Barca, Dortmund, Atletico and Lazio into Champions League last-16

Barcelona’s Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo scores a goal during the UEFA Champions League first round game against FC Porto, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Nov. 28, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 29 November 2023
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Barca, Dortmund, Atletico and Lazio into Champions League last-16

  • Barcelona came from behind to beat Porto 2-1 as Portuguese duo Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix both netted to turn the game on its head after Brazilian winger Pepe opened for Porto
  • Borussia Dortmund secured their spot in the last-16 with a 3-1 win at AC Milan, who are staring early elimination in the face

PARIS: Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Lazio all qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League on Tuesday.

Manchester City bounced back from 2-0 down to beat RB Leipzig with both teams already qualified, while Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle drew 1-1 and both need a result on matchday six to go through.

Atletico Madrid booked their place with a sumptuous volley from defender Mario Hermoso and two own goals firing them to a thrilling 3-1 win over Dutch champions Feyenoord.

“I am very happy for the players. Today, we knew how difficult our opponent would be,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone to Movistar.

That left Atletico with 11 points in Group E ahead of 10-point Lazio, who had a tense wait after playing earlier and needing a Feyenoord defeat to confirm their place.

Veteran Italian striker Ciro Immobile shot the Italian side into the last-16 in a 2-0 win over eliminated Celtic in Rome, leaving Feyenoord to join the Europa League.

In Group H, Barcelona came from behind to beat Porto 2-1 as Portuguese duo Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix both netted to turn the game on its head after Brazilian winger Pepe opened for Porto.

“It was a final and we won it ... we’ve put the club in the last-16, which is where it deserves to be,” Cancelo told Movistar.

The Spanish champions now have 12 points while Porto are locked on nine alongside Shakhtar Donetsk, who beat Antwerp 1-0 in Hamburg.

Borussia Dortmund secured their spot in the last-16 with a 3-1 win at AC Milan, who are staring early elimination in the face.

Marco Reus’ early penalty and second-half strikes from English teenager Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Karim Adeyemi secured passage into the next round with a match to spare for Dortmund.

There was late drama at the Parc des Princes when a 98th-minute Kylian Mbappe penalty earned Paris Saint-Germain a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United.

It looked as though Newcastle — who won 4-1 when the sides met at St. James’ Park last month — were going to leave Paris with all three points in the Group F encounter thanks to Alexander Isak’s 24th-minute opener.

PSG had run out of ideas by the time they were gifted an opportunity to salvage a draw in injury time when the VAR decided a Tino Livramento handball in the box was worthy of a penalty.

Mbappe made no mistake from the spot, and PSG hold onto second place in the group behind Borussia Dortmund.

“I’m feeling very flat, but very proud of the players and their commitment levels,” said Newcastle coach Eddie Howe to TNT Sports.


Al-Ahli confirm Asian Champions League Elite progress with emphatic 5-0 win over Al-Shorta

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Al-Ahli confirm Asian Champions League Elite progress with emphatic 5-0 win over Al-Shorta

  • Al-Ahli are joined in the next round by Tractor, who claimed ‌a 2-1 win over Qatar’s Al-Duhail ‍through a late goal by ‍Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh
  • The first eight finishers in the league phases in east and west Asia advance to the round of ‌16, which will be played in March, with the quarterfinals, semifinals and final in Saudi Arabia in April

BAGHDAD: Defending champions Al-Ahli cruised to a 5-0 win over Al-Shorta in Baghdad on Monday as the Saudi Pro League side confirmed their progress to the knockout rounds ​of the Asian Champions League Elite alongside Iran’s Tractor FC.

Goals from Roger Ibanez, Ivan Toney, Galeno, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat and Ziyad Al-Johani sealed a comfortable win for Matthias Jaissle’s side, who moved on to 13 points from six matches to guarantee a top-eight finish in the 12-team standings.

“We did well today and we go home with three points,” ‌Ibanez said. “That’s ‌the important part.”

Ibanez gave Al-Ahli the ‌lead ⁠when ​he converted ‌Toney’s cut-back in the 30th minute and the former Brentford striker doubled the lead when he raced onto a pass through the middle by Galeno soon after the restart.

Galeno converted from a tight angle and Al-Shamat and Al-Johani netted in the closing stages as Al-Ahli bounced back from a surprise loss to Sharjah ⁠FC last month.

Al-Ahli are joined in the next round by Tractor, who claimed ‌a 2-1 win over Qatar’s Al-Duhail ‍through a late goal by ‍Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh.

Benjamin Bourigeaud had given Al-Duhail a 35th-minute lead from ‍the penalty spot but Shojae Khalilzadeh levelled the scores and Hosseinzadeh hit the winner two minutes into stoppage time.

Tractor moved on to 14 points and second in the table behind Al-Hilal who recorded ​a sixth consecutive win in the competition with a 1-0 victory over Sharjah in the UAE.

Simone ⁠Inzaghi’s side had already confirmed their place in the next phase and picked up another three points when Malcom struck with nine minutes remaining.

Al-Gharafa kept their qualification hopes alive through a 1-0 win over Al-Wahda from the UAE with Seydou Sano scoring an 87th-minute winner for the Qatari side.

Al-Gharafa climbed to six points and ninth in the table while Al-Wahda, who have qualified, dropped to fourth.

The first eight finishers in the league phases in east and west Asia advance to the round of ‌16, which will be played in March, with the quarteRfinals, semifinals and final in Saudi Arabia in April.