Dortmund crush Lokomotiv to keep hopes alive

Borussia Dortmund kept alive their slim hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League by crushing Lokomotiv Moscow 3-0 on Wednesday.

With one game remaining in the second phase, Dortmund, whose fate was already out of their hands, remained third in Group C, a point behind second-placed Real Madrid, while Lokomotiv stayed bottom with one point and were eliminated.

"I would have been satisfied if we had won 1-0 but 3-0 is better, and it was well deserved," said Dortmund coach Matthias Sammer. "We're not giving up."

Midfielder Torsten Frings put the German champions in the lead with a curling effort from 20 metres on 39 minutes and Czech striker Jan Koller doubled the advantage from close range just before the hour mark.

Brazilian forward Marcio Amoroso wrapped it up in style in the 66th minute, collecting the ball with his back to the goal before spinning to fire home from 18 metres.

AC Milan, who lost 3-1 to reigning champions Real Madrid on Wednesday, had already made sure of winning the group.

Dortmund visit Milan next week, while Real will travel to Moscow. The German side will go through if they win and Real do not, but the Spanish club would progress if they match whatever Dortmund achieve in Italy.

Sammer and his team are still stinging after allowing Real a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw in their previous game.

Dortmund, who dropped 13 points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga after a 1-0 defeat at lowly Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, set off at a high tempo right from the kickoff.

The 1997 European champions had threatened a few times when they came close to scoring in the 32nd minute, midfielder Sebastian Kehl's half-volley from the edge of the box hitting the inside of the post and rolling across the face of the goal.

The visitors showed little before the break but had a great chance three minutes into the second half with a deflected attempt from midfielder Marat Izmailov which Dortmund goalkeeper Jens Lehmann tipped over the crossbar.

The Moscow side were already 3-0 down when Lehmann showed his class again to keep out another Izmailov effort in the 75th minute and a free kick from substitute Julio Cesar with five minutes remaining.

Dortmund treated their fans to a convincing display despite the absence through injury of Czech playmaker Tomas Rosicky, while Lokomotiv clearly missed their suspended captain and top scorer in European competition Dmitry Loskov.

"I was afraid my message might not be heard because Moscow are not a great name," said Sammer.

"I feared we might take them too lightly but that did not happen and what the team did was just right. The fans were great, too."