Manchester City are on the brink of a humiliating UEFA Champions League exit after a stunning loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, while Real Madrid is no longer at risk after routing Salzburg.
Man City blew a two-goal lead in a high-stakes clash of super-wealthy underachievers that PSG won 4-2 in Paris, who could still be eliminated alongside the English champions after the final round of games next week.
Only the top 24 in the 36-team standings are to advance. Man City, the 2023 champions, are in 25th place, but could squeeze into the knockout playoffs round by beating Club Brugge.
Photo: Reuters
“We will do everything there and if we don’t do it we don’t deserve it,” manager Pep Guardiola said of the game in Manchester in one week’s time.
Brugge need at least a draw to advance.
PSG rose to 22nd place to set up another tense challenge against 24th-placed VfB Stuttgart, who likely need to win.
Photo: AFP
Early in the second half in Paris, it was Man City looking set to send PSG close to elimination by taking a two-goal lead. Jack Grealish, a halftime substitute, scored in the 50th minute, then his pass across the goalmouth was deflected toward Erling Haaland for a second four minutes later.
Within six remarkable minutes PSG was level, from goals by Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola, and a stunning turnaround was completed in the 78th minute when Joao Neves headed the decisive goal. Goncalo Ramos added a fourth in stoppage-time.
After winning a record 15th European title last season, then signing France star Kylian Mbappe in the off-season, it probably should not have been such a drama for Real Madrid to reach the knockout stages in the new Champions League format.
Photo: AP
However, three losses in six games — to OSC Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool — left Madrid in 22nd place at kick-off on Wednesday, before swatting aside Salzburg 5-1 to rise to 16th.
Brazil stars Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior each scored twice, either side of a goal for Kylian Mbappe, in a mismatch ahead of the teams meeting again in the FIFA Club World Cup in Philadelphia on June 26.
Arsenal and Inter got expected wins to rise to third and fourth respectively, although not sure yet to join Liverpool and Barcelona among the top-eight teams advancing directly to the round-of-16.
Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 and Inter won 1-0 against Sparta Prague that lifted both to 16 points, three clear of Aston Villa in ninth.
AC Milan quietly went about their business rising to sixth place with a 1-0 win against Girona at the San Siro on a powerful strike in the first half by Rafael Leao.
Bayern Munich fell to a 3-0 defeat at Feyenoord and dropped to 15th in the mid-table morass of storied clubs — including Madrid and Juventus — who risk facing each other in the knockout playoff rounds next month.
The teams that finish Nos. 15-18 in the standings next week are to be drawn against each other in the playoffs — for the right to face Liverpool and, likely, Barcelona in the round-of-16.
Bayern are fortunate to have one of the easier-seeming final games, at home to Slovan Bratislava, who have lost seven straight.
Celtic secured their place in the knockout rounds by winning 1-0 against last-placed Young Boys, the other team to lose seven times.
Leipzig ended their six-game losing run with a 2-1 win over Sporting, although the Portugal champions are still favored to advance. Shakhtar Donetsk stayed in contention — just — with a 2-0 win against Brest, who have booked a place in the knockout phase.
All 36 teams are to play on Wednesday next week.
The top eight in the final standings get a break until March, waiting for the round-of-16. Teams who finish from ninth to 24th enter the knockout playoffs. Those two-leg pairings are to be drawn on Friday next week at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS