PARIS, Dec 11: Arsenal slipped up in their bid to top their Champions League group on Wednesday as they went down to rivals FC Porto 2-0 in their final group match.

While they ended as runners-up they at least avoided the fate of having to play against Real Madrid, coached for the first time by former Spurs handler Juande Ramos, whose new team eased to a 3-0 victory over UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg.

A double from iconic Real striker Raul ensured that Ramos, who was sacked by Spurs earlier this season but who replaced Bernd Schuster on Tuesday, got off to an ideal start.

It took Raul’s total to a record 66 goals in the Champions League — Filippo Inzaghi is next best on 64 and his club AC Milan are not in this season’s competition.

Juventus still topped the group after drawing 0-0 at home to Belarus outfit BATE Borisov.

Two players turned coaches who used to play for Monaco provided the match of the evening as Jurgen Klinsmann’s Bayern Munich forged into a 3-0 lead — thanks mainly to a double by Miroslav Klose taking him to five for this campaign — over French champions Lyon, coached by Claude Puel only to just edge them 3-2.

Victory ensured Bayern finished top of the group with Lyon in second.

Arsenal’s bitter Premiership rivals Manchester United fared better, drawing 2-2 with Danish side Aalborg, though it was Scottish champions Celtic that ensured Sir Alex Ferguson’s side topped the group by beating 10-man Villarreal 2-0 for their first win of the campaign.

Meanwhile, returning striker Didier Drogba hit the winner in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Romanian team CFR Cluj on Tuesday to see last season’s Champions League finalists safely through to the knockout stages.

Chelsea’s victory together with Roma beating Bordeaux 2-0 in Rome was enough to ensure Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side did not suffer the embarrassment of exiting at the group stage for the first time ever in seven Champions League campaigns.

However it meant they finished second in Group A, which in theory hands them a more difficult clash in the last 16.

Chelsea will however avoid former manager Jose Mourinho’s side Inter Milan in the last 16 as his team finished only second in Group B after being surprisingly beaten 2-1 by German side Werder Bremen.

Panathinaikos finished top after beating Anorthosis Famagusta 1-0.

Mourinho’s disappointment will have been Panathinaikos coach Henk ten Cate’s joy as another man with a former Chelsea connection — he was assistant manager under Avram Grant till being sacked in May this year — celebrated his 54th birthday in style.

Chelsea’s Premiership rivals Liverpool, though, did finish top of Group D after defeating PSV Eindhoven 3-1 with young French striker David N’Gog scoring their final goal.

Atletico Madrid finished second after eking out a 0-0 draw with Marseille, where the atmosphere had lightened considerably earlier in the day when it was announced that a Marseille fan handed a three-and-a-half year prison sentence for assaulting a Madrid police officer was to be released on bail on Wednesday.

Atletico’s Spanish rivals Barcelona still finished top of Group C despite losing with a largely second string side 3-2 at home to Ukrainian outfit Shakthar Donetsk.

Sporting Lisbon too already knew they would finish runners-up and rounded off their group campaign with a 1-0 win away at Basel.

The qualification of Chelsea, Roma and Panathinaikos completed the 16-team line-up in next year’s first knockout round, with the draw on Dec 19.

Results:

Played on Wednesday:

Group E

Manchester United 2 Aalborg 2

Celtic 2 Villarreal 0

Group F

Steaua Bucharest 0 Fiorentina 1

Lyon 2 Bayern Munich 3

Group G

FC Porto 2 Arsenal 0

Dynamo Kiev 1 Fenerbahce 0

Group H

Juventus 0 BATE Borisov 0

Real Madrid 3 Zenit Saint-Petersburg 0

Played on Tuesday:

Group A

Chelsea 2 CFR Cluj 1

AS Roma 2 Bordeaux 0

Group B

Panathinaikos 1 Anorthosis 0

Werder Bremen 2 Inter Milan 1

Group C

Basel 0 Sporting Lisbon 1

Barcelona 2 Shakhtar 3

Group D

PSV Eindhoven 1 Liverpool 3

Marseille 0 Atletico Madrid 0—AFP