Bayern forge ahead; United stunned

Bayern Munich earned their berth but did not look that special in an uneventful 0-0 draw at home to Swedish side Helsingborgs.

Now seven pieces of the 16-team second phase jigsaw are in place following the qualification of Real Madrid, Valencia and Arsenal last week.

Norway’s Rosenborg, Helsingborgs of Sweden, Dynamo Kiev and Turks Besiktas, however, saw the Champions League door slammed in their face as they were eliminated from the event.

Nine-man Juventus had a disastrous night as they crashed 3-1 to Hamburg SV in a Group E clash.

Goals from Roy Prager, Tony Yeboah and Andrej Panadic ensured the visitors prevailed against a solitary Juventus strike from Yugoslav subtitute Darko Kovacevic but it is the sendings-off of Zidane and Edgar Davids that could yet prove fatal to the Turin outfit.

With Spain’s Deportivo la Coruna now qualified, thanks to their 1-0 win at home to Panathinaikos, the defeat for the Italian giants means they face a tough fight to progress and they will have to do without arguably their two most influential players for the next game.

Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted that the double dismissal in effect sealed his team’s fate.

“The game was over after the second sending off,” said Ancelotti. “It was impossible to get a goal back with nine men against 11.”

Ancelotti did not make any attempt to hide how he felt about the behaviour of Zidane and Dutchman Davids.

“The behaviour of Zidane and Davids is difficult to explain,” said the coach. “I did not ask for their explanation and they did not offer it.“They must understand that facts like this penalise us too much. The nerves on Tuesday were not team failings they were down to individuals.”

Last year’s semi-finalists Barcelona were seconds from being dumped out of the competition but a final minute equaliser by Rivaldo for a 1-1 draw at Leeds earned them a reprieve.

Lee Bowyer had scored Leeds first goal from a freekick in this Group H match. AC Milan beat Besiktas 2-0 to earn their passage from the same group. Andrei Shevchenko and Jose Mari scored for Milan in a workmanlike performance for the Italians without a great deal of spectacle or flair.Paris Saint Germain thrashed Norwegian side Rosenborg 7-2 at the Parc des Princes, enough to see them through from Group F with Bayern Munich, who drew 0-0 with Swedish side Helsingborgs.

PSG had their backs to the wall here, needing a three-goal cushion to ensure their continued presence in Europe’s top club competition after going down 3-1 at Rosenborg in the first leg.

The French capital side achieved that and more with four goals in a dream 35-minute spell in a match full of fireworks.

Bayern, on 10 points, are assured of one of the two top spots with one fixture remaining at Rosenborg Trondheim on November 8.

Deportivo la Coruna went through from Group E following a late Walter Pandiani-goal for a 1-0 victory against Greek side Panathinaikos.

The Juventus debacle in the other Group E game means any one of Panathinaikos, Juventus or Hamburg could qualify with Deportivo in next week’s sixth and last round of first phase games.

In Group G, unimpressive 1999 champions Manchester United lost 2-1 at Belgium club Anderlecht with Tomasz Radzinski scoring twice for the home side, and PSV Eindhoven won 1-0 at Dynamo Kiev. Any two of PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and Anderlecht could make the second phase with just one round of matches to go.

The 1999 champions United, playing without Irish midfielder Roy Keane and Teddy Sheringham, were up against it right from the start. They did manage to pull a goal back when 2-0 down when Denis Irwin scored from the spot.