LONDON: Arsenal, Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk completed a heavyweight line-up for the last 16 of the Champions League Wednesday, shrugging off closing-night nerves as the final round of matches was marred by crowd trouble in Slovakia. Arsenal took the lead thanks to a Robin van Persie penalty but was pegged back early in the second half and needed goals from Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri to secure a 3-1 win at home to Partizan Belgrade and squeeze through in second spot in Group H. Shakhtar kept Braga at bay before striking twice in the second half for a 2-0 home win that was enough for them to take first place ahead of Arsenal, while Roma held on for a drab 1-1 draw at CFR Cluj to qualify behind Bayern Munich in Group F. Surprises were thin on the ground in the group phase and the draw for the last 16, to be held on Dec. 17, will feature the might of European club soccer. Absent from the draw will be Zilina and Spartak Moscow, whose Group F game in Slovakia was held up for 20 minutes when fans launched a firecracker on to the pitch. Bayern, Chelsea, Olympique Marseille, Real Madrid and AC Milan had already secured their places heading into Wednesday's final matches. Chelsea, going through a sticky patch in the Premier League, were beaten 1-0 at Olympique Marseille through a Brandao goal nine minutes from time but while the result may provide further concerns for coach Carlo Ancelotti it had no bearing on Group F. The English side was already assured of qualifying top ahead of its French opponents. On the other side of the draw, FC Copenhagen claimed the last available place by beating Panathinaikos Tuesday. Already qualified for the last 16 from Groups A-D were Tottenham Hotspur, holder Inter Milan, Schalke 04, Olympique Lyon, Manchester United, Valencia and Barcelona. The most emphatic winner on the final night of Champions League action before 2011 was Real Madrid, which helped itself to a 4-0 win over Auxerre in Group G with a hat-trick from Karim Benzema and one from Cristiano Ronaldo. The result snuffed out Auxerre hopes of a Europa League place, with Ajax Amsterdam clinching that with a 2-0 win away to a second-string AC Milan side in Frank de Boer's first game in temporary charge. Bayern also enjoyed themselves in a 3-0 win over Basel, Franck Ribery getting two of the goals as the Bavarians underlined their superiority in Group E. The competition returns with the last 16 knockout stage from February. Bologna beats Chievo Bologna captain Marco Di Vaio struck deep into injury time to give his side a crucial 2-1 victory over Chievo Wednesday in a match postponed 10 days ago due to snow. Bologna, which docked a point last week for having failed to pay its taxes, moved up three places to 13th and are now seven points clear of the drop zone.
