Defending champion Barcelona finds itself fighting for survival in the UEFA Champions League after a 2-2 tie at home Tuesday night with English champion Chelsea left it third in Group A with two games to play.
Barca twice took the lead on goals by Deco and former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen but twice gave up tying goals, first to Frank Lampard, then to Didier Drogba in stoppage time.
The tie, coupled with Werder Bremen’s 3-0 win at Levski Sofia, left Barca in third place, five points behind Chelsea and two behind Bremen, the Bundesliga leader. Barcelona’s last two games are at winless Levski Sofia on Nov. 22 and at home against Bremen on Dec. 5.
Bayern Munich, Liverpool, PSV and Valencia all clinched berths in the knockout round beginning next winter with two group matches to spare.
Inter Milan improved its chances in Group B with a 1-0 win at Spartak Moscow. Argentine Julio Cruz scored in the first minute for Inter after Spartak was delayed arriving at the stadium because its bus got stuck in traffic and players had to take the subway to the game. The Italian champion moved into second place, one point ahead of Portugal’s Sporting, which tied Bayern, 0-0.
Despite its 1-1 tie at home with Olympiakos, Roma has all but clinched the second berth in Group D behind Valencia.
SCOREBOARD
Group A
Barcelona 2 (Deco 3, Gudjohnsen 58) Chelsea 2 (Lampard 52, Drogba 90).
Levski Sofia 0 Werder Bremen 3 (own goal 33, Baumann 35, Frings 37).
Group B
Bayern Munich 0 Sporting 0.
Spartak Moscow 0 Inter Milan 1 (Cruz 1).
Group C
Liverpool 3 (Luis Garcia 23, 76, Gerrard 72) Bordeaux 0.
PSV 2 (Simons 59, Kone 84) Galatasaray 0.
Group D
Roma 1 (Totti 66) Olympiakos 1 (Julio Cesar 18).
Shakhtar Donetsk 2 (Jadson 2, Fernandinho 28) Valencia 2 (Morientes 18, Ayala 68).