Thaindian News

London, Dec 8 (IANS) The big two from Manchester, United and City, failed to qualify for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League and will now be playing in the Europa League.

On a night of drama, Manchester City, the runaway leaders in Premier League this season, beat group leaders Bayern Munich 2-0 but failed to qualify as second place Napoli beat Villareal 2-0 away from home late Wednesday.

With one more point, Napoli grabbed the last place of the group from Man City, qualifying for the knockout rounds with Bayern, who had already booked the berth before the final group rounds.

Three-time European champions Manchester United failed to hold to their one-point lead in Group C, as they lost 1-2 away to minnows FC Basel.

Last year’s finalists ended the Champions League journey in group stage for the first time since 2005/06.

Both the Manchester clubs had to move on to the low-level Europa League after Wednesday’s early exit.

Elsewhere, Group D came to an dramatic end as Lyon progressed to the next stage by winning 7-1 at Dinamo Zagreb.

However, after the final whistle, it was still not enough for them to go through as Ajax who had a three-point advantage needed to lose at home.

Fortunately, for the French giants group leaders Real Madrid breezed past the Dutch side, Ajax with a 3-0 victory, finishing a perfect six-win record in group stage and also giving Lyon a lift.

In Group B, CSKA Moskva also pulled off an unlikely win as they beat 2-1 group winner Inter Milan to finish the group second.

Teams which have qualified for the knockout stages:

Group winners: Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Benfica, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal, APOEL FC, Barcelona

Runners-ups: Napoli, CSKA Moskva, Basel, Lyon, Leverkusen, Marseille, Zenit St Petersburg and AC Milan.