Benfica seals last-16 place by drawing at Manchester United


LONDON (AP) ― Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Benfica earned places in the knockout phase of the Champions League on Tuesday, while the hopes of the two Manchester clubs were left hanging.

Franck Ribery scored twice and Bayern Munich beat Villarreal 3-1 to grab the top spot in Group A with one round remaining.

Inter, the 2010 champion, qualified for the last 16 before its match at Trabzonspor, courtesy of Lille’s earlier 2-0 win at CSKA Moscow in Group B. The Italians secured first place, however, by drawing 1-1 in Turkey.

Benfica ensured a top-two finish in Group C by drawing 2-2 at three-time winner Manchester United, which now needs at least a point at Basel ― a 3-2 winner over Otelul Galati ― in its final game to advance to the knockout stages for the sixth year in a row.

Manchester City, which is blazing a trail at the top of the Premier League this season, is in a worse position after losing 2-1 at Napoli thanks to two goals by Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani.

The result leaves Napoli a point ahead of City in Group A and needing only a victory at already-eliminated Villarreal to finish second behind Bayern.

Real Madrid, which entered Tuesday’s fifth round as one of three teams to have already qualified, thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 6-2 to keep its perfect record in Group D, where Ajax drew 0-0 at Lyon to virtually guarantee the Dutch team’s progress.

With reigning champion Barcelona and seven-time winner AC Milan also sure of advancing, the lineup for the last 16 is already looking enticing.

However, it may still be without the two current best teams in England.

United, which was without England striker Wayne Rooney (hip), had only itself to blame for the goals conceded at Old Trafford. Defender Phil Jones turned the ball into his own net to gift Benfica a third-minute lead and goalkeeper David de Gea failed to clear his lines properly in the 60th, allowing Pablo Aimar to make it 2-2 barely 60 seconds after Darren Fletcher had put United ahead for the first time.

Dimitar Berbatov ― with his first goal in Europe in three years ― had earlier equalized in the 30th.

“The goals were a bit freakish ― an own goal and then bad kick out by David de Gea,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “It’s a cruel game at times.

“It will be a hard game in Basel. The chips are down but I have every confidence in the team.”

While United’s future is in its own hands, City has to beat Bayern in its final game and also rely on Napoli slipping up in Spain.