Roma, Shakhtar and Arsenal qualify

AS Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and Arsenal became the final three teams to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Roma secured second place in Group ‘E', behind Bayern Munich, by drawing 1-1 at Cluj. FC Basel came into the final matchday needing to beat Bayern to stand any chance of catching Roma but was thrashed 3-0 in Germany.

Group ‘H' had both qualifying spots open but Shakhtar finished top by winning 2-0 at home to FC Braga, and Arsenal joined the Ukrainian champion after a nervy 3-1 victory over Partizan Belgrade.

Chelsea's perfect record in Group ‘F' ended with a 1-0 loss at Marseille to increase the pressure on manager Carlo Ancelotti, while Real Madrid remained unbeaten after its six matches in Group ‘G' courtesy of a 4-0 win over Auxerre, with Karim Benzema scoring a hat trick.

The draw for the last 16 will be held on December 17, with group winners kept apart and teams from the same country prevented from playing each other.

Roma only needed a point to go through, but looked like it would pick up all three when striker Marco Borriello put the Italian side in the lead in the 21st minute from 12 metres. Lacina Traore, who had squandered a number of good opportunities, headed home in the 88th to earn the Romanian team a draw.

Ribery strikes

France winger Franck Ribery scored in either half for Bayern, which was already assured of top spot in the group. Defensive midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk also found the target for last season's runner-up. Basel finished third and will play in the Europa League.

Arsenal reached the second round of the Champions League for the 11th successive year but was given a scare by Partizan, needing late goals by Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri to seal the win.

Robin van Persie, making his first start in the competition in more than a year, put the Gunners ahead from the penalty spot in the 30th after he was fouled by Marko Jovanovic. But Arsene Wenger's side, which climbed to the top of the Premier League last weekend, was far from its fluent best and conceded when Cordova Cleo's shot deflected off Sebastien Squillaci and over diving Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski in the 42nd.

Nasri in roaring form

Wenger sent on substitute Walcott and the England winger scored within six minutes, volleying home after collecting a poor defensive clearance. Nasri wrapped the game up in the 77th, the in-form midfielder slamming in a left-footed shot from 15 metres for his 12th goal of the season. Bacary Sagna was sent off in the 85th minute for a professional foul and will miss the first leg of the last 16.

Braga had to better Arsenal's result, or win 4-0 in Donetsk, to clinch a top-two finish but never looked like scoring and conceded two goals in the final 11 minutes.

Razvan Rat's left-footed volley from outside the area broke the deadlock in the 79th and Luiz Adriano's 83rd-minute tap-in secured Shakhtar a place in the knockout stage for Europe's elite club competition for the first time.

The results:

Group E: Bayern Munich 3 (Ribery 35, 50, Tymoschuk 37) bt Basel 0; CFR Cluj 1 (Traore 88) drew with Roma 1 (Borriello 21). Group F: MSK Zilina 1 (Majtan 48) lost to Spartak Moscow 2 (Alex 54, Ibson 61); Marseille 1 (Brandao 81) bt Chelsea 0.Group G: AC Milan 0 lost to Ajax 2 (de Zeeuw 57, Alderweireld 66); Real Madrid 4 (Benzema 12, 72, 88, Cristiano Ronaldo 49) bt Auxerre 0. Group H: Arsenal 3 (van Persie 30-pen, Walcott 73, Nasri 77) bt Partizan Belgrade 1 (Cleo 52); Shakhtar Donetsk 2 (Rat 78, Luiz Adriano 83) bt Sporting Braga 0.