Arsenal sail through,Chelsea’s progress in trouble

Milan midfielder Mark van Bommel gave Barcelona the lead in the 14th minute with an own goal and,despite Ibrahimovic’s leveler,Messi’s twice-taken penalty ensured the defending champions went into the break in front. Kevin-Prince Boateng pounced in the 54th to get Milan back into the game,but Messi slotted the ball through a throng of defenders for Xavi to seal the win.

Much of the pre-game talk had focused on Ibrahimovic,who faced his former club for the first time since his acrimonious departure in 2010 after falling out with Guardiola. While the Sweden striker did get a goal,it was still Barcelona who stole most of the spotlight with their usual relentless attacking play.

Manuel Friedrich’s 90th-minute goal for Leverkusen took the Germans through with a 2-1 triumph over faltering Chelsea,who now need to beat Valencia at home or draw 0-0 in the last match to go through.

Chelsea’s blues

Didier Drogba handed the visitors the lead with a top-class goal just after the break but Eren Derdiyok’s header with almost his first touch and Friedrich’s winner out of the blue sent fans wild.

Viktoria Plzen won 1-0 at Bate Borisov to boost their chances of finishing third and taking Group H’s Europa League berth.

Valencia warmed up for the final Group E clash with a 7-0 thumping of Racing Genk in which Roberto Soldado bagged a first-half hat-trick. APOEL’s 0-0 draw at Zenit St Petersburg followed an onslaught from the Russians but the Cypriot champions clung on to complete a stunning achievement for the island nation.

APOEL remain the only unbeaten team in Group G where twice champions Porto won 2-0 at bottom side Shakhtar Donetsk to keep alive their hopes of overhauling second-placed Zenit when they meet in the final group game in Portugal on Dec. 6.

Robin van Persie scored another brace in a 2-1 home victory over Borussia Dortmund as Arsenal finished top and did what Manchester United,Manchester City and Chelsea have so far failed to do and qualified for first knockout round. Inconsistent Olympique Marseille were also going through until Giannis Fetfatzidis struck eight minutes from time to give Olympiakos Piraeus a 1-0 victory at the Stade Velodrome.