Box-office affair
13 Dec 2013 5:39 AM IST
Arsenal qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League despite losing 2-0 away to Napoli on Wednesday, while the Italian side agonisingly miss out.
Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon both scored in the second half either side of Mikel Arteta’s sending-off, but Borussia Dortmund’s dramatic late 2-1 win in Marseille saw them go through as winners of Group F ahead of Arsenal and pushed Napoli into third place.
The Premier League leaders did just enough in the heated atmosphere of the San Paolo stadium, with Napoli needing to win by three goals to be certain of qualifying, and Arsene Wenger’s side can look forward to playing in the Champions League knockout stages for the 14th year in succession.
Napoli, meanwhile, miss out on a place in the last 16 as the losers in a three-way tie at the top of a remarkably competitive group, and will have to settle for the consolation of Europa League football in the New Year.
It was a sore one for Rafael Benitez’s side, and another blow for the prestige of Italian football after Juventus were eliminated earlier in the day. Nothing much happened in the first half and Napoli continued to press in the second half but their attacks lacked conviction, with Pablo Armero tearing forward down the left and cutting into the box only to see his shot easily saved.
But their persistence finally brought its reward with 73 minutes played when Higuain scored for the fourth time in this season’s competition.
The Argentine exchanged passes with fellow former Real Madrid man Callejon on the edge of the box before turning and shooting low past Szczesny as the San Paolo erupted. Napoli’s hopes were given a further boost three minutes later when Arsenal’s skipper for the night Arteta was shown a second yellow card by Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai for catching Callejon.
At that point Napoli were going through but, as the game drifted into the 90th minute, news filtered through that Borussia Dortmund had scored in France, leaving Rafael Benitez’s side having to score two more goals to progress.
They got one, substitute Lorenzo Insigne playing in Callejon, who lobbed over the outrushing Szczesny and into the net, but that came with the last kick of the match and Napoli’s efforts were ultimately in vain.
A late goal by Kevin Grosskreutz gave last season’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund a 2-1 win over 10-man Marseille and the victory they needed to reach the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.
Dortmund won Group F, but Grosskreutz’s goal meant misery for Napoli. Marseille, meanwhile, end with the unenviable record of being the first French team to finish a group-campaign without any points.
Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon both scored in the second half either side of Mikel Arteta’s sending-off, but Borussia Dortmund’s dramatic late 2-1 win in Marseille saw them go through as winners of Group F ahead of Arsenal and pushed Napoli into third place.
The Premier League leaders did just enough in the heated atmosphere of the San Paolo stadium, with Napoli needing to win by three goals to be certain of qualifying, and Arsene Wenger’s side can look forward to playing in the Champions League knockout stages for the 14th year in succession.
Napoli, meanwhile, miss out on a place in the last 16 as the losers in a three-way tie at the top of a remarkably competitive group, and will have to settle for the consolation of Europa League football in the New Year.
It was a sore one for Rafael Benitez’s side, and another blow for the prestige of Italian football after Juventus were eliminated earlier in the day. Nothing much happened in the first half and Napoli continued to press in the second half but their attacks lacked conviction, with Pablo Armero tearing forward down the left and cutting into the box only to see his shot easily saved.
But their persistence finally brought its reward with 73 minutes played when Higuain scored for the fourth time in this season’s competition.
The Argentine exchanged passes with fellow former Real Madrid man Callejon on the edge of the box before turning and shooting low past Szczesny as the San Paolo erupted. Napoli’s hopes were given a further boost three minutes later when Arsenal’s skipper for the night Arteta was shown a second yellow card by Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai for catching Callejon.
At that point Napoli were going through but, as the game drifted into the 90th minute, news filtered through that Borussia Dortmund had scored in France, leaving Rafael Benitez’s side having to score two more goals to progress.
They got one, substitute Lorenzo Insigne playing in Callejon, who lobbed over the outrushing Szczesny and into the net, but that came with the last kick of the match and Napoli’s efforts were ultimately in vain.
A late goal by Kevin Grosskreutz gave last season’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund a 2-1 win over 10-man Marseille and the victory they needed to reach the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.
Dortmund won Group F, but Grosskreutz’s goal meant misery for Napoli. Marseille, meanwhile, end with the unenviable record of being the first French team to finish a group-campaign without any points.
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