Bad day for city of Manchester

In case you missed it, here are the highlights from Wednesday's UEFA Champions League action.

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Match highlights: Basel v Man United | Man City v Bayern Munich | Villarreal v Napoli | Zagreb v Lyon | Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow | Benfica v Otelul Galati | Ajax v Real Madrid | Lille v Trabzonspor |

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The big news

Four clubs (Basel, Napoli, CSKA Moscow and Lyon) booked their spots in the knockout round while five others (Manchester United, Manchester City, Ajax, Lille and Trabzonspor) were eliminated from contention. Four teams (Manchester United, Manchester City, Ajax and Trabzonspor) will get kicked over to the Europa League after finishing third in their respective groups.

Lyon needed to overcome a three-point deficit on Ajax, along with a goal difference of minus-7, to clinch a second round berth. After going down 1-0 to Dinamo Zagreb, the French exploded for seven goals (including six in the second half) and received some help for Real Madrid, who blanked Ajax, to advance.

The results

Basel edged Manchester United 2-1 at home; Manchester City blanked visiting Bayern Munich 2-0; Napoli shut out hometown Villarreal 2-0; Lyon thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 7-1 on the road; CSKA Moscow trimmed Inter Milan 2-1 in Italy; Benfica beat Otelul Galati 1-0 in Portugal; Real Madrid defeated Ajax 3-0 in Holland; and Lille and Trabzonspor battled to a 0-0 draw in France.

Match of the day

While Lyon’s amazing comeback was something special, Basel’s upset victory of Manchester United provided plenty of drama and intrigue.

United looked confident when they took to the pitch, but it wasn’t soon after the opening kickoff that they had the swagger smacked out of them. Marco Streller scored in the ninth minute, pouncing on United goalkeeper David de Gea's error to give the Swiss an early lead.

United dominated possession after that, mostly through the sublime Nani, but squandered several scoring chances. The loss of central defender Nemanja Vidic to a knee injury late in the first half compounded the English champion’s misery and frustration.

Basel pressed early in the second half, with Alex Frei forcing a brilliant save from De Gea. Frei would not be denied, though, and when he stooped to head home a bouncing in the 84th minute, it looked to be all over.

But when Phil Jones bundled the ball over the goal-line in the final minute of regulation, Swiss nerves became frayed. Fortunately for Basel fans, their side held on for the 2-1 win, denying United a tying goal that would have sent them through to the next round.

As Sir Alex Ferguson once famously said: "Football, bloody hell!"

Interesting tidbits

-- This is the first time since the round of 16 was instituted that fewer than three English teams advanced past the group stage.

-- "Tough first half an hour but patience is required now. Still confident." That’s what Michael tweeted after 30 minutes with Manchester United trailing 1-0.

-- Three teams from Italy are through to the knockout round (Napoli, Inter Milan and AC Milan), the most of any country. Spain (Barcelona and Real Madrid), England (Chelsea and Arsenal), Germany (Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen), France (Marseille and Lyon) and Russia (CSKA Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg) all have two.

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Upset of the day

We shouldn’t be too surprised by Basel’s victory as the Swiss side does have Champions League experience. But it’s fair to say that most pundits and fans expected Manchester United to win this one, or at least earn the draw that would have sent them through to the next round.

Goal of the day

Gokhan Inler scored an absolute cracker for Napoli, freezing Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Lopez with a long-range blast. But the nod has to go to Manchester City’s David Silva, who put the English club ahead in the 37th minute with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area that nestled majestically inside the far post past Bayern Munich goalkeeper Jorg Butt.

Save of the day

Lyon’s Hugo Lloris made outstanding back-to-back relfex saves from in close to deny Dinamo Zagreb’s Fatos Beciraj and Mateo Kovacic before Kovacic potted in his rebound in the 40th minute.

Burning questions

-- So applying the same faulty logic heard so often, does the fact that Serie A has the most teams in the knockout round mean it is the best league in the world?

-- Does the elimination of both Manchester United and Manchester City mean, perhaps, that Manchester isn’t the centre of the soccer universe after all? And to neutral fans, do you not relish the idea of both United and City having to play in the Europa League? Come on, admit it!

-- How many over-the-top, misguided and doom-and-gloom editorials can we expect on the "dire state" of the Premiership to appear in the English tabloids Thursday morning? What’s the over/under on that? Anyone want to make a wager?

3 stars

1.) Bafetimbi Gomis: The Lyon forward scored four goals and recorded the fastest hat trick in Champions League history, finding the net three times in a span of seven minutes.

2.) Gokhan Inler: The Swiss midfielder broke the deadlock for Napoli with a marvelous goal and was the Italian club’s most influential player over the full 90 minutes.

3.) Marco Streller: The Basel captain gave his side an early lead over Manchester United, a goal that settled the Swiss’s nerves and gave them the confidence to go toe-to-toe with the English giants. Basel never took a back step after that.