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.
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
RSS