Paris Saint-Germain and Porto on Wednesday qualified for the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 as Newcastle United bowed out of Europe after losing 2-1 at home to AC Milan.
PSG drew 1-1 away to Group F winners Borussia Dortmund to go through as runners-up after Milan came from behind to beat Newcastle at St James’ Park and eliminate Eddie Howe’s side.
Newcastle, who needed to win and for PSG to drop points to keep their first Champions League campaign in 20 years alive, took the lead through a brilliant Joelinton strike in the first half, but Christian Pulisic equalized on the hour and substitute Samuel Chukwueze broke Newcastle hearts with an 84th-minute winner, although it was not enough for Milan to overhaul PSG.
Photo: AFP
“We gave everything to the match. I can’t ask for anything more [in terms of] commitment, effort, physical exertion. Unfortunately, for us it wasn’t to be,” Howe said.
The French champions, in danger of a first group-stage exit since the Qatari takeover in 2011, fell behind when Karim Adeyemi scored early in the second half in Germany.
Warren Zaire-Emery came to the rescue for PSG five minutes later after Kylian Mbappe weaved into the penalty area, his pass deflected out to the teenager who advanced toward goal before slamming home a powerful shot.
Mbappe, whose PSG future will again come into sharp focus next month, had an effort ruled out for offside, but the point was enough in the end for the visitors, who finished level on points with Milan, but progressed thanks to a better head-to-head goal-difference.
“We’re far from the finished article,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “We’re going to have to prepare well and prepare better because bigger opponents are on the way.”
Porto made the round-of-16 at the expense of Shakhtar Donetsk after a 5-3 win over the Ukrainian side.
The hosts only needed to avoid defeat at the Estadio do Dragao to progress from Group H with Barcelona, and an early Galeno goal put Porto ahead.
Danylo Sikan hauled Shakhtar level, but Galeno netted again before Mehdi Taremi made it 3-1 to the Portuguese side.
An own-goal gave Shakhtar a lifeline, but 40-year-old Pepe eased Porto nerves with his team’s fourth and Francisco Conceicao then put the game to bed, with Eguinaldo bagging a late consolation.
“In Porto, we never play for a draw, even though that result also suited us. The manager said this match would be like a final and we had to win. Mission accomplished,” Galeno told CNN Portugal.
Royal Antwerp claimed a famous 3-2 win over Barcelona as George Ilenikhena netted a stoppage-time winner.
The Belgians twice led courtesy of goals from Arthur Vermeeren and Vincent Janssen, but Barcelona replied through Ferran Torres and Marc Guiu, who looked to have salvaged a draw before Ilenikhena’s heroics.
Manchester City became just the second English club to win all six Champions League group-stage games with a 3-2 victory at Red Star Belgrade.
Twenty-year-old Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb scored their first goals for the club, before Hwang In-beom pulled a goal back for the Serbian champions.
Kalvin Phillips scored his first City goal with a late penalty, before Aleksandar Katai struck a consolation for Red Star in stoppage-time.
Defending champions City had already wrapped up top spot in Group G ahead of RB Leipzig, who won 2-1 at home to Switzerland’s BSC Young Boys.
Benjamin Sesko and Emil Forsberg got the goals for Leipzig either side of Ebrima Colley’s equalizer in a frenetic five-minute spell in the second half.
Atletico Madrid sealed first place in Group E as Antoine Griezmann and Samuel Lino struck in a 2-0 victory over runners-up SS Lazio.
Celtic ended a 15-game winless streak in the group stage with Gustaf Lagerbielke’s late header earning Brendan Rodgers’ team a 2-1 victory over Feyenoord.
Luis Palma’s first-half penalty put the Scottish side on top, but their barren run looked destined to continue when Yankuba Minteh leveled with eight minutes left.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS