Inter, Barca and Man U qualify for Champions League final 16
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Defending champions Inter Milan beat Twente 1-0 Thursday at home to qualify for the knock-out stage of the European Champions League, where they were joined by Barcelona and Manchester United.
Esteban Cambiasso scored the only goal of the game in the 55th minute to secure a victory which was precious for the Italian champions, who were without a win in five in all competitions and have slipped to sixth in Serie A.
The Argentinian international said the win could earn them some time to recover from recent difficulties and disappointments.
“This difficult moment was due to the many injuries that we have had to deal with, but now we are qualified," he said.
“I hope this security of qualification can give us a more relaxed atmosphere while we wait for the others to recover,” he added.
Tottenham made history as they reached the second round in its first season in the tournament, defeating Werder Bremen 3-0 in London on goals by Younes Kaboul, Luka Modric and Peter Crouch. Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese saved Gareth Bale's penalty kick.
Lionel Messi scored in his ninth consecutive game for Barcelona, increasing his career total to 150 goals and helping clinch a second-round Champions League berth with a 3-0 win at Panathinaikos.
Pedro Rodriguez put Barcelona ahead in the 27th minute, and Messi tapped in Adriano's cross in the 62nd for his 23rd goal in 18 games this season, including six in the Champions League. Messi has 15 goals in Barcelona's last nine matches and tied Rivaldo's club record of 31 goals in international competitions.
Rodriguez added another goal in the 69th as Barcelona ensured it will win Group D.
Manchester United, Valencia, Schalke and Lyon also clinched spots in the knockout stage. AC Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Marseille had already advanced.
At Glasgow, Wayne Rooney marked his first club start since Sept. 19 by converting a penalty kick to lead Manchester United to a 1-0 win over Rangers.
Valencia routed visiting Bursaspor 6-1, reaching the knockout stage for the first time in four years.
At Gelsenkirchen, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored twice after Jefferson Farfan put the hosts ahead in a 3-0 win for Schalke over Lyon, who already qualified before the match.
Hapoel Tel Aviv won 3-0 over visiting Benfica for its first Champions League victory as Eran Zahavi scored twice and Douglas da Silva once.
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