Manchester United will confirm their place in the last eight of the Champions League with victory over Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on December 9th following a surprise win by the Germans over Barcelona in Spain.
Trailing 1-0 to a first-half penalty from Giovanni, Bayern stunned the Nou Camp, levelling through Alexander Zickler three minutes after the interval, then grabbing a late winner through Hasan Salihamidzic. It takes the German outfit, who entertain Brondby in their next game, to within a point of Alex Ferguson's men, with Barcelona trailing United by four points.
Arsenal find themselves third in Group E, behind Dynamo Kiev and Panathinaikos, who recorded a 1-0 victory over Lens in Greece. The all-important winner came from Leonidas Vokolos after 53 minutes and could be vital in the tightest of all the groups.
A last-gasp header from Argentine international Diego Simeone earned Inter Milan a share of the spoils from their tricky Group C trip to Spartak Moscow. With three teams level on six points after three matches, Simeone's strike could prove vital in steering the Serie A side into the quarter-finals. Spartak had taken the lead in front of a partisan 78,000 crowd when striker Andrei Tikhonov drove his 68th minute shot against a post and Inter goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca deflected the rebound into his own net.
Real Madrid's clash with Group C whipping boys Sturm Graz was delayed 24 hours because of a waterlogged pitch. The Spanish side will regain group leadership if they take maximum points.
Graeme Souness' Benfica suffered the embarrassment of a 2-2 draw with HJK Helsinki in the Stadium of Light - and it could have been even worse. The Finns led at half-time, courtesy of a third minute own-goal from former Chelsea defender Scott Minto.
Benfica battled back and grabbed two goals in five minutes, through Nuno Gomes and Jose Calado before Luiz Antonio restored parity with just four minutes remaining. However, it all looks academic as Kaiserslauten went within two points of clinching the group title with a 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven, giving them a five-point lead.
Hakan Sukur was the two-goal hero as Galatasaray went soaring to the top of Group B with a 3-0 demolition of Rosenborg in Turkey. Sukur struck in the 55th and 74th minutes, either side of an Erdem Arif effort to take the home side two points clear of Rosenburg, with Juventus, finalists for the last three seasons, back in third.
Juve had to rely on a Mikel Lasa own goal to earn a point from their tie against Athletic Bilbao in the Stadio Della Alpi. Julen Guerroro had put the visitors in front a minute before the break.
Ajax, winners in 1995, gave themselves a great chance of reaching the last eight with a 2-0 win over Olympiakos in Amsterdam. Ajax join Olympiakos on seven points, with Croatia Zagreb and FC Porto trailing on four, following the Croatian side's 3-1 victory over their Portugese rivals.
