Man City, Barcelona, Lazio Rome, Atlético Madrid, Leipzig and Dortmund had already qualified for the 8th round of the UEFA CL. Feyenoord was the only club guaranteed a place in the Europa League. At the end of the final day of the group phase, PSG and FC Porto completed the European Top 16. AC Milan, Shakhtar and Young Boys are the clubs relegated to the Europa League.
Here's a look back at the evening's matches.
Gr. F: PSG thank AC Milan, Newcastle collapse
PSG qualify for the last 8 after a 1-1 draw with Dortmund in Germany. The first half was dominated by Paris, who had possession and a couple of great chances, including one from Mbappé that was saved off the line by Sule. But the score was tied at the end of the first 45 minutes. PSG went into the second half tense and ultimately punished. Karim Adeyemi opened the scoring for Dortmund (51st). Warren Zaire-Emery gave PSG some breathing space against the run of play in the 56th minute, firing home from the edge of the area after a pass from Mbappé. The scoreline remained unchanged, with PSG, as usual, missing a pile of chances.
Newcastle collapse against AC Milan
Newcastle suffered a surprise defeat against AC Milan (1-2). The Magpies opened the scoring with a magnificent goal from Joelinton (33rd), after outrageous dominance against AC Milan at St James Park. AC Milan rallied in the second half and equalised in the 59th minute through Christian Pulisic. Samuel Chukwueze, who had just come on as a substitute, gave the Rosonneri the lead (84th).
Dortmund finished 1st in the group (11 pts), Paris 2nd with 8 points, Milan with the same total finished 3rd. Newcastle, despite a fine campaign, finished bottom of the group (5 pts). Cruel!
Gr. E: Atlético win final for 1st place
At home, Atlético got the job done against Lazio, winning 2-0. In the match for 1st place between Atlético and Lazio, the home side opened the scoring through Frenchman Antoine Griezmann (8th min). Atlético broke the deadlock in the 51st minute through Samuel Lino. No further goals were scored
Celtic Glasgow leave the competition with a win
In the game that counted for nothing between Celtic and Feyenoord, the Scots won (2-1) and saw their honor intact.Celtic opened the scoring on home soil through Luis Palma (33rd).Yankuba Minteh equalised (82nd), shortly after coming on, for the defending Dutch champions. Celtic scored in the 91st minute through Gustaf Lagerbielke to win the match.
The final group standings are as follows: Atlético (1st, 14 pts), Lazio (2nd, 10 pts), Feyenoord (3rd, 6 pts), Celtic (4th, 4 pts).
Gr. I; FC Porto join Barca in the Top 16
The match to see who would join Barcelona in Europe's Top 16 was won by Porto, who triumphed over Shakhtar (5-3).Porto got things underway with the 1st goal of the match (9th). Wenderson Galeno scored the goal.Shakhtar equalized through Danylo Sikan (29th). The chase continues. Just before half-time (43rd), the Portuguese regained the lead with another goal from Wenderson Galeno.
Porto took the lead in the 61st minute on a counter-attack finished off by Taremi. Shakhtar never give up. They reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute on a Stephen Eustaquio own goal. Porto once again extended their lead to 2 goals. The indefatigable Pepe scores the 4th goal. Porto then scored a 5th goal through Francisco Conceicao. Shakhar fight back and reduce the lead to 5-3 with a goal from Eguinaldo.
Royal Antwerp salvage honor against Barca
Barca lose (3-2) to Antwerp. With a slightly reshuffled team, Barcelona conceded the first goal of the game against Antwerp (2nd). Arthur Vermeeren made his mark. Barcelona then pushed to get back on level terms, and did so in the 35th minute with a goal from Ferran Torres. Royal Antwerp, determined to leave the tournament with honors, regained the lead through Vincent Jansenn (56th). The match took a crazy turn towards the end. Barca equalized in the 9th minute through Marc Guiu and immediately conceded the goal that sealed their defeat against Antwerp. George Ilenikhena scored the winner (92nd).
Barcelona nevertheless finished 1st in the group with 12 points, Porto finished 2nd with 12 points and Shakhar, with 9 points in 3rd place, joined the Europa League.Antwerp, with its first 3 points, is last in the group.
Gr. H: After Real, City go all out, Leipzig also finish with a win
In Group G, Matchday 6 saw no upsets, with Manchester City and Leipzig having booked their places in the last eight on the previous matchdays, and Young Boys Bern also assured of a place in the Europa League. Leipzig, assured of 2nd place, outclassed Young Boys Bern 2-1. The Germans opened the scoring with a goal from Benjamin Sesko (51st). Gambian Ebrima Colley equalised for the Swiss (53rd). Emile Forsberg gave his team a definitive lead in the 56th minute.
Manchester City ended the group phase with 6 wins. The Cityzens defeated Red Star Belgrade (2-3) in an advanced match on Wednesday, despite a heavily reshuffled squad. Micah Hamilton, Oscar Bobb and Kalvin Philips scored for the holders (19th, 62nd and 85th).
Red Star's goals came from In-Beom Hwang and Aleksandar Kata (79th and 91st).
Man City finished the season on 18 points, with Leipzig hot on their heels on 12. Young Boys Berne (4 pts) have been relegated to the Europa League. Finally, Red Star leave the competition with 1 point from 6 matches.
Round of 16 teams confirmed ✅
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— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 13, 2023
