Stamford Bridge, Nov 27: Chelsea, tipped by some as possible winners of the competition, looked anything but European champions in a drab goalless draw at Stamford Bridge against Sparta Prague, although the point was enough for them to reach the last 16.
Sparta can still qualify as can Lazio and Besiktas, who drew 1-1 in the other Group G match in Rome to keep their chances alive.
Besiktas glimpsed the promised land of the knockout phase briefly after taking the lead with a penalty in first-half stoppage time from Daniel Pancu. But Lazio kept their chances alive with a 56th minute equaliser from Roberto Muzzi.
Besiktas need to beat Chelsea in their final group match to ensure they go through but will have to do that without home advantage after Uefa ruled the tie must be switched from Turkey to a neutral venue after last week's bombings in Istanbul.
Juve and Monaco, who did not play on Wednesday, had already qualified for the knockout stage which starts on February 24/25.


Bureau Report