Atlético perfect as Chelsea, Dortmund move up

Club Atlético de Madrid are on the verge of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 after a third victory on a night when Chelsea FC won at FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund beat Arsenal FC.

Four teams started the third set of games in Groups E–H on maximum points, but Atlético were the only one of that quartet to prevail. They triumphed 3-0 at FK Austria Wien, Diego Costa striking twice in his first Group G appearance after suspension. FC Zenit edged it 1-0 at ten-man FC Porto to leapfrog their hosts into second place, five points behind Atlético.

Schalke were joined on six Group E points by Chelsea after Fernando Torres scored two and Eden Hazard added a third to earn the visitors a 3-0 success in Gelsenkirchen. Basel are two points adrift after conceding with two minutes left to draw 1-1 at FC Steaua Bucureşti, now off the mark.

By contrast, a German side ended the 100% record of London hopefuls as Dortmund came away from Arsenal with a 2-1 win, Robert Lewandowski clinching victory with eight minutes to play. Arsenal and Dortmund are on the same six-point mark as SSC Napoli, who prevailed 2-1 at Olympique de Marseille, their third defeat.

FC Barcelona also dropped points for the first time but will be content as a Lionel Messi equaliser at AC Milan kept them top of Group H. Milan are two points short of the leaders and the same distance ahead of Celtic FC, who opened their account by beating AFC Ajax 2-1 to go third.

All these fixtures are reversed on Wednesday 6 November, while Groups A–D are in action tomorrow when Real Madrid CF could become the fastest team ever into the knockout phase if they overcome Juventus and Galatasaray AŞ draw with FC København.

Group E
FC Steaua Bucureşti 1-1 FC Basel 1893
FC Schalke 04 0-3 Chelsea FC

Group F
Arsenal FC 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
Olympique de Marseille 1-2 SSC Napoli

Group G
FC Porto 0-1 FC Zenit
FK Austria Wien 0-3 Club Atlético de Madrid

Group H
Celtic FC 2-1 AFC Ajax
AC Milan 1-1 FC Barcelona