Champions League: Fantastic Four for Man-U, but Gunners falter

Manchester United and Arsenal booked their places for the knockout stages of the Champions League after last night's round of matches.

United demolished Kiev by the dint of their 'four goal' syndrome, but mighty Gunners failed to maintain their winning record as they drew blank at Prague. Elsewhere, Barcelona got the better of Rangers with an emphatic 2-0 win.

Sir Alex Ferguson was celebrating his 21 years at the helm of the Red Devils and he couldnt have expected a better performance from his side last night. He reshuffled his defence with the exclusion of Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown, and Gerard Pique and Danny Simpson took their places. The midfieid was given a different look with Darren Fletcher in place of Anderson, while Nani was back in the left flank.

United failed to create chances in the first twenty minutes of the game, but as they started to shift their gear up, they looked more menacing to Kiev's defence. It soon paid off when Pique converted Ronaldo's free kick 15 min before half time. Just after five minutes, the formidable duo of Ronney-Tevez combined to score number two for United as the latter claimed the plaudits.

The second half saw United spurning a host of opportunities in the goal mouth until the 76th min when Nani's pinpoint cross was volleyed home by Rooney. Ronaldo hammered the final nail in Kiev's coffin three minutes from time with a scorcher to score his fourth goal of the competition. The win secured a place in the last 16 for United and created a new record for their winning streak in the Champions League Group stage.

United's arch rivals Arsenal were also through to the knock out stages after a lacklustre stalemate with Champions League debutants Slavia Prague. There was an air of confidence in Arsene Wenger's side as they thrashed their counterparts 7-0 last time out.

Fabregas and Hleb took the day off, and his team B was rather introduced to the Czech side. Though his team B was good enough to score couple of goals in the likes of Walcott, Eduardo, Diaby, and Gilberto, the frigid night almost numbed their legs. They hardly created any goal scoring opportunites, and their counterparts had a rather decent game. They could have even grabbed a squeaker but only Almunia could deny them a late win. By their standards, Arsenal had their worst game this season yesterday which tasted as bitter as a defeat, but their impressive clean sheets continue.

Other British team Rangers failed to shock their opposition's fans as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona. The first goal was a dubious one, as Messi's shot was deflected off Henry's elbow and guided into the net. Messi himself scored the second as he slotted home the rebound off Ranger's goalkkeeper after he parried Ronaldinho's low shot. Rangers, though downbeat, still have a chance of qualification if they beat Lyon at home. and salvage something from their game away to Stuttgart.

Next round of matches on 27th/28th of this month will virtually decide the top two teams of the all the Champions League groups