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Arsenal virtually through, Napoli need miracle (Roundup)

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IANS London
Last Updated : Nov 27 2013 | 4:46 PM IST

Arsenal look good to book a berth in the UEFA Champions League knockout round with a 2-0 win over French club Marseille while German Borussia Dortmund, too, are well placed to join the English Premier League leaders from Group F after beating Italian side Napoli 3-1.

Arsenal sit pretty at the top of the group with 12 points and as long as Arsene Wenger's team do not lose by three-goal margin at Napoli (9 points), they should be through.

As for Dortmund (9 points), they should just roll over the winless Marseille, hoping Napoli do not make up a five-goal differential.

Napoli's best route to the next round would be to beat Arsenal and hope for a miraculous draw between Dortmund and Marseille, who lost 0-3 to against the Germans in October.

Ajax kept their dreams of qualifying for the knockout round with a shock 2-1 win over Spanish giants FC Barcelona. After just four points from as many matches Ajax desperately needed the win and they did just that with a stunning first-half performance.

In the other Group H match, AC Milan too are still in with a shout to advance to the next round after a 3-0 win over Celtic in Scotland.

Barca (10 points) have a three-point and nine-goal advantage over second-placed Ajax and will just need to show up in their final group match against Celtic.

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The second match between Ajax and Milan (6 points) will determine which team qualifies. The Dutch team just needs a draw against the Italians at the San Siro, a tough proposition.

In Group E, Chelsea qualified for the knockout round even though they lost 0-1 to FC Basel (8 points), thanks to Steau Bucuresti holding Schalke 04 to 0-0 draw.

Had Schalke won, the Europa League holders would have been in a fix after a lacklustre performance against the Swiss side.

As things stand, Chelsea with nine points are through while Schalke (7 points) need to win at home against Basel, who just need a draw in Germany to advance.

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First Published: Nov 27 2013 | 4:40 PM IST

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