It took 9 years for seven-time European champion AC Milan to lastly win its means again into the Champions League knockout rounds with a 4-0 victory over Salzburg on Wednesday.
Paris Saint-Germain’s quest for a primary European title acquired doubtlessly more durable as a result of it’s now unseeded within the spherical of 16 draw Monday regardless of successful 2-1 at Juventus. A stoppage-time aim for Benfica in a 6-1 win at Maccabi Haifa knocked the French champion off the highest spot in Group H on an obscure seventh-tier tiebreaker rule — total objectives scored away from house.
PSG and its celebrity strike drive of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar can now land in a blockbuster pairing with a bunch winner like defending champion Actual Madrid, Bayern Munich or Manchester Metropolis.
“It’s an issue for them, too. We’re not fearful,” stated PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who acknowledged being unaware of the scenario till after the sport.
Milan will seemingly care much less about being unseeded as a bunch runner-up. A clean win over Salzburg ensured ending above the Austrians and advancing from Group E with Chelsea, which beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1.
Veteran ahead Olivier Giroud scored a aim in every half to carry Milan into the spherical of 16 for the primary time because the 2013-14 season. The nine-year hole included some Europa League campaigns, failures to qualify in any respect, and a one-season ban for breaking UEFA monetary guidelines.
Leipzig additionally superior to the knockout stage by beating Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0 and ending the Ukrainian membership’s inconceivable run in its adopted house stadium in Poland in the course of the Russian invasion.
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Leipzig completed second in Group F behind Actual Madrid — which routed last-place Celtic 5-1 — regardless of beginning in September with two losses towards Shakhtar and the Spanish defending champion.
Shakhtar’s European marketing campaign will proceed in February with a spot within the Europa League playoffs given to third-place groups in Champions League teams.
Juventus additionally goes to the Europa League regardless of incomes simply three factors in whole, the identical as Maccabi Haifa, as a result of it held the tiebreaker over the Israeli membership.
Manchester Metropolis trailed at halftime earlier than rallying to beat Sevilla 3-1 and Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 at Copenhagen in Group G the place all the ultimate standings have been resolved final week.
TIGHT TIEBREAKER
PSG went unbeaten with a 14-point tally that was greater than 4 different group winners however not sufficient to high traditionally tight Group H.
Benfica and PSG every received 4 video games, every drew 1-1 internet hosting the opposite, every scored 16 objectives, and every had a aim distinction of plus-9.
The highest spot was selected the seventh stage of tiebreaker — who scored probably the most objectives in three video games away from house. PSG had six, Benfica acquired 9 together with Joao Mario’s on Wednesday within the second minute of stoppage time.
MBAPPE’S RECORD
When Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring for PSG at Juventus it was his fortieth profession aim in report pace within the Champions League — six for Monaco as an 18-year-old in 2017, and 34 for PSG.
At 23 years, 317 days Mbappé is the youngest participant to succeed in the 40-goal mark, virtually six months youthful than Lionel Messi was and almost 4 years forward of Cristiano Ronaldo’s tempo. Nonetheless, Ronaldo’s sustained brilliance in his 30s has taken him to a Champions League report 140 profession objectives.
ROUND OF 16 DRAW
The pairings might be drawn Monday at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland greater than three months earlier than the first-leg video games begin February 14.
Group winners are seeded and can host the second legs performed from March 7-15. Nobody could be drawn towards one other staff from their house nation or a staff they already performed of their group.
Seeded groups: Napoli, Porto, Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Chelsea, Actual Madrid, Manchester Metropolis, Benfica.
Unseeded groups: Liverpool, Membership Brugge, Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, AC Milan, Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain.
EUROPA LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
The eight third-place groups in Champions League teams go right into a separate draw Monday for the Europa League knockout playoffs.
They’re Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona, Sporting Lisbon, Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Sevilla, Juventus.
These groups might be unseeded and enjoying the primary leg at house on Feb. 16 towards runners-up in Europa League teams that end Thursday. Return video games are on Feb. 23.
QATAR PROTEST
For the second straight Copenhagen house recreation within the Champions League, a protester ran on to the pitch sporting a T-shirt with the slogan “Boycott Qatar.”
Denmark, which can go to Qatar this month in World Cup group with defending champion France, has been a spotlight for highlighting the host nation’s remedy of migrant employees constructing tasks important for the event. The nationwide staff is taking a black equipment choice to Qatar as a logo of “mourning” for building employees who died.
This story has been revealed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content. Solely the headline has been modified.