Gunners’ run halted
Sevilla ruin Arsenal’s record as Inter Milan cruise through
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| Julio Cruz: Inter the second round [GALLO/GETTY] |
Italian champions Inter Milan advanced to the second round of the Champions League by beating Fenerbahce 3-0.
Julio Ricardo Cruz, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and second-half substitute Luis Jimenez scored for Inter, which clinched first place in Group G with one match remaining.
Cruz directed the ball into the net with his chest in the 56th minute after Maxwell’s cross ricocheted off Fenerbahce defender Edu. Ibrahimovic made it 2-0 in the 66th, and Jimenez added the third in the 90th.
“It was important to close out qualification this evening because we won’t have a break until Christmas,” Inter coach Roberto Mancini said.
“Now we can focus all our efforts on the (Italian) championship.”
Inter leads Group G with 12 points, followed by Fenerbahce with eight, PSV Eindhoven with seven, and CSKA Moscow with one.
Fenerbahce must now wait until its final match against CSKA Moscow to see if it can advance to the second round for the first time.
PSV hold onto their hope
In Moscow, Jefferson Farfan scored late in the first half to give PSV a 1-0 victory over CSKA Moscow.
Farfan scored in the 39th minute of the Group G match after Dirk Marcellis beat the CSKA defense on the right flank and sent a cross into the penalty box.
A deflection off defender Sergei Ignashevich caught goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev off guard and Farfan headed the ball in from close range.
CSKA, who dominated the game and outshot the visitors 19-6, lacked its injured Brazilian midfielders Jo and Daniel Corvalho.
Striker Vagner Love also missed the match for family reasons.
“We really wanted to win,” CSKA coach Valery Gazzayev said.
“We allowed just one counterattack and it set the result. The absence of our key players affected our scoring efficiency.”
Sevilla go top
In Group H action, Sevilla rallied to beat Arsenal 3-1 and advance to the second round of the Champions League.
Luis Fabiano, Seydou Keita and Frederic Kanoute all scored for Sevilla, which managed to inflict Arsenal’s first loss in 29 matches in all competitions.
“It was a magnificent performance by the team,” Sevilla coach Manolo Jimenez said.
“To come back from a goal down against a team that’s top of the Premier League is something important, and I hope we can continue to show the same type of attitude.”
Luis Fabiano headed home Daniel Alves’ free kick from the right in the 34th minute, 10 minutes after Seydou Keita equalized for the hosts.
Frederic Kanoute added the third goal from the penalty spot in the 89th.
Arsenal had taken the lead in the 11th minute when Eduardo chested Nicklas Bendtner’s cross at the far post before beating Andres Palop with his left foot.
Sevilla moved to the top of Group H with 12 points, while Arsenal, which had already clinched its place in the next round, stayed with 10.
All even
In the battle of the group’s also-rans, Zdenek Senkerik scored a late equaliser to give Slavia Prague a 1-1 draw at Steaua Bucharest.
Senkerik converted his team’s only clear chance in the 78th minute, heading in a pass from Mickael Tavarez.
Valentin Badea had put Steaua ahead in the 12th when he scored from six meters (yards) after receiving a pass from Nicolae Dica.
Steaua, which earned its first point in the group, pressed from the start and created a few early chances, with Adrian Neaga having a goal disallowed for offside in the eighth.