Fernando Torres scored twice as Chelsea crushed Danish side Nordsjaelland 6-1 at Stamford Bridge but it wasn't enough to save them from elimination from the Champions League. Juventus picked up a 1-0 win at Shakhtar Donetsk to secure its place in the last-16 and dump Chelsea into the Europa League.
(CNN) -- Chelsea became the first defending champion to crash out at the Group Stage of the Champions League -- despite thrashing Danish side Nordsjaelland 6-1 at Stamford Bridge.
The win was Chelsea's largest in the competition, but it still wasn't enough to prevent them slipping into the Europa League.
Rafa Benitez's side needed Shakhtar Donetsk to do them a favor and defeat Juventus, but the Italian team triumphed 1-0 in Ukraine.
That meant that Chelsea's victory was meaningless, despite the margin of victory.
It looked as if the Blues would endure a difficult evening when Nordsjaelland was awarded a penalty on 32 minutes.
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But Chelsea keeper Petr Cech saved well from Nicolai Stokholm to keep the game goalless.
Just minutes later, it was Chelsea's turn to miss from the spot when Eden Hazard's effort was saved.
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Any frustration around Stamford Bridge was finally extinguished when the home side was awarded another penalty following a handball and David Luiz swept home.
Fernando Torres netted a second on the stroke of halftime before Nordsjaelland halved the deficit through Joshua John.
But the Blues steamrolled the Danes in the second period with Torres grabbing his second, before Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar completed the rout.
In the end, it was Olexander Kucher's 56th minute own goal in Ukraine which sealed Chelsea's demise and Juventus' place in the knockout phase.
Both Shakhtar and Juve only needed a draw to progress with the Ukrainian side already guaranteed of a place in the last-16.
But the Italians secured victory and top spot with a hard-fought win.
Barca's unbeaten run ended by Celtic
In Glasgow, Celtic secured a dramatic 2-1 win over Spartak Moscow to secure second place in Group G.
Kris Commons netted an 81st minute penalty to seal the three points and ensure the Scottish champion leapfrogged Benfica.
Gary Hooper's strike had given Celtic the lead before Spartak struck back through Ari six minutes before the break.
But when Marek Suchý was adjuged to have brought down Giorgos Samaras, Commons blasted the ball home from 12-yards to spark wild celebrations.
Spartak's misery was compounded when Kim Kallstrom was sent off for a wild tackle on Commons.
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Bela Guttmann was a Hungarian Jew who transformed the face of modern football. He worked across the world, enjoying huge success in Brazil and Portugal, where he won the European Cup on two occasions with Benfica.
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Meanwhile, Benfica was left to think of what might have been after finishing goalless at Barcelona.
The Catalan side left out a whole host of star names including Xavi and Andres Iniesta, while Leo Messi started on the bench.
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Messi, who still needs two goals to beat Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals in a calendar year, did come onto the field after 58 minutes, but was forced off on a stretcher after suffering an injury late on.
But despite Barca fielding a relatively inexperienced side, Benfica was unable to find a way through and must now settle for the Europa League.
Bayern Munich share points with Dortmund
In Group F, Bayern Munich secured top spot with a comfortable 4-1 win over 10-man BATE Borisov.
Mario Gomez gave last season's finalist a 22nd minute lead with Thomas Muller adding a second.
Xherdan Shaqiri grabbed Bayern's third before BATE was reduced to 10-men when Denis Polyakov was shown a second yellow card.
David Alaba hammered home a fourth with seven minutes remaining, before Yegor Filipenko hit an 89th minute consolation.
Valencia was forced to settle for second place following its 1-0 win at Lille courtesy of Jonas' 36th minute penalty.
In Group H, Galatasaray pulled off a crucial 2-1 win at Braga to book its place in the next round.
Mossoró had given the Portuguese side a 32nd minute lead as Galatasaray's hope began to fade.
But top scorer Burak Yılmaz equalized with his sixth goal of the competition, before substitute Aydın Yılmaz hit the winner.
It was hard to swallow for Romanian side Cluj, which recorded one of the most famous results in its history to win 1-0 at Manchester United.
Luis Alberto's stunning strike ensured Cluj became the first Romanian team to triumph at Old Trafford.
But with Galatasaray also winning, Cluj will now have to fight it out in Europa League.
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Juventus secured its place in the next round with a 1-0 win in Ukraine courtesy of Olexander Kucher's 56th minute own goal. The victory also enabled the Italian club to snatch top spot from Shakhtar with the Donetsk side finishing second.
Gary Hooper and Kris Commons were the stars as Celtic claimed a 2-1 win over Spartak Moscow to clinch its place in the knockout phase. Hooper's 21st minute strike gave the Scottish champions the lead, only for Ari to equalize six minutes before the break. Commons fired home the winner from the penalty spot with nine minutes remaining.
Leo Messi endured a miserable night after he was forced off with injury during Barcelona's 0-0 draw with Benfica. The striker, who started the night on the Barcelona bench with his side having already qualified for the next stage, has scored 84 goals in 2012 and was hoping to break Gerd Muller's record of 86 goals in a calendar year which the former Bayern Munich and Germany forward set back in 1972.
Mario Gomez and Xherdan Shaqiri were both on target as last year's finalist Bayern Munich secured top spot in Group F with a 4-1 win over 10-man BATE Borisov. Thomas Muller and David Alaba were also on target, while Denis Polyakov was sent off for BATE.
Jonas fired Valencia to a 1-0 win at Lille with a 36th minute penalty. The Spanish club was already through to the last-16 before the game and will now look forward to the knockout phase.
