Chelsea 0-0 Valencia
Chelsea FC made it 50 home games without defeat in all competitions but this was a frustrating night for the Group B winners as they missed a hatful of chances against a Valencia CF side whose failure to win meant they failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Woodwork struck
It was the first time in ten UEFA Champions League games at Stamford Bridge that the London club failed to find the net, allthough it was not for want of trying as they carved out a succession of presentable opportunities and struck the woodwork three times late on through Salomon Kalou, Claudio Pizarro and Joe Cole. Valencia, meanwhile, needed to win to have any chance of claiming third place in the section, but their inability to do so condemned them to an early exit from Europe this season.
Chelsea take control
Chelsea were in forceful mood at the start and as early as the fourth minute Frank Lampard crossed and Andriy Shevchenko forced a save from Santiago Cañizares, John Terry heading the corner wide. Sunny then failed to deal with Wayne Bridge's cross after a strong run from the Chelsea left-back but Lampard was unable to capitalise, while Cañizares had to hurry to keep out a fierce Shaun Wright-Phillips drive at his near post.
Lampard involved
Twenty-five minutes had elapsed before Petr Čech, surprisingly recalled after his calf injury, was called into serious action but the shot from David Villa demanded little even from a goalkeeper feeling his way back into the action. Pizarro came within centimetres of connecting with Paulo Ferreira's cross and Lampard then unleashed a tasty effort which Cañizares kept out one-handed. There were still possibilities as the ball rolled loose but Kalou's follow-up struck another blue shirt and spun wide.
Valencia threat
Valencia came more into the game as half-time approached but they largely failed to trouble the Chelsea defence with Villa seemingly struggling for his best form and Vicente Rodríguez held in check by the impressive Bridge, although Villa did cleverly engineer an opening that forced Čech to save at his near post. Chelsea responded and the persistent Shevchenko was unlucky to be thwarted before Pizarro forced Cañizares in action.
Changes made
Chelsea coach Avram Grant introduced Claude Makelele for Shevchenko at the break, and only five minutes of the second half had elapsed when Villa hobbled off. The pace had now dropped significantly and neither defence was seriously troubled, Pizarro twice wasting promising openings by straying offside before Lampard was withdrawn two minutes past the hour as Chelsea's thoughts began to turn to Sunday's trip to Arsenal FC.
Late excitement
The home team continued to press forward, however. Pizarro's header found the lurking Kalou but the Ivorian striker could only sidefoot against the crossbar. Two minutes later Kalou played in Pizarro but this time the Peruvian's effort was palmed on to the post by Cañizares. Chelsea's night was summed up six minutes from time as Cole drove forward but again the Valencia goalkeeper touched the ball on to the post to ensure the match finished goalless, leaving both teams ruing their luck.
Schalke 3-1 Rosenborg
FC Schalke 04 created history at the Arena AufSchalke as they swept Rosenborg BK aside to reach the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time.
First-half goals
Three first-half goals killed off the Norwegian side's hopes of qualification as Schalke got the requisite victory to leapfrog their opponents into second in Group B. Gerald Asamoah gave the hosts a 12th-minute lead and Rafinha quickly doubled the advantage. Yssouf Koné pulled one back to give Rosenborg hope but Kevin Kuranyi settled the outcome after 36 minutes with a crisp finish. Rosenborg will console themselves with a UEFA Cup Round of 32 spot.
Attacking bent
Schalke started on the offensive with Carlos Grossmüller and Heiko Westermann shooting tamely as Schalke sought the first goal of their campaign in front of their own fans. Rosenborg had promised not to sit back though and it was they that provided the first real chance of the game on eleven minutes, Marek Sapara's free-kick forcing Manuel Neuer into action. Seconds later the home side took the lead from a set-piece of their own, however, Gerald Asamoah guiding in Grossmüller's free-kick via a Roar Strand deflection.
Westermann error
Mesut Özil nearly doubled the advantage almost immediately as relief coursed through the Schalke ranks and seven minutes later Rafinha made it 2-0, exchanging passes with Kuranyi on the edge of the area and slipping the ball past the goalkeeper. Rosenborg had offered little in return, save for a Per Ciljan Skjelbred effort, but on 23 minutes, they reduced the deficit. Westermann was Schalke's two-goal saviour in Saturday's 2-2 Bundesliga draw at Eintracht Frankfurt, but briefly turned villain here as he misjudged Alexander Tettey's cross, leaving Koné free at the back post to hammer the loose ball past Neuer.
Kuranyi strike
Tettey almost made it 2-2 with an impressive header from the edge of the penalty area before Kuranyi, a scorer in Schalke's 2-0 win the last time these sides met on Matchday 2, restored the two-goal cushion. Fabian Ernst worked space before feeding Grossmüller who helped the ball on for Kuranyi to strike low into the bottom corner. Only a sprawling save from Hirschfeld prevented Asamoah making it four as the Norwegian side struggled to cope with the onslaught, yet they began the second period with renewed vigour.
Counterattacking threat
Steffen Iversen volleyed just over from distance but Schalke's back line, well marshalled by Marcelo Bordon, had little difficulty coping with the visitors' attacks and the hosts remained a real threat on the counterattack as Westermann tested Hirschfeld with a tricky curling effort. A set-piece looked Rosenborg's best route back into the game with Sapara bending a presentable free-kick past the far post, though no sooner had he done so than Grossmüller galloped forward to fire just over and was then unfortunate to see a drive deflect narrowly off target as Schalke looked to add some extra gloss to the scoreline. They did not manage it but the celebrations among the blue shirts at the final whistle suggested they did not need to.
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