On Tuesday, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Shakhtar Donetsk and Valencia reached the knockout stage of the Champions League on Tuesday, while Chelsea is on the verge of becoming the first titleholder to fail to make it out of the group stage.

Already under pressure in the Premier League after a four-game winless run, Chelsea lost 3-0 at Juventus to drop to third in Group E behind Shakhtar and Juve and cause Chelse to sack its manager Roberto di Matteo and put former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez as interim manager.

Barcelona advanced for the ninth straight season after defeating Spartak Moscow 3-0 in Group G with Lionel Messi scoring another two goals to close to within five of Gerd Mueller’s single-year record of 85.

“Messi is a perfect player, maybe the best player in the world right now,” Spartak coach Unai Emery said.

On Wednesday, Borussia Dortmund guaranteed progression as Group D winners with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice in a 4-1 thrashing of Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. Also, Malaga went through as Group C winners despite blowing an early 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Zenit St Petersburg in Russia. Milan's 3-1 win at Anderlecht meant they will join Malaga in the knockout stages.

Schalke 04 beat Olympiakos to ensure qualification from Group B and give them a one-point advantage over second-placed Arsenal.

The Gunners also made sure they will join Schalke in the last 16 after putting their recent unpredictable form behind them with a 2-0 win over Montpellier. Jack Wilshere and Lukas Podolski scored in the second half.

Sergio Aguero's late penalty was not enough to prevent Manchester City being eliminated from the Champions League after a 1-1 draw at home to Real Madrid.