Chelsea cruise but United stumble
Chelsea has cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League after being helped to their 4-0 stroll over 10-man Qarabag by a hotly disputed first-half penalty and sending off in Baku yesterday.
The match turned decisively in the English champions’ favour midway through the first half when Qarabag’s captain Rashad Sadygov was dismissed for pulling down Willian in the penalty box, allowing Eden Hazard to convert coolly from the spot.
Subsequently forced to play with 10 men for the next 69 minutes, the Azeri champions, who had made a promising start, were outplayed with two brilliant goals from Willian and a Cesc Fabregas penalty completing the rout.
Chelsea’s win puts them on top of group C on 10 points to guarantee their place in the knockout rounds.
‘‘We did everything well, apart from conceding the first chance when they hit the post,’’ Hazard said. ‘‘Maybe that would be different if that went in. We should have scored more.’’
Willian, who marked his 200th Blues appearance with a goal double, was convinced the decision to award the first penalty that saw Sadygov dismissed was the correct one.
‘‘Was it a penalty? A little bit of contact. For me it was a penalty,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m happy to score two goals. We deserved to win tonight.’’
Meanwhile, a goalless draw at Basel would have been enough for Manchester United to top group A, but the Premier League club slipped to their first group stage loss, going down 1-0 to a goal conceded just a minute from time.
Basel defender Michael Lang struck in the 89th minute to earn a win for the Swiss champion.
Still, United lead the standings with 12 points, three clear of both Basel and CSKA Moscow, which earlier won 2-0 at home to last-place Benfica.
Barcelona needed only a point to reach the Round of 16 and the Spanish superpower got exactly that against Juventus. A 0-0 draw at last year’s runner-up was enough to ensure top spot in group D.
Already through, Paris SaintGermain conceded the first goal of their campaign in the first minute - before then unleashing its unstoppable firepower to thrash Celtic 7-1 in Paris.