Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have very little nice to say to each other, and little in common, but for once they shared the headlines for good reasons, as both Manchester United and Arsenal became the first clubs to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.Their means of qualifying, like their managers, couldn’t have been more contrasting, as United whipped Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev 4-0, while a second string Arsenal side drew 0-0 away yesterday at Slavia Prague—a team they trounced 7-0 a fortnight ago.It was a night of doubles allround as the two Italian sides in action, Inter Milan and Roma, both came from behind —doubles by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Esteban Cambiasso inspiring Inter to a 4-2 win over CSKA Moscow, while despite a brace from Liedson, Sporting Lisbon conceded a late equaliser to Roma to only draw 2-2 at home.Likewise, a double by Mario Gomez was not enough to save VfB Stuttgart from exiting the competition as they went down 2-4 away at Lyon, for whom Hatem Ben Arfa also scored twice as they crept to within a point of second-placed Rangers, who lost 2-0 away at Barcelona.Sevilla are all but certain to qualify after Renato scored twice in a 2-0 win—giving them a five-point advantage over Slavia Prague with two matches remaining—over Steaua Bucharest and ending any hope Steaua coach Marius Lacatus had of emulating his 1986 European Cup win as a player with the club.Barcelona’s Dutch handler Frank Rijkaard was pleased that his star-studded frontline of Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi had broken down a defensive-minded Rangers side and poured praise on his forwards afterwards. “It was the best display this season from our forwards,” said the Dutch coach. Rangers handler Walter Smith, though, was far from cowed about his side’s chances of making the last 16 for the seocnd time in three years. “It’s always sad to lose a game but my players worked hard and they have nothing to reproach themselves for. We’ve still got a good chance of progressing and that’s our target,” said Smith.However, Smith’s side will face a stern test of their nerve if they are to fend off a late challenge from French giants Lyon, who they play at Ibrox in their final match. For Lyon President Jean-Michel Aulas, his club’s two successive victories over the German outfit heralded a genuine renaissance. “We have come back from hell, we are coming back from a long way down,” gushed the Lyon supremo.
