By PA SportsTicker
Two late goals from AC Milan denied Portsmouth a famous victory on a night that saw the Rossoneri secure their progress to the knockout phase of the UEFA Cup along with CSKA Moscow, St Etienne and Manchester City.
Ronaldinho and Filippo Inzaghi pegged back Tony Adams’ injury-ravaged team to clinch a dramatic 2-2 draw at Fratton Park, after Younes Kaboul and Kanu looked to have set the hosts on the way to three points.
The point turned out to be enough to see Carlo Ancelotti’s side qualify from Group E, after Braga twice surrendered leads to lose 3-2 at home to Wolfsburg.
The Portuguese outfit took the lead after just six minutes courtesy of an own goal by Ricardo Costa, and then forged ahead again four minutes into the second half through Albert Meyong - after Edin Dzeko had restored parity.
There was more drama to come as Zvjezdan Misimovic converted a penalty in the 83rd minute - and then struck the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
CSKA Moscow survived a late scare to become the first team to reach the last 32, with a 2-1 win at Lech Poznan.
First-half goals from Alan Dzagoev and Yuri Zhirkov secured CSKA’s third successive pool win and kept the Russians on top of Group H.
Semir Stilic’s long-range drive gave bottom side Lech hope - but despite their best efforts, the Polish side came away from the Luzhniki Stadium with nothing.
The other pool game saw Deportivo La Coruna run Feyenoord ragged to kickstart its campaign and dump its opponents out of Europe.
Alberto Lopo opened the scoring in the first half, and an own goal by Kevin Hofland and an Andres Guardado strike in successive minutes after the break gave the hosts their first points.
Goals from Benjani Mwaruwari and Stephen Ireland clinched a precious 2-0 victory for Manchester City at Schalke.
Benjani found the back of the net in the 32nd minute following a nice cross from Daniel Sturridge, who featured instead of the injured Robinho, before Ireland doubled the lead in the 67th minute.
The win put Mark Hughes’ side top of Group A, and their progress was assured later in the evening when Paris St Germain squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to Racing Santander.
The French side looked home and dry by the 31st minute thanks to goals by Mateja Kezman and Peguy Luyindula, but Sammy Traore headed into his own net before the break to give Racing hope.
A sublime long-range effort by Gonzalo Colsa in the 55th minute rescued a point for the Spaniards, who will need to win their last pool match - against City - to stand a chance of a top-three finish.
St Etienne qualified for the last 32, courtesy of a 1-1 draw at Club Brugge.
David Gigliotti put the French side ahead just before half-time, but they were pegged back by Ronald Vargas’ leveller five minutes after the interval.
Also in Group G, Valencia recorded their first win with a 4-0 triumph over Rosenborg in Trondheim.
The 2004 UEFA Cup winners deserved the victory, although the scoreline flattered them slightly - with three late goals from Pablo Hernandez, Ruben Baraja and Joaquin adding to a fortuitous opener, when Juan Mata’s header crashed against the bar before hitting Rosenborg goalkeeper Rune Jarstein and going in.
Olympiacos reignited their Group B campaign with a 5-1 victory over Benfica at the Karaiskakis Stadium.
In an action-packed first half, the Greek champions scored four times to lay to rest the memories of their opening defeat at the hands of Galatasaray.
Luciano Galletti set the tone when he fired the home side ahead in the first minute. Further goals from Christos Patsatzoglou, Diogo and Fernando Belluschi put Olympiacos well on top at the break - with Benfica’s only joy a close-range volley from David Luiz.
Olympiacos completed their night’s work when Diogo added a second eight minutes into the second half.
Gala’s qualification for the knockout phase was put on hold as Metalist Kharkiv sealed a 1-0 win in Istanbul.
Edmar’s late goal ended the Turkish giants’ perfect record in Group B, but goalkeeper Alexandr Goryainov was the visitors’ real hero with a series of impressive saves.
Tottenham took a huge stride towards the next round with a 1-0 win at NEC Nijmegen, courtesy of Jamie O’Hara’s early strike.
O’Hara’s goal at Stadion De Goffert gives Harry Redknapp’s side six points from three games, which should be enough to progress.
Ivan Saenko’s late goal handed Spartak Moscow a crucial win over Dinamo Zagreb in their Group D clash.
Standard Liege claimed top spot in Group C with a 1-0 away win over Partizan Belgrade.
Igor De Camargo scored the only goal of the game with a 36th-minute header to make it two wins out of two for the Belgians, while Partizan are now unable to qualify.
Stuttgart could not produce a win for new coach Markus Babbel as they drew 1-1 at Sampdoria.
The former Bayern Munich defender took over on Monday after Armin Veh was sacked, and he got the perfect start when his new charges took the lead through Ciprian Marica. But Paolo Sammarco equalized six minutes before the break.
Ajax all but booked their spot in the knockout stages as a second-half goal from Leonardo secured a 1-0 win in Hamburg.
The substitute struck in the 77th minute to earn his club a second win in three pool matches.
The other Group F encounter saw Zilina and Slavia Prague earn their first points with a 0-0 draw in Slovakia.
