Celtic Lose But Still Advance To Champions League Knockouts

The luck of the Irish was on Celtic's side today, as Gordon Strachan's team advanced to the Champions League Round of 16 despite losing the final group stage game at AC Milan. Celtic Chairman John Reed should send a thank-you letter to Oscar Cardozo and Benfica Lisbon, as the Portuguese side beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 on a brace by Cardozo, which assured Celtic's advance. The Ukrainian side would have advanced with a victory, but found themselves down two goals after only 22 minutes. They got one back on a penalty on 30 minutes, but that was the last of the scoring in the match. Freddy Adu dressed but did not play for Benfica.

I was not able to watch the game because I couldn't find any free streams due to my busy schedule at work but ESPNsoccernet reports Celtic were nervous and content to defend in the early stages. They settled down toward the end of the first half and had a few chances to score before Filippo Inzaghi got the winner for Milan at 70 minutes. Group D's games were played earlier than the other groups due to AC Milan's commitment to play in the FIFA Club World Championships in Japan later this month.