Former European champions Real Madrid and Liverpool scored vastly contrasting victories to reach the knockout round of the Champions League on Wednesday.
Real, European champions nine times, ended any doubts about their progression to the last 16 when they coasted to a 3-0 win over AS Roma in a deserted Olympic Stadium on the last night of group matches to finish behind Bayer Leverkusen in Group B.
Liverpool, European champions four times, went behind to a Rivaldo free kick after 27 minutes but came back to beat Olympiakos Piraeus 3-1 in a sensational match at Anfield where a typically passionate home crowd ran the full gamut of emotions.
Despairing at the break, their spirits rose throughout the second half as goals from substitutes Florent Sinama Pongolle (47), Neil Mellor (80) and a thunderous 25-metre strike from skipper Steven Gerrard (86) turned a night that threatened to end in despair into one of joy, evoking memories of Liverpool's glory days of the 1970s and 80s.
The mathematical possibilities involving qualification from Group A meant that the result in the match between Deportivo Coruna and AS Monaco was crucial to events at Anfield.
EASY VICTORY
In the end Monaco's easy 5-0 victory at Coruna meant the French side (12 points) went through with Liverpool (10 pts) who pipped Olympiakos (10 pts) due to a better head-to-head record against the Greek side, who drop into the UEFA Cup.
Deportivo, semi-finalists last season, became the first team to go through six Champions League qualifying matches without scoring a single goal in any of them.
In Rome's empty stadium -- closed on UEFA orders following crowd trouble earlier in the competition -- goals from Ronaldo after nine minutes, a 61st minute Luis Figo penalty when Ronaldo was tripped and Figo's second after 82 minutes gave Real the win they needed to advance from Group B.
Real coach Mariano Garcia Remon said afterwards: "It was behind closed doors and could have been tricky, but I think we handled it in the right way."
"Roma were missing players like (Francesco) Totti, (Antonio) Cassano and (Vincenzo) Montella, but despite that I thought they played well."
David Beckham was less prosaic about the environment.
"It was horrible playing without a crowd," he said.
"You could hear what the players watching on the bench were shouting at you, we're not used to that," he joked.
Real went through with Leverkusen who beat Dynamo Kiev 3-0 to send the Ukrainians, group leaders at the start of play, crashing down to third place and into the UEFA Cup.
Juventus and Bayern Munich were already sure of their places in the last 16 after securing first and second positions in Group C and both failed to win.
Ajax Amsterdam drew 2-2 with Bayern, Maccabi Tel Aviv drew 1-1 with Juventus which meant Ajax claimed the UEFA Cup berth.
The only consolation for Maccabi was that they became the first team to score a goal or take a point off Juve who had won their five previous group matches 1-0.
Olympique Lyon finished top of Group D after thrashing bottom-placed Sparta Prague 5-0 while Fenerbahce beat a Manchester United shadow team 3-0 to inflict a first defeat on Alex Ferguson's side who finished second.
Fenerbahce will be in the UEFA Cup after finishing third and ended their campaign in some style with Tuncay Sanli scoring a hat-trick.
ENGLISH QUARTET
Manchester United and Liverpool join English rivals Chelsea and Arsenal in the last 16, the first time four clubs from the Premier League have advanced to the knockout stage.
Italy and Germany have three teams in the next phase with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus advancing as Serie A's representatives while Bayern, Werder Bremen and Leverkusen will fly the Bundesliga flag.
Olympique Lyon and Monaco from Ligue 1 in France, Real and Barcelona from the Primera Liga in Spain, PSV Eindhoven from the Netherlands and European champions Porto will also be in the draw for the last 16 to be made in Nyon, Switzerland on December 17.
The competition resumes with the first legs of the first knockout round on February 22 and 23 with the return legs on March 8 and 9.
Qualifiers for the Champions League first knockout round:
Chelsea (England), Manchester United (England), Arsenal (England), Liverpool (England)
AC Milan (Italy), Inter Milan (Italy), Juventus (Italy)
Bayern Munich (Germany), Werder Bremen (Germany), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Olympique Lyon (France), AS Monaco (France)
Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Porto (Portugal)
PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
Draw for first knockout round takes place on December 17 in Nyon, Switzerland, 1100 GMT
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First knockout round:
First leg - February 22-23
Second leg - March 8-9
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Quarter-finals:
First leg - April 5-6
Second leg - April 12-13
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Semi-finals:
First leg - April 26-27
Second leg - May 3-4
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Final:
May 25, Istanbul