Lyon strike seven to overtake Ajax

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUNDUP: OLYMPIQUE LYON staged an astonishing fightback to earn a 7-1 win at Dinamo Zagreb and reach the knockout stages.

The French side went through on goal difference after Ajax Amsterdam, who started the night three points ahead of them in Group D with a vastly superior goal difference, were beaten 3-0 at home by group winners Real Madrid.

Lyon fell behind in the 40th minute to 10-man Dinamo, who had midfielder Jerko Leko sent off for a second bookable foul midway through the first half, before striker Batefimbi Gomis scored four goals to lead their charge into the last 16.

Maxime Gonalons, Lisandro Lopez and Jimmy Briand netted Lyon’s other goals to inflict the heaviest defeat for Dinamo in European competition, leaving the Croatian champions rooted to the bottom of the group with no points from six games.

Real opened the scoring in Amsderdam after 14 minutes when Kaka beat the offside trap to put Jose Callejon in.

Ajax were unlucky when first-half goals by Nicolas Lodeiro and Vurnon Anita were ruled offside.

But four minutes before the interval Karim Benzema set up Gonzalo Higuain and Callejon made it 3-0 in stoppage time.

Vasily Berezutski scored a late winner as CSKA Moscow dramatically qualified for the knockout stages after defeating Group B winners Inter Milan 2-1 at the San Siro last night.

Going into the match needing a win and the Lille-Trabzonspor match to end in a draw to qualify, CSKA’s defender headed home with four minutes to go, seconds after Diego Milito hit the crossbar at the other end.

The Russian side took the lead five minutes after the break through Ivorian striker Seydou Doumbia, but dreams of progression appeared to have evaporated when Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso equalised within a minute.

With Lille-Trabzonspor ending goalless, CSKA qualify in second place with eight points from six games, two points behind Inter.

In Group A, Champions League debutants Napoli reached the last 16 at Manchester City’s expense after Gokhan Inler and Marek Hamsik scored in a 2-0 win at Villarreal.

Swiss midfielder Inler struck from 25 metres out in the 65th minute to settle the nervous Italians and Slovakian international Hamsik bundled the ball in from a corner in the 76th minute.