 win in Moscow.

Elsewhere, Jan Kohler scored the opener for Borussia Dortmund in their home game against PSV Eindhoven, and Borussia dominated the game until Arnold Brukkink deflated them in the second half with a fine goal.

That draw almost certainly condemns PSV to go out of the competition and gives Borussia a real chance of making the second round.

The only goalless game of the night was the clash between AS Roma and RC Genk.

The Italians were at sixes and seven throughout and could never find their usual assured touch, but they are still on course for qualification provided they have no more slip-ups in Group C.