Burak Yılmaz struck his sixth goal of the Group Stage to inspire Galatasaray to a 2-1 triumph at Braga. The win takes the Turkish side into the last-16 at the expense of Romanian side Cluj. Mossoro had given Braga a first-half lead, but goals from Yilmaz and substitute Aydın Yılmaz sealed the victory.
Cluj missed out on the last-16 of the Champions League despite becoming the first Romanian team to win at Old Trafford. Luis Alberto's 56 minute strike gave Cluj victory in United manager Alex Ferguson's 200th Champions League match in charge.
The snow in Zagreb was so bad that players were ordered to leave the pitch and wait in the changing rooms, while groundstaff helped to clear the pitch. Andriy Yarmolenko's 41st minute strike had given the visitors the lead but a 90th minute penalty by Ivan Krstanović secured a point for Dinamo.
Real Madrid's Kaka celebrates becoming the all-time leading Brazilian goalscorer in Champions League history after claiming his 28th strike in the competition to overtake Rivaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for Real Madrid against Ajax to register his 61st goal of 2012. Real eased to a 4-1 win thanks to a brace from Jose Callejon and a Kaka strike.
Malaga became the first Spanish side in Champions League history to take the field with 10 non-Spanish players in its starting line-up. Uruguay's Sebastian Fernandez, who is from Uruguay, was a constant menace for the Anderlecht defenders in a game which finished 2-2.
Zenit captain Danny stunned AC Milan by firing his side into the Europa League with a 1-0 win at the San Siro. Milan had already qualified for the last-16 of the Champions League after finishing second to Malaga.
Daniel Congre of Montpellier challenges Teemu Pukki of Schalke during the 1-1 draw in France. The point was enough for the German side to top Group B ahead of Arsenal, which was beaten by Olympiakos.
Carlos Tevez takes on Ilkay Guendogan of Borussia Dortmund during a frustrating night for Manchester City as it crashed out of European competition with a 1-0 defeat. City becomes the first English team to have failed to win a single group game in the compeititon.
Borussia Dortmund's Julian Schieber celebrates his winner against Manchester City as his team secures top spot in Group D. The Germans finished one point ahead of Real Madrid and will be relishing the knockout phase.
Paris Saint-Germain star Thiago Silva played a key role in his side's 2-1 win over Porto. The Brazil defender fired his team ahead after 29 minutes before Jackson Martinez equalized for Porto. Ezequiel Lavezzi's 61st minute strike ensured victory for the French.
Arsenal's Marouane Chamakh endured a disappointing night as the Gunners were beaten 2-1 by Olympiakos in Greece. Tomas Rosicky's effort had given Arsenal the lead but strikes from Giannis Maniatis and Kostas Mitroglou gave the Greek side victory.
During his time in Brazil with Sao Paulo between 1957 and 1958, Guttmann introduced the 4-2-4 system which Brazil used at the 1958 World Cup. Pele is pictured here celebrating after scoring in Brazil's 5-2 World Cup final win over Sweden in Stockholm.
Guttmann led Benfica to glory in the 1961 European Cup final, beating Barcelona 3-2. After arriving at the club from Porto in 1960, Guttmann immediately fired 20 of his squad before going on to win the Portuguese league title two years in a row.
Benfica faced then five-time winners Real Madrid in the 1962 final in Amsterdam, where Guttmann's side produced a famous 5-3 victory. Puskas scored a first-half hat-trick for Real against his former manager but it was not enough as Eusebio fired the Lisbon side to glory with two second-half goals. 
Eusebio was brought to Benfica from Mozambique by Guttmann in 1961. Under his guidance Eusebio would go on to greatness, establishing himself as one of the game's most talented players.
When Guttmann left Benfica after a pay dispute following the 1962 European Cup win, legend has it that he left a curse on the club. He is reported to have told the board that they would never win the title again. The following year, Benfica lost 2-1 to AC Milan in the final -- and suffered defeat in four more since then.
Before the 1990 final against AC Milan in Vienna, Eusebio prayed for forgiveness at Guttmann's grave but it did little good as Benfica lost 1-0. That was Benfica's last European Cup final appearance.
Many have compared Guttmann with Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho. The two are said to have shared many traits, including their man-management skills, fiery tempers and winning mentality. Mourinho's father, Felix, played against Guttmann's Benfica side, saving a penalty from Eusebio.
Portuguese club Benfica are nicknamed the Eagles and before each home game an eagle flies around the Estadio da Luz.
Despite being under pressure for much of the 2013 Europa League final, Fernando Torres raced clear to fire home in style and Chelsea the lead.
Fernando Torres does his best impression of Usain Bolt after giving Chelsea the lead.
Benfica hit back with 22 minutes remaining when Oscar Cardozo netted from the penalty spot after Cesar Azpilicueta handled inside the penalty area.
But with the game looking set for extra time, Branislav Ivanovic popped up at the death to head a dramatic winner and secure victory for Chelsea.
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New Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers brought in $40 million worth of talent in Fabio Borini and Joe Allen in August. The Anfield club has struggled on the pitch however, languishing in 12th place.
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas was a busy man during the summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Clint Dempsey and Mousa Dembele from Fulham as well as France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and Belgium's Jan Vertonghen.
Eden Hazard was just one of the big arrivals at Chelsea after arriving from French club Lille in a deal worth over $50 million. The Blues also brought in Brazilian playmaker Oscar and German winger Marko Marin.
When it comes to business, Arsenal is held up as a beacon club by many. It spent wisely once again in pre-season, attracting Germany international Lukas Podolski, Spain's Santi Cazorla and France forward Olivier Giroud.
Robin van Persie was Manchester United's big summer signing after he arrived from Arsenal. United also brough in Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund and Alex Buttner from Vitesse Arnhem.
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