Arsenal, Chelsea wins keep hopes alive

Arsenal winger Alexis Sanchez goes around Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper Eduardo to score his second goal on the night in the Gunners' 3-0 Uefa Champions League victory at The Emirates in London on Tuesday. Photo: Matthew Childs, Action Images via Reuters

Arsenal winger Alexis Sanchez goes around Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper Eduardo to score his second goal on the night in the Gunners' 3-0 Uefa Champions League victory at The Emirates in London on Tuesday. Photo: Matthew Childs, Action Images via Reuters

Published Nov 25, 2015

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Alexis Sanchez was the creator and finisher supreme as Arsenal kept their Champions League hopes alive with a 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in London on Tuesday night.

And Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea similarly stayed in the race for qualification to the last 16 with a 4-0 thrashing of Maccabi Tel Aviv away from home in Haifa.

Barcelona didn’t disappoint on the night either, putting six of the best past Roma at the Nou Camp in Spain.

Chilean international Sanchez scored two of three goals for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side at The Emirates, with German star midfielder Mesut Ozil netting the other.

Sanchez set up Ozil’s opener with a stunning cross from the left, which saw his German teammate time his sliding header perfectly to give the Gunners a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute.

Just four minutes later, Sanchez himself coolly finished from a Nacho Monreal cross.

Sanchez got his second with about 20 minutes to go, as Joel Campbell produced a terrific angled through-ball which saw Sanchez time his run perfectly to round the Zagreb goalkeeper.

The result moves the Gunners up to six points in Group F, three behind Olympiacos, who went down 4-0 to Bayern Munich in Germany on Tuesday night.

Bayern qualified for the last 16 with that victory to remain top of the group on 12 points, with Arsenal now second on goal difference on nine points ahead of Olympiacos. The Gunners have a better goal difference of three on their Greek rivals heading into the decisive group showdown between the two teams in Greece on December 9.

In Haifa, under-pressure Chelsea romped home against Maccabi, with defender Gary Cahill giving the Blues the lead after 20 minutes before second-half goals from Willian, Oscar and Kurt Zouma ensured the Londoners will hold their own fate in their hands to qualify for the last 16.

Chelsea are now on 10 points, level with Porto at the top of Group G after the Portuguese side suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Dynamo Kiev at home. Chelsea are ahead of Porto due to a better goal difference, five ahead of Porto.

They will fight it out for top spot on December 9 at Stamford Bridge in London, while Kiev, who have eight points, have an outside chance of qualifying as they host Maccabi in Ukraine on the same day.

In other matches on Tuesday, Barcelona thrashed Roma 6-1 to qualify for the last 16 as well, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both scoring twice, while Zenit St Petersburg were the other team to make it through to the next round as group winners after dispatching Valencia 2-0 in Russia.

Tuesday’s Champions League Results

Arsenal 3 Dinamo Zagreb 0, Zenit St Petersburg 2 Valencia 0, Barcelona 6 Roma 1, Lyon 1 Gent 2, BATE Borisov 1 Bayer Leverkusen 1, Maccabi Tel Aviv 0 Chelsea 4, Bayern Munich 4 Olympiacos 0, Porto 0 Dynamo Kiev 2.

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