After his CSKA Moscow side had made the Champions League last 16 for the first time, trainer Leonid Slutsky turned to the words of 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche to sum up his feelings.

With key defenders Sergei Ignashevich and Alexei Berezutsky suspended by UEFA over doping offenses, the former Red Army side faced Turkish club Besiktas in Istanbul needing to better German champion Wolfsburg's result at home to Manchester United to make the knockout stages.

A first-half goal from Milos Kracis and a late strike from Yevgeny Aldonin made sure the Russians, playing with a makeshift defense, progressed with a 2-1 win, with Wolfsburg falling 3-1 to the English champions.

"I found out about the disqualification of Lyosha [Berezutsky] and Ignashevich a minute before Monday's evening training session," Slustky said after the game, adding that he had made no alternative plans for the CSKA defense.

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger," Slustky went on, quoting the famous phrase from Nietzsche's 1888 Twilight of the Gods. "There were 13 players on the field, not 11."

The two Russian internationals tested positive for a banned substance after a November 3 Champions League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford. CSKA have said the result was due to "the treatment of the players' heavy colds...and is not in any way connected to doping."

CSKA's win means they become the first Russian club to make the later stages of the Champions League since Lokomotiv Moscow in 2003/2004. Russian Premier League champions Rubin Kazan will look to join them when they play Inter in Milan later this evening. The Tatarstan side need to beat the Italians, or achieve a score draw of 2-2 or higher and hope that Dynamo fail to beat Barcelona in Kiev, to go through.

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti)