Inter march on to add to Juve gloom

Juventus ended the year on a fresh low as they suffered yet another loss, going down 2-1 at home to Calcio Catania, to slip nine points behind Serie A leaders FC Internazionale Milano, who beat S.S. Lazio 1-0.

Late winner
Juve fans may not be feeling too festive in the coming days after watching their side suffer a fifth defeat in six games in all competitions. Catania were bottom before kick-off, having won just once all season, but they took the lead in Turin through Jorge Martínez, whose 23rd-minute penalty came after Nicolás Spolli's shirt had been pulled. Hasan Salihamidžić levelled for the hosts almost halfway through the second period, but as Ciro Ferrara's third-placed side sought out a winner, substitute Mariano Izco struck on the break with three minutes remaining to give visiting coach Siniša Mihajlović his first points.

Eight-point gap
With that result coming after the postponement of second-placed AC Milan's trip to face ACF Fiorentina on Saturday, Inter took advantage to give themselves an eight-point advantage to defend in the new year. The champions were never in danger once Dejan Stanković led a breakaway after 14 minutes and crossed for Samuel Eto'o, who beat Fernando Muslera at the second attempt.

Roma rise
Fourth spot now belongs to AS Roma, who nudged Parma FC out of the UEFA Champions League qualifying places by overcoming the promoted side 2-0 in the capital. Nicolás Burdisso put Roma ahead after 48 minutes and Matteo Brighi made sure of their fifth triumph in seven Serie A outings in added time, after Massimo Paci had collected a late red card for Parma.

Napoli sixth
SSC Napoli are now up to sixth, meanwhile, after defeating AC Chievo Verona 2-0, and one spot below lie US Città di Palermo, whose 1-0 win against AC Siena left the visitors rooted to the foot of the table. AS Livorno Calcio swept aside UC Sampdoria 3-1, while the matches between Genoa CFC and AS Bari, and Udinese Calcio and Cagliari Calcio, were postponed due to the weather.

United and Arsenal end year in style

Manchester United FC and Arsenal FC kept the pressure on Chelsea FC at the top of England's Premier League after both recorded comfortable wins on Wednesday.

Two-point cap
Chelsea had moved five points ahead of United on Monday with a 2-1 win against Fulham FC but Sir Alex Ferguson's side are back to within two as they defeated Wigan Athletic FC 5-0 for the second time this season. Wayne Rooney's neat 28th-minute finish opened the scoring at Old Trafford and Michael Carrick was set up by Antonio Valencia to make it two swiftly afterwards in another fine team move. Rafael added a third just before the break and Dimitar Berbatov got on the scoresheet before Valencia chipped Mike Pollitt to strike against his former club, who are only one point above the relegation zone.

Arsenal victory
Arsenal are still within two points of United, and have a game in hand, following a 4-1 victory at bottom side Portsmouth FC. Eduardo's 27th-minute free-kick deflected in off the luckless Younes Kaboul and late in the first half Samir Nasri turned in Aaron Ramsey's flick. Ramsey himself made it 3-0 with an excellent solo effort on 69 minutes and although Nadir Belhadj pulled one back, Alex Song headed in a Nasri cross to complete the scoring. League action takes a break in England this weekend as the top-flight teams enter the FA Cup third round.

Eight knockout spots left up for grabs

Victories for ACF Fiorentina and Arsenal FC on Tuesday ensured the duo joined six teams already through to the UEFA Champions League first knockout round, but the other eight names in the 18 December draw will only be decided on Matchday 6. uefa.com assesses the state of play; click on the group titles for full standings and fixtures.

Group A
Already through, FC Girondins de Bordeaux secured first place with Wednesday's 2-0 defeat of Juventus but second is up for grabs. It will be all to play for in Turin on 8 December, with FC Bayern München needing an away win to progress at the expense of Juve after closing within a point of their Matchday 6 opponents following a 1-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa FC. That ended the Israeli side's ambitions of earning a UEFA Europa League round of 32 place.

Group B
Leading at half-time, VfL Wolfsburg could have secured qualification with a point at PFC CSKA Moskva but a 2-1 defeat means their advantage over the Russian side is now just a superior head-to-head record. However, to finish second CSKA still need to pick up more points at Beşiktaş JK than Wolfsburg manage at home to Manchester United FC; therefore a win would take VfL through, as would a loss for the Russian side. United were already through before Wednesday but still need a Matchday 6 point to guarantee first place after a 1-0 home defeat by eliminated Beşiktaş JK. The Turkish side retain hopes of a UEFA Europa League berth; should they beat CSKA by better than 2-1 on Matchday 6 and Wolfsburg gain at least a point at home to United they will secure it.

