Eleven clubs have sailed through to the round of sixteen of the UEFA Champions League, with five more clubs expected to join those who have progressed when the last round of group matches are decided.
English giants Liverpool and German powerhouse, Bayern Munich who have won the title six times each,1995 champions, Ajax of the Netherlands and Italian side, Juventus were the first four teams to progress on Matchday 4 of the group stage.
While Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, Real Madrid and Inter Milan joined them on Matchday 5.
Manchester City beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 on Wednesday, but both clubs qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League.
Gabriel Jesus tapped in from Bernardo Silva’s deft knockdown on 76 minutes to settle an absorbing match at the Etihad after Raheem Sterling had cancelled out Kylian Mbappe’s goal.
Pep Guardiola’s City, are guaranteed of winning Group A, while PSG qualified in second place despite the defeat because RB Leipzig thrashed Club Brugge 5-0 in Belgium.
Real Madrid took revenge for their shock 2-1 loss to Sheriff in Madrid earlier this season, as Karim Benzema scored his team’s third goal in Transnistria after David Alaba’s free-kick and Toni Kroos’ strike gave the Spanish side an unassailable lead.
The victory sent the Spanish giants back to the top of Group D, two points clear of second-placed Inter Milan, who also qualified for the last 16 after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 thanks to two Edin Dzeko goals.
Sporting Lisbon reached the knockout phase for the first time since the 2008-2009 season as they beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 in the Portuguese capital.
Pedro Goncalves netted twice as Sporting got the two-goal winning margin they needed to end the Germans’ hopes of advancing to the knock-out stages.
Dortmund’s campaign has been derailed by the continued absence of Erling Haaland with a hip injury and they will have to settle for a place in the Europa League.
Liverpool were already qualified for the last 16 going into their tie against Porto at Anfield and Thiago Alcantara’s superb low shot and Mohamed Salah’s sixth goal of this season’s group phase wrapped up a comfortable 2-0 win.
Atletico Madrid lost 0-1 at home to AC Milan after a dramatic late winner from Milan substitute Junior Messias, a defeat that leaves the Spanish side bottom of Group B.
Diego Simeone’s team must beat Porto in their final game on December 7 and hope that Liverpool win away against AC Milan, who sit just a point behind the Portuguese club.
RN