Man City, Leipzig into Champions League last 16 as Shakhtar stun Barcelona

Manchester City’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland scores his team’s third goal during the UEFA Champions League Group B second leg match against Young Boys at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on Tuesday. (AFP)
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Updated 08 November 2023
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Man City, Leipzig into Champions League last 16 as Shakhtar stun Barcelona

  • Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions have eased into the knockout phase with a perfect record, a 3-0 win over Young Boys making it four wins out of four in Group G
  • Atletico Madrid top Group E after crushing 10-man Celtic 6-0 in Spain to record their biggest win in the modern Champions League

PARIS: Holders Manchester City and RB Leipzig became the first teams to reach the last 16 of this season’s Champions League on Tuesday while Danylo Sikan’s goal allowed Shakhtar Donetsk to claim a stunning win over Barcelona.

Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions have eased into the knockout phase with a perfect record, a 3-0 win over Young Boys making it four wins out of four in Group G.

Erling Haaland followed his brace in Bern two weeks ago with another two goals against the Swiss side, with the Norwegian striker opening the scoring from the penalty spot midway through the first half.

Phil Foden got their second in first-half stoppage time and Haaland struck again soon after the interval for his 15th goal of the campaign.

Young Boys were then reduced to 10 men as Sandro Lauper was sent off, and City saw out a 10th successive home victory in the competition.

“People say ‘yeah, the group stage, it is easy’, but you have to do it. In life, you have to do it when people expect you to do it,” Guardiola told TNT Sports.

Leipzig joined City in securing progress from Group G thanks to their 2-1 victory at Red Star Belgrade.

Xavi Simons gave the German side an early lead with a lovely finish into the far corner, and Lois Openda made it 2-0 in the rain in Belgrade with his 10th goal this season.

Former European Cup winners Red Star pulled one back through a Benjamin Henrichs own goal but they are now left to fight it out with Young Boys for a place in the Europa League knockout phase.

Barcelona could have booked their last-16 ticket with a win over Shakhtar but instead the Ukrainian club kept their own hopes alive with a famous 1-0 victory in Hamburg.

Sikan, the 22-year-old forward, headed in the only goal of the Group H game late in the first half and Shakhtar held on.

“It feels very sweet,” smiled coach Marino Pusic, whose Shakhtar team are playing European home games this season in Germany amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“I am tremendously proud of my players and all the people in the club, working very hard to support me in this, what we achieved tonight.”

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez admitted his team were “in a bit of a footballing rut,” and they were joined at the top of the section on nine points by Porto, who beat Royal Antwerp 2-0 in Portugal.

Brazilian forward Evanilson opened the scoring with a first-half penalty and Antwerp had Jurgen Ekkelenkamp sent off early in the second half.

Porto wrapped up the win in stoppage time when veteran defender Pepe headed in to become, at the age of 40 years and 254 days old, the oldest player ever to score a Champions League goal.

The record had previously been held by Francesco Totti, who last scored in the competition for Roma aged 38.

Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United’s hopes of qualifying from Group F remain in the balance after both lost on the road.

PSG went down 2-1 away to AC Milan despite Milan Skriniar giving the French side an early lead at San Siro.

It took Milan just three minutes to draw level when Rafael Leao finished in acrobatic fashion, and Olivier Giroud headed in the winner five minutes after half-time.

Borussia Dortmund are top of the group after beating Newcastle 2-0 in Germany, with Niclas Fuellkrug and Julian Brandt scoring the goals, one in each half.

“When you concede four goals in this stadium three days ago, it feels good to hold a very good English team to nil — and the two goals will do us good,” Brandt told Amazon Prime as Dortmund bounced back from Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing by Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

Atletico Madrid top Group E after crushing 10-man Celtic 6-0 in Spain to record their biggest win in the modern Champions League.

Antoine Griezmann grabbed an early opener and Celtic then had Daizen Maeda sent off midway through the first half.

Alvaro Morata made it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time and Griezmann made it three on the hour mark.

Samuel Lino got the fourth with a stunning strike, Morata lashed in the fifth for his second, and Saul Niguez completed the scoring.

Lazio beat Feyenoord 1-0 in the same section thanks to Ciro Immobile’s 200th goal for the club.


Footballco launches new Riyadh studio to boost creator-led content boom

Updated 16 February 2026
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Footballco launches new Riyadh studio to boost creator-led content boom

  • Football media company’s venture caters for its Arabic video-first brands
  • Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums

RIYADH: Football media and culture company Footballco have opened a new production studio in Riyadh.

The move allows it to boost the volume of in-studio content created for its leading Arabic video-first football brands — Yalla Goal, Yalla Fans and Yalla Girl, as well as branded content for commercial partners.

The new studio complements Footballco’s Riyadh office, which opened in December 2024 as its Middle East headquarters. Footballco’s move to the city was driven by a desire to better serve clients in Saudi Arabia and to bring it closer to the country’s burgeoning football industry. The company now has 20 full-time staff in the Kingdom.

Footballco currently operates three video-first Arabic-language football brands in the region, all targeting Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha fans and fronted by experienced content creators. Yalla Goal combines spirited discussions, bold challenges and fun games, while Yalla Girl celebrates the growth of women’s football in Saudi Arabia and the region, with a focus on talent, personality, laughter and friendship. Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums. 

The company’s decision to invest in creator-led, in-studio video formats is backed by its own research which found that, for young fans, brand partnerships with creators are seen as more valuable than official tournament partnerships.

Footballco’s new studio will increase the frequency of video content created for its channels, supported by two full-time hosts for Yalla Goal — Mohammed Bargat and Waleed Al-Shargi (better known as Shargi), who have a combined following of over 900,000 on their personal channels.

Andy Jackson, Footballco’s Middle East senior vice president, said: “With seven national teams from the region set to appear at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, eight if Iraq qualify through the play-offs, these new facilities and increasing video output sets our brands up for success at a time where we know there will be an unprecedented demand for fun, creator-led video content.

“We’re also excited to welcome both Bargat and Shargi to the team, with both having more than proved themselves as understanding how to create content that resonates with young fans and they are already familiar to our audiences.”

He added: “In December, our Arabic social channels generated over 1.7 billion video views, so we are building from an incredibly strong base to further cement our position as the clear market leader both in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Our creator-led video formats have proved incredibly popular with brands, and this investment will see us able to offer a broader range of opportunities to our many commercial partners.”

While the World Cup this summer will see Footballco’s new studio in constant use, the company is also readying a slate of programming across Ramadan, with a 30-show spread culminating in an Eid special.

Taha Imani, Footballco’s head of video and social in the Middle East and North Africa region, said: “With YouTube becoming the number one place for fans to enjoy longform and short-form football content, and based on success across Footballco brands such as The Front Three in other markets, we’re expecting to grow at speed as we approach the World Cup giving fans exactly what they want from us on a daily basis.”