Celtic's European hopes narrow after loss
Gary Caldwell had a shocker for Celtic
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Wednesday, 01, Nov 2006 11:12
Celtic's chances of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League suffered a setback after they lost 3-0 away to Benfica, however, their fate still remains in their own hands.
Defender Gary Caldwell was at the centre of the action for Benfica's opening two goals, the first of which came after just ten minutes and the second quickly followed that on 22 minutes.
Caldwell put the ball into his own net to begin the scoring after deflecting a cross from Benfica's Marcos Nelson past goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
Nuno Gomez grabbed the second after a long ball forward rebounded off the former Hibernian defender's chest into the path of the striker who then neatly chipped Boruc.
Andrei Karyaka scored the final goal in the 76th minute following the cut back from the by-line.
Elsewhere, Porto won 3-1 against Hamburg to draw level on points with Arsenal in group G with the two sides due to face each other in the final round of matches which may end up as a winner takes all battle.
Brazilian Kaka scored a hat-trick for AC Milan as they cruised into the knockout stages with an easy 4-1 victory over Anderlecht. In the same group AEK Athens secured their first ever Champions League win by beating Lille 1-0.
And in group E, Lyon and Real Madrid both won 1-0 to cement their places in the next round with two matches to spare.