Celta's joy was Bruges's misery as despite an excellent 2-1 defeat of Dutch giants Ajax the Belgian side finished a point adrift of the Spaniards and can feel aggrieved at missing out on the lucrative knockout stages even though they have a UEFA Cup place as consolation.

Elsewhere Manchester United's Dutch marksman Ruud van Nistelrooy equalled legendary Red Devils striker Denis Law's European record of 28 goals as the English champions beat VfB Stuttgart 2-0 and won Group E.

Ajax were not the only giant to miss out on further European competition this season as Lazio went down 1-0 to Sparta Prague to finish bottom of Group G - the Czechs' delight was doubled with the news they had leapfrogged Besiktas into second after Chelsea defeated the Turks 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen.

Scottish champions Rangers too missed out on a UEFA Cup spot. Needing just a point at home to Greek side Panathinaikos they allowed a 1-0 lead to turn into a 3-1 home defeat.

A weakened Real Madrid side held Porto 1-1 but the result was academic as both had already qualified for the last 16 - Marseille took the UEFA Cup spot and probably saved coach Alain Perrin's job for the moment as a 1-1 draw with Partizan Belgrade gave them third in Group F.

However AC Milan's decision to go with a second-string side albeit with players of the quality of Rui Costa and Brazilian Kaka will probably have the biggest fallout.

Kaka gave them the lead with a stunning strike but terrible defending on two occasions allowed Celta to secure their place in the last 16 as Jesuli and Ignacio scored - Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti compounded the controversial decision of the starting XI by taking off a further three players at half-time.

"We made a few changes and instead of improving things we played worse," said Ancelotti.

"We took Alessandro Costacurta off and changed from a back four to a back three without much effect. Our wing-backs didn't get forward enough and we came under a lot of pressure."

Van Nistelrooy headed home his record-equalling goal in first half stoppage time.

He then set up Ryan Giggs for United's second to ensure Sir Alex Ferguson's side will be seeded for Friday's draw for the knockout phase.

The Dutchman said he was moved to have been placed on the same pnatheon as Law.

"That's fantastic," said van Nistelrooy.

"I am proud to be level with a player like him and I couldn't imagine how quickly it would come as I have only been here two-and-a-half years.

"I don't know why I am so effective in the Champions League but I think there is a bit of a difference between the Champions League and other games and we have played a lot of good games in it and I am usually at the end of the good work."

Marek Kincl scored the decisive goal for Sparta Prague in stoppage-time, outjumping Angelo Peruzzi in the Lazio goal to head Karel Poborsky's chipped free-kick into an unguarded net and left the Italians without even a UEFA Cup place.

Lazio coach Roberto Mancini blamed his side's profligacy for their exit which has cost the cash-strapped club dear.

"We are sorry because we had the game in our hands and wasted an incredible number of chances," he said. "We really needed more concentration."

At Ibrox, Panthinaikos stormed back after Michael Mols had scored for Rangers and eased home thanks to fine strikes by Raimondas Zutautas, Angelos Basinas and Michalis Konstantinou making it a miserable second anniversary in charge for Gers coach Alex McLeish.

"We showed our inexperience," said McLeish. "All we can do is go on to the next game and be positive and not look back."

Chelsea had already qualified for the knockout phase of the competition but garnered another confidence-boosting victory thanks to late goals from Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and Wayne Bridge.

Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri said his side had thrived on the atmosphere created by the 51,000 mainly Turkish fans in Schalke's stadium which hosted this game after it was moved from Turkey following the bomb attacks in Istanbul.

"This is a big step for us. We increased the tempo to dominate the opponent and showed character with 50,000 fans against us," Ranieri said.

"I think step by step we are improving and that is very, very important knowing that this competition restarts in February."

With both sides assured of a place in the last 16 and Porto needing a hefty victory to knock Real off top spot, there was little urgency on a damp night at the Bernabeu.

Santiago Solari put Real ahead in the ninth minute after Luis Figo's run had opened up the Porto defence.

Porto equalised 10 minutes before halftime when Deco was bundled over in the penalty area by Michel Salgado, Derlei smacking the penalty into the roof of the net.

The second half was of limited appeal, as both sides appeared to settle for a result that left Real, nine-times European Cup winners and favourites again this year, assured of avoiding the other group winners in the next round.

The proceedings were briefly enlivened when a protestor handcuffed himself to the Real Madrid goal 10 minutes after the break and had to be cut free by security guards before being bundled away.

With little at stake, Real coach Carlos Queiroz opted to leave David Beckham, Raul, Ivan Helguera and Iker Casillas out of his starting lineup but there was still plenty of quality on show.

The 28,000 fans who braved the Madrid weather for the final group game were almost rewarded with a spectacular goal after five minutes as Real took up where they had left off in Saturday's 2-1 win over arch-rivals Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

French playmaker Zinedine Zidane, a surprise presence in the side given Real's punishing schedule, produced a precise pass for Ronaldo to collect and smash just over the bar.

The opening goal followed soon enough, with Figo the architect. The Portuguese forward carried the ball from the centre of midfield and passed out wide, with Ronaldo dummying the home defence.

Solari collected the ball on the right and worked his way back into the area to score with a shot back across Porto keeper Vitor Baia.

Real were looking comfortable but they showed little intent going forward and were punished when English referee Stephen Bennett gave what appeared to a harsh penalty for Salgado's challenge on Deco.

After the brief drama of the security breach early in the second half, the match reverted to its leisurely pace.

Figo and Ronaldo had both gone off at halftime but Real did raise their game for a brief spell in which Zidane twice went close with a free kick and a smart overhead that flashed wide.

Porto, not to be outdone, came close to snatching a win in the final five minutes, Jose Bosingwa forcing a great tip-over from Real's second-string keeper Cesar with a 30-metre blast.