AC Milan and Brazil playmaker Kaka holds the 2007 Ballon d'Or trophy before the start of the Champions League Group D match between AC Milan and Celtic at the San Siro stadium in Milan yesterday. - Reuters
MILAN, Italy (AP):
FILIPPO INZAGHI became the top all-time scorer in European play, and Celtic advanced to the second round of the Champions League despite the 1-0 loss to AC Milan yesterday.
Inzaghi scored in the 70th minute at the San Siro for his 63rd goal in European play, moving him past former Bayern Munich forward Gerd Mueller.
Kaka started the play by passing to Cafu, who carried the ball toward the endline and shifted it back to a waiting Inzaghi in the goalbox.
It was Inzaghi's third goal in four Champions League games this season. He also scored both goals when Milan beat Liverpool in last season's European final.
Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez has the most goals in the Champions League with 58.
Milan, who had already qualified, finished first in Group D with 13 points.
"We have a lot of objectives this season and this was one of them, winning the group to position ourselves well to defend the Cup," Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said.
Celtic manager pleased
Celtic placed second in the group with nine points to reach the knockout round for the second straight season.
"We must be pleased to get out of that group," Celtic manager Gordon Strachan said. "I think that could have been the hardest of the groups. To get through is just wonderful for the club."
Benfica beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 in the other group game and finished third with seven points to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Shakhtar were last with six points.
Oscar Cardozo scored for Benfica in the sixth and 22nd minutes, and Cristiano Lucarelli converted a penalty for Shakhtar in the 30th.
Both matches were moved up a week to accommodate Milan's trip to Japan for the Club World Cup. Milan depart for Asia today and will have nine days of rest before the semi-finals of the tournament, followed by a possible final with Boca Juniors.
Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Man-chester United, AS Roma, Inter Milan, Sevilla and Arsenal have also reached the second round. The other seven places will be decided next week.
Milan rested their top defensive line and goalkeeper Dida sat out with an apparent stomach problem.
Zeljko Kalac played for Dida, while Cafu, Daniele Bonera, Dario Simic and Giuseppe Favalli lined up in defence. Milan could have won the group even with a draw, and Celtic would have ensured qualification with a draw even if Shakhtar had beaten Benfica. In the first half, it appeared both sides were content to stay scoreless.
"It's normal when you have two teams that can be content with a draw, there isn't much action," Ancelotti said. "We played very controlled in the first half and we pushed more in the second."
The best chances of the first half were a long shot by Kaka that sailed wide in the 26th, an effort that went right at Kalac by Jiri Jarosik in the 39th and an angled attempt from Clarence Seedorf that missed high in the 44th. Andrea Pirlo sent a free kick wide in the 47th and Inzaghi had his first look in the 49th but couldn't get a shot on goal. Scott Brown may have had Celtic's best chance in the 56th when he slipped behind Milan's defence but he kicked nowhere near the goal. Brown put another attempt on target in the 85th that Kalac collected. Inzaghi had another clear chance at the end but slipped just as Kaka was about to pass him the ball. Inzaghi holds a slim lead over two other active players on the all-time scoring list. Andriy Shevchenko and Raul are tied for third with 60 goals each.
