BRUSSELS: Barcelona and Sporting advanced to the Champions League knockout stage while Inter Milan and Chelsea missed the chance to guarantee their places on Tuesday. A 1-1 draw at home to Basel was enough for Barca to qualify from Group C alongside Portugal’s Sporting, who beat Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 thanks to Brazilian striker Derlei’s 73rd-minute strike. Substitute Lionel Messi put the Spaniards en route to the next phase when he fired the home side in front in the 62nd minute, though Basel gave the Primera Liga leaders a fright with an equaliser from Eren Derdiyok eight minutes before the end. “It took us a bit of effort to get into the match and exert our superiority,” Barca coach Pep Guardiola said in a television interview. “But we have qualified for the last 16 and that’s great news.” In the other matches,...
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