It was a night of shocks and surprises as some teams termed underdogs triumphed over the big ones in the UEFA Champions League round–off matches played Wednesday night.
Troubled Barcelona missed out on €2.8 million (£2.4m) of UEFA prize money, losing their last Champions’ League group game to Royal Antwerp.
It was a drama-filled conclusion to Group H, as Royal Antwerp secured an emphatic 3-2 victory over Barcelona, while Porto joined them in the last 16 with a 5-3 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
There was early action across both games in Group H. Antwerp, the group’s bottom side, took a stunning lead after 76 seconds when 18-year-old Arthur Vermeeren struck venomously beyond Inaki Pena.
Ferran Torres cancelled out the teenager’s opener 10 minutes before the break with a fine equaliser as Lamine Yamal became the first 16-year-old to register an assist in the competition’s history.
But Xavi’s side found themselves behind again when Antwerp capitalised on some sloppy Barcelona play on the edge of the box before Vincent Janssen excellently finished.
Barcelona thought they had saved themselves from an embarrassing result when Marc Guiu equalised in the dying moments, but it was ecstasy for Antwerp when George Ilenikhena restored the Belgian’s lead in the 93rd minute.
Porto and Shakhtar were fighting for the second qualifying spot alongside Barcelona and the Portuguese side took the advantage when Wenderson Galeno finished a scrappy move.
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- After shaking off the disappointing early goal, Shakhtar had the ball in the net when Danylo Sikan – flagged offside – tapped home in front of a motionless Porto defence. However, after a VAR check, Sikan was ruled onside and the goal was controversially given and the scores were level.
The home side were back in control just before the players headed to the changing rooms for the break, when Galeno fired in his second of the game with a fiercely hit shot from the edge of the box.
Porto put one foot in the knockouts when Mehdi Taremi added a third for Sergio Conceicao’s side, giving Shakhtar – who needed a win – a mountain to climb if they were to join Barcelona in the last 16.
Shakhtar threatened a miraculous comeback when Stephen Eustaquio scored an own goal, but 40-year-old Pepe restored Porto’s two-goal advantage with a scrappy touch from a corner.
Porto boss Sergio Conceicao’s son, Chico Conceicao, made sure of the result with a fifth in the closing stages.
Finally, Celtic Win as Atletico Top Group
It was a huge night for Celtic, who dramatically beat Feyenoord 2-1 to secure their first three points of this Champions League campaign, while Atletico Madrid claimed top spot in Group E.
Celtic, who were already eliminated from Europe, took the lead against Europa League-bound Feyenoord when Luis Palma converted a 33rd-minute penalty.
On their way to their first win in the Champions League this season Celtic had the wind taken out of their sails as Feyenoord grabbed an equaliser through Yankuba Minteh eight minutes from time.
However, Gustaf Lagerbielke gave Celtic a memorable Champions League sign-off when he headed home at the back post in the 91st minute.
There was a crunch tie for the top spot in Group E, where the already-qualified Atletico Madrid and Lazio battled for, on paper, an easier last-16 match-up.
Atleti drew first blood in Madrid when Antoine Griezmann scored inside six minutes, smartly guiding Samuel Dias Lino’s low cross into the net for his 14th goal of the season and fifth in Europe.
Within minutes of the restart, Atletico doubled their lead and Lino was involved again but this time he put the ball in the net – slamming the ball home on the half-volley.
Newcastle finish bottom on climatic final matchday, PSG Qualify
In a topsy-turvy night in Group F, Newcastle – who were once first and then second in the group, finished bottom following a 2-1 home defeat to AC Milan, while Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 with Paris Saint-Germain.
On one of the biggest nights at St. James’ Park in recent history, Newcastle were knocking on the door straight from the off as they searched for an early goal.
They came close to the lead when Miguel Almiron looked set to tap the ball into an empty net only for Fikayo Tomori to make an exceptional recovery tackle.
The roof at St. James’ Park was blown off when Newcastle went ahead thanks to Joelinton’s emphatic strike into the top corner.
Milan drew level through former Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic before Samuel Chukwueze broke Newcastle hearts with an outstanding winner with five minutes on the clock.
Over in Dortmund, Edin Terzic’s side and PSG couldn’t be separated in the first half which would have been welcome news over on Tyneside as Newcastle moved into second in the group.
There was even better news for Eddie Howe’s side when Karim Adeyemi kept his composure to guide Niclas Fullkrug’s cross beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma as the group leaders Dortmund took the lead.
As the nerves began to settle in Newcastle, a 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery threw spanner at works to smash PSG level following a wonderfully worked move inspired by Kylian Mbappe.
The game ended in a draw, which means PSG qualified for the round of 16 in second place while Milan drop into the Europa League.
RB Leipzig Top Group G
Group G in the UEFA Champions League was already settled going into the final round of matches with each team locked into their positions, making for a relaxing end to the group stages.
Manchester City had the group wrapped up and qualified alongside second-place RB Leipzig, with Young Boys heading to the UEFA Europa League and Crvena Zvezda bottom of the standings.
Leipzig wrapped up their creditable group stage campaign with a 2-1 home win over Young Boys.
The Germans thought they had an early lead when Benjamin Sesko produced a delicate finish, but it was quickly ruled out for offside.
The game remained goalless until the break but there were a flurry of goals early in the second half.
Sesko struck within five minutes to break the deadlock, which he finished with some distinction – turning his defender and drilling the ball into the top corner.
Young Boys were back on level terms two minutes later when Jean Pierre Nsame was allowed a clear run at goal, before squaring the ball for Ebrima Colley to tap home.
But they weren’t level for long. Another 120 seconds later, Leipzig were back in front when Emil Forsberg struck well across the face of goal to restore the host’s advantage.
In Group G’s other game, City remained perfect in the competition with a 2-1 win in Serbia against Crvena Zvezda, making it six wins in as many games.
Academy graduates Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb delivered for the reigning champions, with special goals either side of the break as City capped off the group stages in style.
Hamilton produced a delightful strike on his senior debut to put Pep Guardiola’s side in front, rifling the ball into the roof of the net from a tricky angle after taking two defenders out of the game.
Bobb, who has featured for City twice in the Champions League this season and five times in the Premier League, doubled City’s lead in the second half.
Just as spectacularly taken as Hamilton’s effort, he navigated his way through the defence before guiding the ball into the far corner.
However, it wasn’t a perfect night as the treble winners were unable able to hang on to a clean sheet.
Hwang In-beom grabbed a consolation for the Serbian side with a clean strike beyond Stefan Ortega in the latter stages to send the fans of the already-eliminated side into raptures.
In the final few minutes, City were awarded a penalty after some tricky play from Hamilton forced Nasser Djiga to commit a foul.
Kalvin Phillips stepped up and converted the spot kick to grab his first goal for the club in a touching moment for the out-of-favour midfielder.
Aleksandar Katai grabbed further consolation for Crvena Zvezda but Man City would hold on for the win.
(Mailonline)
