Scorer: Julio Cruz 64

Red card: Edison Mendez (PSV) 28

Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 35,000

Julio Cruz struck midway through the second half to give Inter Milan a 1-0 victory over 10-man PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday and end the Dutch side's hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League.

PSV had Edison Mendez sent off for a last-man foul on David Suazo after 27 minutes.

A wild clearance gave Suazo free passage to PSV goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes and Mendez prevented the striker from opening the scoring with a professional foul.

Inter, without several players because of injury or suspension, started with five reserves but were never forced to play their best game and missed half a dozen chances before Cruz netted from close range.

The Italian club finished top of Group G with 15 points from six matches and were joined in the knockout phase by Fenerbahce (11), who beat CSKA Moscow 3-1. PSV were third with seven points and will go into the UEFA Cup next year.

PSV made a cautious start against the already qualified Italians but could not find a gap in the Inter defence and therefore resorted to long-distance strikes from Mike Zonneveld and Danko Lazovic.

"We knew it would be difficult to play against Inter with 11 players so with 10 it became very tough, though we still had some small chances to take a point," PSV coach Jan Wouters told reporters.

"It was a tough group with four champions but it is not a shame to finish third."

Mendez's sending off made the night easier for Inter but Cruz wasted three good chances before hitting the target.

"We played okay with this line up but for the coming match we have to see because there is always space for improvement," Inter coach Roberto Mancini said.

"My team is still developing but this is a different stage than the domestic league. For us both competitions are important."

Teams

PSV Eindhoven: 1-Heurelho Gomes; 24-Dirk Marcellis, 3-Carlos Salcido, 13-Alcides, 5-Mike Zonneveld; 8-Edison Mendez, 6-Timmy Simons, 20-Ibrahim Afellay (16-Ismail Aissati 64), 15-Jason Culina; 17-Jefferson Farfan (11-Kenneth Perez 62), 9-Danko Lazovic (19-Jonathan 84).

Inter Milan: 12-Julia Cesar; 2-Ivan Cordoba, 23-Marco Materazzi, 24-Rivas Lopez, 6-Maxwell (4-Javier Zanetti 86); 21-Santiago Solari, 36-Francesco Bolzoni, 26-Cristian Chivu (19-Esteban Cambiasso 68); 29-David Suazo, 18-Hernan Crespo, 9-Julio Cruz (37-Gabriele Puccio 75).

Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)