The final round of the Uefa Champions League produced no real surprises and in the end the usual suspects went through to the knockout stages.

After their impressive showing earlier in the campaign, Werder Bremen and CSKA Moscow can feel hard done by having failed to reach the next stage. In the case of the German side, I think this was mainly because they found themselves in a very difficult group, and having to play the deciding match at the Nou Camp didn't help, either.

In Group A, Chelsea and Barcelona went through, leaving Werder Bremen to drop into the Uefa Cup. I think Chelsea and Barcelona showed their class in this group and deserve to reach the knockout stages. In any other group than this particularly tough one, Bremen could possibly have qualified.

An intense battle for the Uefa Cup place ensued in Group B, where Spartak Moscow had to win at Sporting Lisbon to secure it. At the top, Inter Milan started the campaign badly but recovered in time to take second place behind Bayern Munich.

Liverpool, the 2004 winners, had a straightforward run to clinch top spot in Group C ahead of PSV. This was to be expected in a group where Bordeaux and Galatasaray were expected to fight it out for the Uefa place, which eventually went to the French side.

Valencia made it look so easy in Group D, losing only the final match against  Roma, who themselves needed a to win to secure second spot. In the end, Roma's win wasn't as important as Shakhtar Donetsk could only get a point against Olympiakos to finish with six points and secure the Uefa Cup place. Olympiakos required a win in their final match to take third place and the draw means Europe will now have to wait until next year for the Greek side.

Lyon and Real Madrid had Group E to themselves with the French team finishing top. They conceded just three goals in their six matches finishing with a goal difference of nine - the best in group qualifying. Steaua Bucuresti grabbed third place, ahead of winless Dynamo Kiev.

Group F was probably the tightest group of all the with the team finishing last, FC Copenhagen, amassing seven points. This is more than Steaua Bucuresti (5), Spartak Moscow (5) and Shakhtar Donetsk (6) achieved in qualifying for the Uefa Cup. Manchester United finished top, winning their final match against Benfica, who dropped into the Uefa Cup, while Celtic, who won all their home games and lost every match on their travels, finished second.

A three-way battle raged in Group G between Arsenal, Porto and CSKA Moscow, which was won by Arsenal and Porto, with CSKA Moscow having to settle for third place. Hamburg were disappointing and the win against CSKA Moscow on the last day prevented them finishing with zero points.

Finally, AC Milan achieved top post with a match to spare - and therefore the final-day loss to Lille wasn't surprising.  AEK Athens had a great chance to secure second spot but their failure to get all the points against Anderlecht means their European adventure will now continue in the Uefa Cup.

What are your views on the group stages? Did the best teams get through. Send your thoughts to www.sportingo.com