Paris, October 23:

Chelsea, Inter Milan and Barcelona won to stay on course for the knockout stages though 2005 winners Liverpool only drew at Atletico Madrid in Champions League on Wednesday.

Following Tuesday’s 36-goal spree, Wednesday’s eight matches offered less in that area with only Barcelona’s 5-0 thrashing of Basel of note in the goal-scoring stakes. Chelsea’s 1-0 home victory over AS Roma kept them well on course at the top of Group A, Inter Milan thanked Adriano for their 1-0 win over Cypriots Anorthosis leaving them as pacesetters in Group B, while Barcelona topped Group C. John Terry scored for the Blues in the 77th minute.

Bojan Krkic scored twice as Barcelona cruised past Basel to keep their 100-per cent record. Lionel Messi, Sergi Busquets and Xavi Hernandez also scored for Barcelona which brought them up to an impressive 10 goals from their three victories.

Inter Milan were made to battle all the way by Anorthosis Famagusta. Adriano scored the winner late on in the first half to put Inter in control of the group with seven points from three games. The Cypriots did themselves justice, though, by hanging in to the end and they are still in a position to qualify for the knock-out stages after Panathinaikos and Werder Bremen drew 2-2.

Liverpool’s Robbie Keane had put the visitors ahead in the 14th minute for his second Champions League goal at Atletico. The 83rd minute goal of Simao was a blow for Liverpool although both they and Atletico have seven points at the top of Group D.

In the group’s other match, Marseille coach Eric Gerets suffered a nightmare return to former club PSV Eindhoven as the Dutch beat the French club 2-0 to keep their slim hopes alive.

It was a gritty double from Danny Koevermans that kept Gerets’s side at the bottom of the pool all but ending Marseille’s chances of progressing any further.