体坛英语新闻：Barca, Chelsea, Inter march on as Liverpool held by Atletico

LONDON, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Barcelona are on the verge of the Champions League last 16 after a 5-0 win at Basle while Chelsea, Inter Milan also scored wins on Wednesday.

Chelsea players celebrate after the team scores on Oct. 23. Chelsea moved closer to qualification with a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Roma

Bojan Krkic made a double, and Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Xavi Hernandez were on target for a stunning performance by Barca which left them as the only team to maintain an all-win record after three games in the group stage.

    Chelsea moved closer to qualification with a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Roma and Inter Milan also looked set to advance after beating Anorthosis Famagusta 1-0.

Inter Milan's Nicolas Burdisso (L) challenges Vincent Laban of Anorthosis during their Champions League soccer match at San Siro stadium in Milan, October 22, 2008

Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid when Robbie Keane's opener was cancelled out by Simao Sabrosa, but the English side are still well-positioned for the knockout stage.

 

Atletico Madrid's Simao celebrates with his team mate Maniche, after scoring a goal during their Champions League soccer match against Liverpool, in Madrid October 22, 2008

The result put the two teams at the joint top of Group D on seven points and PSV Eindhoven, which earned their first points with a 2-0 home win over Olympique Marseille, are left a far third.

    Lionel Messi opened the scoring for Barca in stunning fashion after just four minutes as he rounded off a flowing move by slotting home Daniel Alves' delightful chip.

    Busquets and Krkic made it 3-0 by the 22nd minute before Krkic grabbed his second of the night just after the restart in a swift Barcelona counter-attack.

    Xavi drove in a powerful fifth three minutes into the second half to pile the misery on Basle.

    But Barca coach Pep Guardiola said the win was not as easy as the scoreline might have suggested.

    "We will not let the result get to our heads, but it was important for the future," he said.

    "It is never easy and the players were always having to work and give their maximum but we did what we wanted to do, running the ball and playing well between the lines."

    Barcelona have nine points in Group C, three more than Sporting Lisbon, who won at Shakhtar 1-0 through a 76th-minute goal by Liedson.

    A late header from John Terry finally broke Roma's stubborn resistance as Chelsea, still without several key players, moved three points clear at the top of group A.

    Chelsea came closest to breaking the deadlock in a quiet first half when a Frank Lampard free-kick skimmed off the top of the crossbar but Luiz Felipe Scolari's side were far from their best.

    Cluj sit second in the group on four points after a 1-0 defeat at Bordeaux, who recorded their first win.

    Elsewhere in Europe, an Adriano header on the stroke of half- time handed Cypriot minnows Anorthosis Famagusta their first defeat and left Inter in pole position on seven points to progress to the second round from Group B.

    Cypriots are second on four, one point ahead of Werder Bremen, who played out their third consecutive draw as they were held 2-2 by Panathinaikos.