Inter Milan and Barcelona avoided early upsets in the Champions to reach the knockout phase with victories over Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Kiev respectively on Wednesday. Italian champions Inter, who needed a win to guarantee their progress, defeated Russia's Kazan at home 2-0 to book a last-16 berth. They took the lead on the half hour mark when Mario Balotelli cut the ball back to Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o, who smashed home with a powerful left-foot shot. Balotelli turned from provider to scorer to wrap up the precious victory on 64 minutes with a sublime swerving free kick. Inter finished second in Group F with nine points, two behind leaders and defending champions Barcelona who advanced to the next round with a 2-1 comeback win at Ukraine's Kiev. Kiev stunned the Spanish giants after just two minutes when Artem Milevskiy converted Andriy Shevchenko's cross from close range, with the ball squirming under the body of Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes. In-form midfielder Xavi leveled the score on 33 minutes with a simple tap-in after being found by a low cross from Eric Abidal. Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi sealed Barcelona's victory four minutes from time with a curling free kick. Rubin Kazan will play in the Europa League, Europe's secondary competition, after finishing third in the group with six points. Kiev-Barcelona match goals Inter-Rubin match goals
