Celtic joined AC Milan in the Champions League last 16 despite a
1-0 defeat at the Group D leaders on Tuesday, thanks to Shakhtar
Donetsk's loss to Benfica.
The Scot side finished second on nine points in the group,
trailing holders Milan with a deficit of four points, while
Portuguese Benfica beat Ukraine's Shakhtar 2-1 to qualified for the
UEFA Cup.
Shakhtar had needed a victory at home while hoping for a defeat
from Celtic to keep their chance alive, but Oscar Cardozo's double
sent them home without realizing their dream of reach the Champions
League knockout stages for the first time.
Celtic only needed a point and they had only one effort on goal
in the first half, before Filippo Inzaghi turned in Cafu's cutback
midway through the second half for Milan's winner.
Milan, to get a better draw for the first knockout stage after
topping the group, will shotly travel to the Club World Cup in
Japan, which brought forward the last round of matches in the
Champions League Group D by a week.
(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2007)