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Barcelona, Inter Milan, VFB Stuttgart and Olympiakos occupied the final four slots of the ‘Round of 16' as the group stages of the UEFA Champions League came to a close today. While Barcelona and Inter Milan survived to fight another day from what was touted as the ‘Group of Death' with all four teams in with a chance of qualification at the start of the night, VFB Stuttgart and Olympiakos eked out wins in contrasting fashions to make it to the knockout stages of Europe's most prestigious club tournament.

Teams in Group E-H played out there final round of league games today to decide the standings leading up the round of 16 and the Europa League spots. With Fiorentina and Lyo n already through to the next stage and Liverpool securing third place, the only curiosity in Group E was about the top spot.

Yossi Benayoun's 43rd minute header gave Liverpool the lead and though it looked like the English side would fetch a consolation win, Fiorentina hit back late with two goals through Martin Jorgensen and Alberto Gilardino to take the top spot. Lyon on the other hand, drubbed Debrecen 4-0 to finish their campaign in style. With goals from Bafetemi Gomis and Michel Bastos effectively killing the encounter in the first half, the Hungarian club earned the dubious distinction of being only the ninth club in Champions League history to finish the group stage without any points on board.

While Lyon and Fiorentina progress to the knockouts, Rafa Benitez would now lead his team into the Europa League hoping to make a strong comeback next season.

Group F was a neutral fans delight with all four teams in with a possibility of making it to the last 16 as Barcelona visited Dynamo Kiev and Inter Milan entertained Russian giants Rubin Kazan. Barcelona were shocked as early as in the second minute when Artem Milevskiy connected to score off an Andriy Shevchenko freekick. Having shrugged off their initial lethargy, it was through Xavi that the Catalans equalised with the Spaniard producing a fine right footed shot. Lionel Messi then sealed the contest in the 86th minute with a superb free-kick from just outside the box as Barcelona kept the No. 1 place they had started the day with.

Inter Milan's game with Rubin Kazan meanwhile, was a fast-paced, scrappy encounter which saw a host of chances created by both teams. Both \though lacked quality in the final third and the deadlock was finally broken in the 31st minute when a fine Inter move resulted in a cracker of a shot from Samuel Eto'o, helped by a smart assist from Mario Balotelli. Balotelli then himself came to the party half an hour later with a beautiful free-kick to leave the result without any doubt.

VFB Stuttgart, playing their first Champions League game under Christian Gross produced an absolutely dazzling display to leave the Romanian visitors dumbfounded as they romped to a 3-0 lead in 11 minutes. Unirea Urziceni, who started the game two points ahead of their opponents, could never really recover from the initial onslaught and though they got one goal back early in the second back, the loss left them with only the Europa League to play for.

Frederic Kanoute on the other hand, converted an early penalty to give Sevilla a comfortable win at the top of Group G and bring to a close a miserable campaign for Rangers.

Group H saw Olympiakos continue their fine form at home as they won their third home group game to down Arsenal by a solitary goal. Needing at least a draw to guarantee qualification, Olympiakos got the goal from their prolific scorer Leonardo early in the second half. Though Arsenal enjoyed the major share of possession, Arsene Wenger's exceptionally young side (which included a number of Carling Cup and Reserve team players) failed to convert their advantage into a goal to give the Greeks a spot in the last 16 for a second time in three seasons.

Elsewhere in the group Jeremain Lens' 42nd minute effort was looking enough to put AZ Alkmaar into the Europa League at the expense of Standard Leige, before a dramatic 96th minute equalizer gave the Belgian club third place.

With this, an extremely entertaining group stage comes to a close and as 16 clubs from 8 European nations progress to the knockout stages, we are all set to witness another roller-coaster ride when the tournament reopens after a break in February.

Wednesday's Scores:

Group E
Liverpool 1-2 Fiorentina
Lyon 4-0 Debrecen
Points: Fiorentina-15, Lyon-13, Liverpool-7, Debrecen-0

Group F
Dynamo Kiev 1-2 Barcelona
Internazionale 2-0 Rubin Kazan
Points: Barcelona-11, Internazionale-9, Rubin Kazan-6, Dynamo Kiev-5

Group G
Sevilla FC 1-0 Rangers
VFB Stuttgart 3-1 Unirea Urziceni
Points: Sevilla-13, VFB Stuttgart-9, Unirea Urziceni-8, Rangers-2

Group H
Olympiakos 1-0 Arsenal
Standard Liege 1-1 AZ Alkmaar
Points: Arsenal-13, Olympiakos-10, Standard Liege-5, AZ Alkmaar-4

File Photograph Copyright: Friendshp