Wednesday round-up: Porto and Paris complete last-16 line-up
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
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The line-up for Monday's UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw is now known after Paris Saint-Germain and Porto booked their places on Wednesday.
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The race for the last two spots among the elite in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage went down to the wire as Porto and Paris Saint-Germain completed the last-16 line-up.
Elsewhere, Antwerp bowed out with a famous win against a Barcelona side who nevertheless wrapped up top spot in their group, as did Atlético de Madrid and Dortmund.
UEFA.com rounds up all of Wednesday's action.
Group E
Atlético de Madrid 2-0 Lazio
Classy Atlético sealed top spot in Group E with a convincing win. Antoine Griezmann's fifth Champions League goal of the season got the hosts off to a flyer, the French international finishing coolly after good work from Samuel Lino. The impressive Lino lashed in a superb second six minutes into the second half and Álvaro Morata could have added another as Atleti proved too strong for the runners-up.
Player of the Match: Samuel Lino (Atlético de Madrid)
Key stat: Atlético equalled their club record of 20 straight home wins in all competitions.
Celtic 2-1 Feyenoord
Celtic bowed out of Europe on a high by ending a ten-year wait for a Champions League win on home soil. Luis Palma's spot kick put Celtic ahead in the 33rd minute, after Ramiz Zerrouki had brought down Liam Scales. Yankuba Minteh levelled for the visitors with eight minutes remaining before substitute Gustaf Lagerbielke, sent off in the reverse fixture, nodded in an added-time winner.
Player of the Match: Liam Scales (Celtic)
Key stat: Celtic recorded their first win in 16 Champions League group stage matches (D3 L12) since defeating Anderlecht in September 2017.
Group F
Dortmund 1-1 Paris
Paris claimed their place in the last 16 in dramatic fashion as they held on for a point to edge out Milan on head-to-head record. After a rash of first-half missed chances, Karim Adeyemi got the opener for the hosts after the restart, only for Warren Zaïre-Emery to level almost immediately. Kylian Mbappé thought he had wrapped up the game and group with a fine finish, but his effort was disallowed and Paris go through in second behind Dortmund instead.
Player of the Match: Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris)
Key stat: Paris scored for the 50th Champions League group stage game in succession.
Newcastle 1-2 Milan
Samuel Chukwueze's 84th-minute strike sent Milan into the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-offs at the expense of a Newcastle side that began the night with last-16 ambitions. Joelinton curled in a sublime 33rd-minute opener for the hosts, only for Christian Pulišić to slot in the equaliser before the hour. Mike Maignan then turned Bruno Guimarães' effort against his bar before substitute Chukwueze's winner. Rafael Leão and Fikayo Tomori struck the woodwork for the visitors late on.
Player of the Match: Tijjani Reijnders (Milan)
Key stat: Milan earned only their second victory in 22 attempts away to English clubs in UEFA club competition (D8 L12), their previous win coming at Manchester United in February 2005.
Group G
Crvena zvezda 2-3 Man City
Pep Guardiola's men finished Group G with a perfect record after victory in Belgrade. Debutant Micah Hamilton powered the opener in from a tight angle 19 minutes into his City bow, with fellow 20-year-old Oscar Bobb adding an impressive second after a mazy run just after the hour. City were holding on in the end after a frantic finish in which Inbeom Hwang's low finish and Aleksandar Katai's header came either side of Kalvin Phillips' cool spot kick for the holders.
Player of the Match: Oscar Bobb (Man City)
Key stat: Man City are only the second English side to post a perfect group stage record, after Liverpool in 2021/22.
Leipzig 2-1 Young Boys
Leipzig were assured of second place and YB third even before this game kicked off, but if the first half lacked intensity, the exhausting, end-to-end second more than made up for it. All three goals came in a six-minute spell shortly after the restart. Benjamin Šeško's clinical finish broke the deadlock, and though Ebrima Colley replied almost immediately on the counter, Emil Forsberg soon delivered what would – just about – prove the killer blow.
Player of the Match: Kevin Kampl (Leipzig)
Key stat: Leipzig have finished with 12 points in three of their last four Champions League group campaigns.
Group H
Porto 5-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
A match billed as a head-to-head tussle for a last-16 spot did not disappoint. Porto were in the ascendancy from the moment Galeno's second of the night made it 2-1 before the break, restoring the lead after Danylo Sikan's equaliser. Mehdi Taremi's powerful shot early in the second half gave them a cushion, and although Stephen Eustáquio's own goal made it 3-2, Pepe and Francisco Conceição eased Porto nerves before Eguinaldo's late consolation.
Player of the Match: Galeno (Porto)
Key stat: Brazilian Galeno scored four goals in Porto's two meetings with Shakhtar.
Antwerp 3-2 Barcelona
George Ilenikhena, 17, coolly finished an added-time one-on-one as Antwerp recorded a famous win. Barcelona's late pressure appeared to have paid dividends when their own young forward, Marc Guiu, made it 2-2 with his first Champions League goal, but the game ended as it had begun. Arthur Vermeeren opened the scoring after 90 seconds, Ferran Torres equalised and Vincent Janssen netted his first Champions League goal to set up the grandstand finale.
Player of the Match: Arthur Vermeeren (Antwerp)
Key stat: This was Antwerp's first Champions League victory, and came against a Barcelona team containing three former treble winners in Robert Lewandowski, İlkay Gündoğan and João Cancelo.