TheCable

Moses Simon made history with his Belgian club Gent while Mikel Obi finally featured for Chelsea as the London club booked their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on Wednesday.

Brown Ideye, though, could only settle for a passage to the Europa League.

John Obi Mikel (Chelsea; group G): The midfielder came on as a substitute, four minutes to the end of the game as the English Premier League champions qualified as group leaders with 13 points after beating Porto 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. Following his bench role in recent games, the midfielder finally featured.

Moses Simon (Gent; group H): The club defeated already-qualified Zenit St. Petersburg 2-1 to become the first-ever Belgian side to progress to the knockout stages, with 10 points from six matches. The Super Eagles midfielder was in action for 88 minutes, putting up an impressive performance to help his team go through to the next round.

Brown Ideye (Olympiacos; group F): The striker was in action for 90 minutes but couldn’t inspire his team against a resurgent Arsenal side, losing 0-3. With nine points from six games, the Nigerian will now brace up for Europa League action.

Nosa Igiebor (Maccabi Tel-Aviv; group G): The Israeli club’s elimination from the competition was confirmed after failing to win a single game in the group stage, losing 1-0 to Dynamo Kyiv. The Nigerian player and his team will now focus on their local league to defend the title they won last season.