Soccer: Arsenal win, Chelsea lose

26 Nov, 2013 09:59 PM2 mins to read

Arsenal's Mesut Ozil runs with the ball during the Group F Champions League soccer match between Arsenal and Marseille at the Emirates stadium in London. Photo / AP

Jack Wilshere scored twice in a game for the first time to give Arsenal a 2-0 victory over Marseille, keeping the Group F leaders on course to qualify for the Champions League knockout phase for the 14th successive season.

The midfielder took just 29 seconds to put Arsenal in front after completing a lightning break against the bottom-place visitors.

Despite controlling the game, the Gunners squandered a string of chances including a missed penalty by Mesut Ozil and couldn't find the net again until the 65th minute when Wilshere tapped in his second.

Going into the final round of matches, Arsenal has a three-point lead over Borussia Dortmund and Napoli after the German side won 3-1 in the other Group F game.

Ten-man Ajax held on for a shock 2-1 win over Barcelona to keep alive its hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Champions League.

The young Amsterdam team dominated the first half against a Barcelona side that had already qualified for the knockout stages and took a well-deserved 2-0 lead into the break thanks to goals from Thulani Serero and Danny Hoesen.

But Ajax gifted Barcelona a way back into the Group H match almost immediately after the break when Joel Veltman brought down Neymar, earning the central defender a red card and Barcelona a spot kick that Xavi Hernandez calmly converted.

Ajax is vying with AC Milan on the last day of group play for the second spot.

Chelsea qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League despite losing 1-0 to Basel after a late strike by Mohamed Salah gave the Swiss side a deserved victory.

Chelsea has nine points in Group E, followed Basel on eight and Schalke with seven after the German side was held to a 0-0 draw at Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday.

But the fact that Basel and Schalke meet each other in the final round of matches means that only one of those clubs can overhaul Jose Mourinho's group leaders.

Salah sprinted clear of Chelsea's defense to clip a left-foot shot over the advancing Petr Cech and complete home and away wins for the Swiss team against the 2012 European champion.