PARIS - RETURNING striker Didier Drogba hit the winner in Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Romanian team CFR Cluj on Tuesday to see last season's Champions League finalists safely through to the knockout stages.

Chelsea's victory together with Roma beating Bordeaux 2-0 in Rome was enough to ensure Luiz Felipe Scolari's side did not suffer the embarrassment of exiting at the group stage.

However it meant they finished second in the Group A, which in theory hands them a more difficult clash in the last 16.

They will however avoid former manager Jose Mourinho's side Inter Milan in the last 16 as his team finished only second in Group B after being surprisingly beaten 2-1 by German side Werder Bremen.

Panathinaikos finish top after beating Anorthosis Famagusta 1-0.

Chelsea's Premiership rivals Liverpool, though, did finish top of Group D after defeating PSV Eindhoven 3-1 with young French striker David N'Gog scoring their final goal.

Atletico Madrid finished second after eking out a 0-0 draw with Marseille.

Atletico's Spanish rivals Barcelona still finished top of Group C despite losing with a largely second string side 3-2 at home to Ukrainian outfit Shakthar Donetsk.

Sporting Lisbon too already knew they would finish runners-up and rounded off their group campaign with a 1-0 win away at Basel.

The qualification of Chelsea, Roma and Panathinaikos completed the 16-team line-up in next year's first knockout round, with the draw on Dec 19. -- AFP