Barcelona give themselves hope
Barcelona must win next week if they are to repeat last season's success
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Wednesday, 22, Nov 2006 10:50
Cup holders Barcelona gave themselves hope of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League by beating Levski Sofia 2-0, but they must beat Werder Bremen at the Nou Camp next week to progress.
Ludovic Giuly grabbed the first goal after six minutes with a blistering drive that left goalkeeper Georgi Petkov with little chance to save. Andres Iniesta made sure of the points with the second just after the half-hour mark, knocking the ball in after Petkov failed to hold onto Deco's shot.
Inter Milan had been under pressure to qualify from group B as only one point separated them from tonight's opponents Sporting Lisbon before the game.
A well-contested affair saw Inter able to make home advantage pay as Hernan Crespo's goal on 36 minutes was the difference between the two sides as the Italian's held on.
Elsewhere in the same group the already-qualified Bayern Munich played out a lively 2-2 draw with Spartak Moscow.
Maxim Kalinichenko scored for the home side before David Pizzaro notched two quickfire goals to give Bayern a half-time lead. Radoslav Kovac then equalised in the second half.
Roma gave themselves work to do in the final group match next week after losing 1-0 away to Shakhtar Donetsk. Ciprian Marica scored the only goal of the contest just after the hour mark, allowing the Ukrainian side within two points of the Italians.
There was no such trouble for Valencia as their impressive march in Europe continued. A goal from Miguel Angel Angulo and then Fernando Morientes directly each side of half-time gave the Spaniards a 2-0 victory.
In Liverpool's group Bordeaux beat Galatasaray 3-1 to boost their chances of finishing in third place, thereby qualifying for the Uefa cup.