Immobile fires Lazio past Celtic and to brink of Champions League knockouts

Ciro Immobile shot Lazio to the verge of qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League with a late brace in yesterday’s win over eliminated Celtic. Italy forward Immobile struck twice in the final 10 minutes at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to move Lazio top of Group E, two points ahead of Atletico Madrid who were at third-placed Feyenoord late last night.
Lazio will be through to the next round if Feyenoord fail to beat their Spanish opposition as the Dutch outfit are four points behind the new group leaders. Immobile’s double, which took his all-competitions tally for the season to seven, confirmed Celtic’s exit from Europe’s top club competition. Brendan Rodgers’ side will finish bottom of Group E following the defeat which left the Scottish champions with a single point from their five group matches.
Veteran striker Immobile broke the deadlock of a tense match in the 82nd minute when Gustav Isaksen’s shot was deflected right into his path with only befuddled goalkeeper Joe Hart to beat. And the 33-year-old made sure of the points three minutes later, taking down Isaksen’s pass and shrugging off the Celtic defence before rolling home a neat finish. Any hope of a Celtic comeback was finished once referee Halil Umut Meler denied their appeal for a stoppage-time penalty following a review of the pitch-side monitor.
Shakhtar beat Antwerp 1-0 to keep hopes alive
Shakhtar Donetsk defender Mykola Matviyenko’s glancing header secured a 1-0 win over Royal Antwerp in Hamburg, Germany yesterday to keep alive their hopes of a last-16 Champions League spot The Ukrainians, who play in Hamburg, dominated the first half in the Group H clash, scoring in the 12th minute after Oleksandr Zubkov’s cross headed was headed in by Matviyenko.
The Belgians had chances but Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk made brilliant saves to deny Antwerp from picking up their first point in their Champions League debut season. Shakhtar are third but level on nine points with leaders Barcelona and second-placed Porto, who were meeting late last night in Spain, with the Catalans needing a win to secure top spot after losing 1-0 to the Ukrainians earlier this month. Antwerp host Barca on Dec 13 in the final round of group fixtures, while Shakhtar visit Porto.