By Barry Whelan Dec 6, 2006, 22:44 GMT
Hamburg - Manchester United and Arsenal maintained England's Champions League charge while French side Lille also grabbed a place in the last 16 with a surprise win at AC Milan.
Manchester United's Paul Scholes (C) figths for the ball with Benfica Lisbon's Nuno Gomes (L) during their UEFA Champions League group F soccer match at the Old Strafford stadium in Manchester, England, Wednesday 06 December 2006. At right ManU's Michael Carrick. EPA/ANTONIO COTRIM
United came from behind to defeat Portugal's Benfica 3-1 at Old Trafford, while Arsenal advanced with Porto after both sides finished goalless in Portugal.
United and Arsenal join fellow English Premiership sides Chelsea and Liverpool in the last-16 draw which takes place on December 15.
United found themselves behind against Benfica in Group F after Nelson had put the Portuguese champions ahead in the 27th minute.
But central defender Nemenja Viduc rose powerfully to head home seconds before half-time from a Ryan Giggs free-kick. Giggs then headed home himself after getting on the end of a Cristiano Ronaldo cross in the 61st minute and Louis Saha headed a third 15 minutes from time.
Benfica, who needed a win to go through, have the consolation of a place in the UEFA Cup.
The win put United top of the group after Copenhagen downed Scottish side Celtic - already assured of qualifying - 3-1 thanks to first-half goals from Atiba Hutchinson and Jesper Gronkjaer and one after the break from Markus Allback.
Arsenal and Porto, who both needed a point to progress from Group G, ended goalless, while CSKA Moscow were left trailing in third after a 3-2 defeat at SV Hamburg.
Ivica Olic from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute and Yuriy Zhirkova with fine solo run and shot in the 65th were on target for the visitors while Besart Berisha netted for Hamburg in the 28th, midfielder Rafael van der Vaart equalized six minutes from time and late substitute Boubacar Sanogo struck a last-minute winner.
It was an emotional first Champions League win for Hamburg after five straight defeats and provides a breather for beleaguered coach Thomas Doll.
But there was one blot for the struggling Germans when defender Thimotee Atouba was shown the red card for making offensive gestures to fans after he had been substituted some 20 minutes from the end. It was the eighth red card for Hamburg this season.
In Group H, Lille upset AC Milan 2-0 to secure second place behind the Italians in the group, Peter Odemwingie netting in the 7th minute and Kader Keita hitting a second in the 67th.
Lille leapfrogged AEK Athens who came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Anderlecht but will now have to make do with a UEFA Cup berth.
Brazilian striker Ronaldo struck two goals in the last four minutes, one from the penalty spot, as Real Madrid came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Dynamo Kiev for whom Maksim Shatskikh notched a first-half brace.
Real were already assured of a last-16 place from Group E behind French side Lyon who were held 1-1 at home by Steaua Bucharest.
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