© Reuters Lionel Messi fired Barcelona into the last 16 of the Champions League with two goals in their 3-0 victory at Spartak Moscow on Tuesday but holders Chelsea are walking a tightrope after a crushing defeat by Juventus.
Valencia and last season's runners-up Bayern Munich advanced from Group F with a 1-1 draw in the Mestalla while free-scoring Shakhtar Donetsk beat Nordsjaelland 5-2 with a Luiz Adriano hat-trick smoothing their path out of Group E.
Juventus are favourites to join Shakhtar in the last 16 after a 3-0 defeat of Chelsea to move second in the group.
A draw for the Italians in Ukraine in a fortnight would give Chelsea the dubious distinction of becoming the first defending champions to exit at the group stage.
Fabio Quagliarella gave Juventus a 38th minute lead with a deflected shot and Arturo Vidal's second half effort was also diverted past Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech on the hour.
Sebastian Giovinco rounded off a dazzling performance from Juventus with a breakaway third in stoppage time.
Messi's brace for Barca took his tally in the competition to 56, second on the all-time scorers' list, as the Catalans guaranteed progress into the knockout rounds with a win that clinched top spot in Group G.
While Barcelona moved to an unassailable 12 points, the runners-up spot is still up for grabs after Benfica beat Celtic 2-1, meaning they both have seven points with one game left.
Scottish champions Celtic, who produced a stunning win over Barca in the previous round of matches, were 20 minutes away from earning the score draw that would have put them through with the Spaniards before Ezequiel Garay struck the winner.
Galatasaray kept alive their chances of reaching the knockout phase with a 1-0 victory over already-qualified Manchester United.
They are vying with CFR Cluj for the runners-up spot in Group H after the Romanians beat Braga 3-1 with a first-half hat-trick from Rui Pedro doing the damage.
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on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
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