BERNE (Reuters) – Real Madrid and AC Milan were among six teams to make sure of their Champions League knockout stage places on Wednesday while big-spending English Premier League champions Manchester City were eliminated.

Paris St Germain, Arsenal and Bundesliga pair Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 were the other teams to qualify for the last 16 with a match to spare.

BERNE, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Real Madrid and AC Milan were among six teams to make sure of their Champions League knockout stage places on Wednesday while big-spending English Premier League champions Manchester City were eliminated.

Paris St Germain, Arsenal and Bundesliga pair Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 were the other teams to qualify for the last 16 with a match to spare.

TURIN (Reuters) – Juventus are poised to reach the last sixteen of the Champions League for the first time in four seasons but their erratic strikers could undermine their chances of launching a serious bid for the title.

Although their 3-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday was ultimately emphatic, Juve’s final pass was rarely up to the superb approach work of an Andrea Pirlo-inspired five-man midfield.

TURIN, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Juventus are poised to reach the last sixteen of the Champions League for the first time in four seasons but their erratic strikers could undermine their chances of launching a serious bid for the title.

Although their 3-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday was ultimately emphatic, Juve’s final pass was rarely up to the superb approach work of an Andrea Pirlo-inspired five-man midfield.

TURIN (Reuters) – Fernando Torres sat on the bench for all but 20 minutes of Chelsea’s 3-0 Champions League defeat at Juventus on Tuesday, yet still managed to take centre stage as manager Roberto Di Matteo contemplated the crushing setback.

Italian Di Matteo raised eyebrows when he left Britain’s most expensive but misfiring striker out of the starting lineup, a decision which meant that Chelsea began the game without a recognised centre-forward.

TURIN, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Fernando Torres sat on the bench for all but 20 minutes of Chelsea’s 3-0 Champions League defeat at Juventus on Tuesday, yet still managed to take centre stage as manager Roberto Di Matteo contemplated the crushing setback.

Italian Di Matteo raised eyebrows when he left Britain’s most expensive but misfiring striker out of the starting lineup, a decision which meant that Chelsea began the game without a recognised centre-forward.

TURIN, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Juventus outclassed holders Chelsea 3-0 at home on Tuesday, leaving them on the verge of becoming the first titleholders to be knocked out in the Champions League group stage since the competition began.

The Serie A champions could have doubled their tally with a more effective strikeforce as troubled Chelsea coach Roberto Di Matteo’s gamble of dropping Fernando Torres and playing without a recognised striker failed to pay off.

TURIN, Italy (Reuters) – Titleholders Chelsea were on the brink of an unprecedented group stage exit in the Champions League after being overpowered 3-0 at Serie A leaders Juventus in a rousing atmosphere on Tuesday.

Fabio Quagliarella broke the deadlock with a fortuitous goal seven minutes before halftime and Arturo Vidal capped another dynamic performance by side-footing the second just after the hour thanks to another deflection.

TURIN, Italy, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Titleholders Chelsea were on the brink of an unprecedented group stage exit in the Champions League after being overpowered 3-0 at Serie A leaders Juventus in a rousing atmosphere on Tuesday.

Fabio Quagliarella broke the deadlock with a fortuitous goal seven minutes before halftime and Arturo Vidal capped another dynamic performance by side-footing the second just after the hour thanks to another deflection.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Ralf Rangnick once suffered a punctured lung during an English non-league game, turned village team Hoffenheim into a Bundesliga outfit and led Schalke 04 to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Never afraid of a challenge, he is now attempting to return to Europe’s top competition with a Red Bull Salzburg team which made him fall asleep the first time he watched them.