Group C
All four teams began Wednesday in contention and only one issue is settled: FC Zürich's 1-0 loss at Real Madrid CF consigned the Swiss side to fourth. Madrid are on top and can only be denied progress if they lose 3-0 or worse at Olympique de Marseille, and AC Milan beat Zürich. Milan, two points behind Madrid but one ahead of Marseille, know victory in Switzerland would take them through. Marseille must beat Madrid to have any chance of progress as their head-to-head record is inferior to Milan, and should the Italian side win, OM would need to prevail by 3-0 or better. If Milan win and Madrid draw, the Rossoneri would finish top on head-to-head record.

Group D
With both teams ensured of progress, Chelsea FC secured first and consigned FC Porto to second with a 1-0 in Portugal. The UEFA Europa League berth is undecided after Club Atlético de Madrid drew 1-1 at APOEL FC to remain a point ahead in third. APOEL must win at Chelsea and hope Atlético do not defeat visitors Porto on Matchday 6 to overtake the Spanish side.

Group E
Fiorentina are through, and Liverpool FC out, after the Viola beat already-qualified Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 to move two points ahead of the French side at the summit. Liverpool, who cannot catch Lyon due to their head-to-head record, at least secured a UEFA Europa League place after winning 1-0 at Debreceni VSC. A Fiorentina win at Anfield on 9 December will secure top spot; otherwise Lyon can claim it by defeating Debrecen.

Group F
FC Barcelona began Matchday 5 in danger of elimination but ended it on top of the group after defeating previous incumbents FC Internazionale Milano 2-0. Inter and FC Rubin Kazan are two points behind with FC Dynamo Kyiv one further back. All four can still progress, although Barça can afford to lose by a two-goal scoreline other than 2-0 at Dynamo. The Ukrainian club must win 2-0 or by three goals to ensure progress, unless Inter and Rubin draw in which case any victory would be enough. Inter and Rubin both need a win to advance, though if Dynamo do not pick up maximum points, a 0-0 or 1-1 draw would do for Inter, and any other draw would take Rubin through.

Group G
A first home win in UEFA competition, 1-0 against already-qualified Sevilla FC, has put debutants FC Unirea Urziceni on the brink of the last 16. Two points behind Sevilla in second but the same distance ahead of VfB Stuttgart, Unirea require a draw in Germany to progress. Stuttgart must win to go through, though both they and Unirea are at least ensured a UEFA Europa League slot after Rangers FC lost 2-0 at home to VfB. Sevilla will finish first if they draw with Rangers.

Group H
A 2-0 defeat of R. Standard de Liège took Arsenal through as group winners. That loss for the Belgian side, coupled with second-placed Olympiacos FC drawing 0-0 against eliminated AZ Alkmaar, moved the Greek titleholders three clear of Standard. A home draw with Arsenal on Matchday 6 will send Olympiacos through, otherwise Standard would overtake them on head-to-head record by beating AZ. Out of UEFA Champions League contention, the Dutch outfit will earn a place in the UEFA Europa League place should they defeat Standard.

Marchionni to miss Anfield encounter

Winger Marco Marchionni will miss ACF Fiorentina's final Group E game at Liverpool FC with a thigh problem, while tests have ruled out more serious injuries for Dario Dainelli and Juan Vargas.

Short absence
The 29-year-old Marchionni, who has scored three goals in Serie A and one more in his four UEFA Champions League appearances this season, has been ruled out for seven to ten days with a tear to his left thigh. The summer signing from Juventus was taken off 17 minutes into Sunday's 1-0 defeat at FC Internazionale Milano in Serie A. Peruvian international Vargas, meanwhile, has not fractured a bone in his foot, as the club had feared, while Dainelli's hip problem is less serious than suspected and he could even be available for Sunday's league game against Atalanta BC. Fiorentina have already qualified for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League and are two points clear of Olympique Lyonnais at the top of the section going into Matchday 6.

Marchionni to miss Anfield encounter

Winger Marco Marchionni will miss ACF Fiorentina's final Group E game at Liverpool FC with a thigh problem, while tests have ruled out more serious injuries for Dario Dainelli and Juan Vargas.

