Arsenal virtually through, Napoli need miracle (Roundup)

Arsenal look good to book a berth in the UEFA Champions League knockout round with a 2-0 win over French club Marseille while German Borussia Dortmund, too, are well placed to join the English Premier League leaders from Group F after beating Italian side Napoli 3-1.

Arsenal sit pretty at the top of the group with 12 points and as long as Arsene Wenger's team do not lose by three-goal margin at Napoli (9 points), they should be through.

As for Dortmund (9 points), they should just roll over the winless Marseille, hoping Napoli do not make up a five-goal differential.

Napoli's best route to the next round would be to beat Arsenal and hope for a miraculous draw between Dortmund and Marseille, who lost 0-3 to against the Germans in October.

Ajax kept their dreams of qualifying for the knockout round with a shock 2-1 win over Spanish giants FC Barcelona. After just four points from as many matches Ajax desperately needed the win and they did just that with a stunning first-half performance.

In the other Group H match, AC Milan too are still in with a shout to advance to the next round after a 3-0 win over Celtic in Scotland.

Barca (10 points) have a three-point and nine-goal advantage over second-placed Ajax and will just need to show up in their final group match against Celtic.

The second match between Ajax and Milan (6 points) will determine which team qualifies. The Dutch team just needs a draw against the Italians at the San Siro, a tough proposition.

In Group E, Chelsea qualified for the knockout round even though they lost 0-1 to FC Basel (8 points), thanks to Steau Bucuresti holding Schalke 04 to 0-0 draw.

Had Schalke won, the Europa League holders would have been in a fix after a lacklustre performance against the Swiss side.

As things stand, Chelsea with nine points are through while Schalke (7 points) need to win at home against Basel, who just need a draw in Germany to advance.