Misfiring Lille remain second despite drawing another blank

LILLE’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League’s knockout phase were put on hold when they were held to a goalless draw by Benfica at the Stade de France last night.

The Ligue 1 side, who have only scored once in their Champions League campaign this season, once more proved too goal-shy to break down their rivals’ defence.

However, Claude Puel’s team remain second in Group D on six points. Manchester United are third on six points, level with Lille, with Benfica fourth with five points.

In Arsenal’s group, Ajax are through to the knockout phase as two second-half goals by substitute Nigel de Jong gave them a 2-1 win over Sparta Prague.

De Jong struck after 68 minutes with a powerful close-range header and grabbed his second in the 89th when he struck a low drive from the edge of the box. Sparta captain Martin Petras got a late consolation for the visitors.

Roy Makaay scored twice as Bayern Munich made light of the absence of Michael Ballack to beat Rapid Vienna 4-0 in Group A and book their place in the last 16.

Sebastian Deisler drilled a shot past Helge Payer in the 21st minute and Iranian international Ali Karimi made it 2-0 nine minutes after the break.

Makaay then took over, finishing off a swift counter-attack in the 72nd minute and adding his second four minutes later.

Bayern’s victory, coupled with FC Bruge’s 1-0 defeat by Juventus, sealed at least a top-two finish for the German champions.

It was Alessandro Del Piero’s 80th-minute header which clinched Juventus that 1-0 victory and clinched their place in the knockout stages.

Del Piero, in for the suspended Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, had failed to convert three good chances for Juve before he finally broke the deadlock with a close-range header from a Pavel Nedved cross.

Ronaldinho turned in another brilliant display when he led his Barcelona side to a 3-1 victory over Werder Bremen that ensured them of finishing in top spot in Group C.

The Brazilian provided the assist for midfielder Gabri to notch his side’s opener in the 14th minute.

Although Tim Borowski equalised for the Germans from the penalty spot midway through the first half, Ronaldinho restored Barca’s lead four minutes later when he caught Bremen keeper Andreas Reinke off guard with a curling free kick.

He completed another masterful performance by setting up Henrik Larsson for his side’s third 19 minutes from time.

In the other Group C game, two goals in the space of two minutes at the end of a gripping game gave Udinese a remarkable 2-1 win over Panathinaikos in Athens.

A point in their final game against Barcelona will see Udinese through to the knockout stages.

Panathinaikos dominated the match, hitting the crossbar before taking the lead on the stroke of half-time through Cyprus midfielder Costas Charalambides.

Udinese stuck back in the 79th minute when a clearance from Ilias Kotsios ricocheted into the net off Vincenzo Iaquinta and two minutes later, a perfect strike from Vincent Candela from the edge of the area settled the match.