Real Madrid and AC Milan, with 16 Champions League titles between them, advanced to the knockout stage on Wednesday, along with Borussia Dortmund and Schalke to make it three out of three teams from Germany.
Nine-time champion Madrid held on for a 1-1 draw at Manchester City with 10 men, eliminating the English Premier League champion in the process. Also in Group D, Dortmund beat Ajax 4-1 to go through as the top team.
Seven-time winner Milan got a spectacular overhead goal from defender Philippe Mexes as it went through with a 3-1 win at 10-man Anderlecht. Malaga drew 2-2 at Zenit St. Petersburg to win Group C.
Schalke defeated Olympiakos 1-0 and Arsenal beat Montpellier 2-0 to progress out of Group B.
Paris Saint-Germain won 2-0 at Dynamo Kyiv to go through from Group A with FC Porto, which beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0. Zagreb still hasn't scored a goal, let alone earned a point.
On Tuesday, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk and Valencia also reached the knockout stage, while Chelsea was on the verge of becoming the first titleholder to fail to make it out of the group stage.
Chelsea's 3-0 loss at Juventus cost Roberto Di Matteo his job as coach despite leading the London club to the title in May. Rafa Benitez, who won the 2005 title with Liverpool, was hired to replace him in an interim role.
The goal of the day belonged to Mexes against Anderlecht.
Receiving a free kick outside the box with his back to goal, Mexes sent a perfectly executed overhead kick from 20 metres out that dipped over goalkeeper Silvio Proto and into the far corner.
The goal resembled the fourth strike by Zlatan Ibrahimovic against England last week. Ibrahimovic failed to score on Wednesday, but Ezequiel Lavezzi notched a double as Paris Saint-Ger-main cruised in Kyiv.
Germany forward Lukas Podolski also had an eye-catching goal in Arsenal's win over Montpellier that also featured Jack Wilshere's first strike in two years. The Gunners advanced from the group stage for the 13th straight year.
Podolski met Olivier Giroud's floated pass with a powerful first-time strike from the edge of the area in the 63rd.
Assured of a top-two finish, Arsenal will go into its last Group B game at Olympiakos a point behind Schalke. Both sides will want to finish top to secure what would likely be an easier last-16 match.
Chelsea turfs coach and hands reigns to Benitez