Short absence
The 29-year-old Marchionni, who has scored three goals in Serie A and one more in his four UEFA Champions League appearances this season, has been ruled out for seven to ten days with a tear to his left thigh. The summer signing from Juventus was taken off 17 minutes into Sunday's 1-0 defeat at FC Internazionale Milano in Serie A. Peruvian international Vargas, meanwhile, has not fractured a bone in his foot, as the club had feared, while Dainelli's hip problem is less serious than suspected and he could even be available for Sunday's league game against Atalanta BC. Fiorentina have already qualified for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League and are two points clear of Olympique Lyonnais at the top of the section going into Matchday 6.

Australia, Japan and Indonesia in easy wins

JAKARTA: Australia and Japan kept up their momentum in the Group F qualifiers for the AFC U-19 Championship 2010 with big wins on Thursday here at the Sri Jalak Harupat Stadium.

Australia steamrollered Singapore 8-0 while Japan easily beat Hong Kong 3-0. Hosts Indonesia recorded their first win, a stylish 6-0 demolition of Chinese Taipei.

Ben Kantarovski scored a brace for the Australians who had six other players joining the goal-fest.

For Japan, Sakai Gotoku doubled up and Nagai Ryo contributed a solitary goal.

The main goal-getters for Indonesia were Syamsir Alam and Alan Martha, both of whom hit two goals each.

The top two teams from each of the seven groups, along with the two best third-placed sides, qualify for next year's finals.

Late goals resurrect faltering Inter

Destined for the bottom of Group F with four minutes remaining as they trailed FC Dynamo Kyiv 1-0, FC Internazionale Milano were travelling to the summit by full time as goals from Diego Milito and the excellent Wesley Sneijder earned a dramatic win.

Late drama
If the Ukrainian side ended the night at the foot of the section, for a long time they had been destined for the top after former AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko's goal midway through the first half. The Nerazzurri squandered a host of chances but just as their campaign was ebbing away, Sneijder slipped Milito through and the Argentinian coolly slotted in. It was an opportune moment to register his first UEFA Champions League goal, and three minutes later he chalked up his first assist of sorts. Stanislav Bogush was unable to gather Sulley Muntari's low effort and though the goalkeeper kept out Milito from the angle, Sneijder pounced to bundle in the loose ball.

Inevitable breakthrough
The Dutchman had come close to breaking the deadlock two minutes in when his attempt skimmed the bar, yet in freezing Ukraine it was the locals, and the lively Andriy Yarmolenko, who wrested control and on 21 minutes they were ahead. There was some inevitability about the scorer, as Shevchenko collected Artem Milevskiy's flick on his chest on the edge of the area and looped a volley off Esteban Cambiasso and over Júlio César. It was his fourth goal against the Nerazzurri in the UEFA Champions League, his 15th overall. Coach José Mourinho cut a worried figure on the touchline as Dynamo threatened to enhance their lead on the counterattack.

Golden chance
Still, on 35 minutes, Milito had a golden chance to haul his team level. Having finally escaped the attentions of Yevgen Khacheridi, he played a slick one-two with Dejan Stanković but shot straight at Bogush. Valeri Gazzaev's men were soon back on the attack and after Milevskiy had been brought down by Lucio on the stroke of half-time, Shevchenko's free-kick was deflected wide. Mourinho had seen enough, making a double change at the break: Mario Balotelli and Thiago Motta coming on for Cristian Chivu and Cambiasso.

Dominating possession
Set-pieces still looked Inter's best hope as Walter Samuel headed just wide from Sneijder's delivery, and the Serie A titleholders began to boss possession. Yet if Inter needed any reminder of their opponents' quality, Miloš Ninković supplied it on the hour when his shot rippled the side-netting. Back the away side came and they should have equalised four minutes later when Samuel Eto'o steered his header wide of a gaping net after Bogush charged out for and missed Sneijder's corner.

Great chances
The keeper redeemed himself, however, tipping Eto'o's next header on to the post after another Sneijder set-piece and then doing enough to force Balotelli to clip wide after being released by Eto'o's exquisite through ball. The Cameroonian striker again nodded wide but just as previously winless Inter appeared set to pay for their missed opportunities, Milito set up a thrilling finale that left Dynamo – who will be without Leandro Almeida on Matchday 5 through suspension – crestfallen.