A round-up of results from this week’s Uefa Champions League action.
WEDNESDAY
Monaco 3 CSKA Moscow 0
Monaco: Germain (12’), Falcao (28’, 41’)
• Radamel Falcao netted a double to give Monaco a 3-0 win against CSKA Moscow as the principality side took a big step towards a last 16 spot.
The Colombia striker struck his 41st and 42nd goals from 46 matches in Uefa club competitions in the first half after Valere Germain’s opener put the Ligue 1 team on eight points from four games.
Leo Jardim’s side got off to a confident start and Germain, collecting a poor clearance, dribbled past Igor Akinfeev and pushed the ball into the empty net in the 13th minute.
Falcao doubled the tally in the 29th minute by latching on to fullback Benjamin Mendy’s cross from the left and beat the Russian keeper from close range.
The Colombian was at it again four minutes before the interval, stabbing the ball past Akinfeev after being picked out by Germain in the area.
Second-half substitute Guido Carrillo came close to adding a fourth two minutes from time but his strike hit the post.
*Reuters
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Bayer Leverkusen 1
Leverkusen: Kampl (65’)
• Kevin Kampl’s second-half goal earned Bayer Leverkusen their first European away victory in England as they beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 to boost their hopes of reaching the last 16.
Slovenian international Kampl’s close-range effort after 65 minutes sent Tottenham spinning to a second home defeat at Wembley in Group E, having lost their opener to Monaco.
Tottenham, without a win in six matches in all competitions, were lacklustre all night and there was precious little for the majority of the 85,000 crowd to get excited about.
Eric Dier came closest to scoring when his free kick thumped against the crossbar with eight minutes left.
Tottenham’s season has hit a wall since an impressive win over Manchester City last month and they began in edgy fashion against a Leverkusen side who sensed their hosts’ unease.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino looked far from happy as his side continually gave the ball away in dangerous areas.
Dele Alli did have the ball in the net in the stroke of half-time after substitute Vincent Jansen’s shot was saved by Leno, but Jansen had already been penalised for pulling.
Tottenham showed more urgency at the start of the second period and Alli had a strong penalty appeal turned down when tumbling over Leverkusen skipper Omer Toprak’s dangled foot.
Tottenham failed to heed the warnings and fell behind in the 65th minute. Charles Aranguiz’s shot deflected into the path of Kampl who slotted past Lloris from six yards out.
Leverkusen cleverly kept Tottenham at arm’s length thereafter although they did enjoy a let-off when Dier’s free kick rocked the crossbar and the ball was scrambled clear.
*Reuters
Borussia Dortmund 1 Sporting Lisbon 0
Dortmund: Ramos (12’)
• Borussia Dortmund booked their place in the last 16 with a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon despite suspending striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
With two games still to play, Dortmund are guaranteed at least a top-two place in Group F.
Dortmund delivered a shock before kick-off at Signal Iduna Park. Manager Thomas Tuchel suspended star striker Aubameyang “for internal reasons” and his replacement Adrian Ramos hit the first-half winner.
“The coach has taken the decision and it is absolutely correct,” Dortmund’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Sky.
Aubameyang, who has scored 10 goals already this season, is suspended until Thursday and was cut from the match day squad.
“We completely accept there will be speculation, but internal means internal,” Tuchel said.
Ramos took Aubameyang’s place in a 4-1-4-1 formation. The Colombia striker needed just 12 minutes to give Dortmund the lead with a looping header in his side’s first real attack.
*Agence France-Presse
Legia Warsaw 3 Real Madrid 3
Legia: Odjidja-Ofoe (40’), Radovic (58’), Moulin (83’)
Madrid: Bale (1’), Benzema (35’), Kovacic (85’)
• Real Madrid blew a two-goal lead and the chance to qualify for the knockout stages in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Legia Warsaw behind closed doors in the Polish capital.
Gareth Bale fired home Madrid’s fastest ever Champions League goal after just 55 seconds before teeing up Karim Benzema for Madrid’s second.
However, Legia launched a stunning fightback as goals from Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Miroslav Radovic and Thibault Moulin put the Polish champions on the verge of a famous victory.
Mateo Kovacic salvaged some pride and a now 27-game unbeaten run for the European champions when he slotted home five minutes from time.
Bale celebrated his new bumper six-year Madrid deal in style by rifling a volley into the top corner.
A comfortable night looked in store for the visitors when a brilliant team move saw Kovacic feed Bale on the right side of the area and his cutback was deposited into the bottom corner by Benzema.
However, Legia hit back with a stunning effort of their own as Odjidja-Ofoe finished off a fine individual effort by firing into the top corner.
Goalkeeper Keylor Navas was also to blame when he let Radovic’s low effort slip under him for the equaliser just before the hour mark.
Madrid awoke from their slumber as Arkadiusz Malarz parried another fierce Bale volley before an off-colour Cristiano Ronaldo headed a great chance just wide.
Yet, Madrid were caught out on the counter-attack seven minutes from time when Moulin looked to have sealed the most unlikeliest of comebacks when his curling effort clipped the post on its way past a helpless Navas.
Madrid responded immediately as Kovacic drilled Dani Carvajal’s back-heel into the bottom corner.
*Agence France-Presse
Copenhagen 0 Leicester City 0
• Leicester City missed the chance to book an early spot in the knockout stages as they were held to a scoreless draw by FC Copenhagen in Group G.
Copenhagen’s only previous loss in 27 competitive games was a 1-0 reverse to Leicester two weeks ago, and on several occasions the Danes threatened to take all three points.
Their best chance came in the 70th minute when Leicester defender Christian Fuchs cleared Benjamin Verbic’s effort off the line as the home side pressed forward while the visitors’ keeper Kasper Schmeichel made a smart save from Andreas Cornelius in the dying minutes.
Riyad Mahrez was once again the most influential creative presence in Claudio Ranieri’s side, but after winning their first three group games, Leicester had to settle for a draw on a chilly night in Copenhagen.
Leicester top the group with 10 points from four games, while Copenhagen are third on five, two behind Porto, who beat Club Bruges 1-0.
*Agence France-Presse
Porto 1 Club Brugge 0
Porto: Valente Silva (37’)
• Thomas Silva’s first half goal kept Porto’s hopes alive of topping Group G and condemned Club Burgge to their fourth straight defeat.
With Leicester City held to a goalless draw at Copenhagen, Porto are three points behind the English champions with two games to play.
*The National staff
Juventus 1 Lyon 1
Juventus: Higuain (13’ pen)
Tolisso (84’)
• Gonzalo Higuain converted an early penalty for Juventus and then missed a sitter before Lyon hit back late in the game to grab a 1-1 draw.
Corentin Tolisso’s 85th minute header, the first goal that the Italian champions have conceded in four games in Group H, kept alive the French side’s slim hopes of reaching the last 16 and kept Juve waiting for at least one more game to book their spot.
Juve were gifted an early lead when Higuain burst down the left and found Stefano Sturaro who was clumsily pushed over by Mouctar Diakhaby. The Argentine stepped up and sent Anthony Lopes the wrong way from the spot.
However, Higuain turned villain shortly before half-time when he scooped the ball over the crossbar with the goal at his mercy after Mario Mandzukic had won possession off a defender and set him up with a glorious opportunity.
Juventus, who won 1-0 in Lyon two weeks ago, appeared to sit back after half-time and the visitors enjoyed plenty of possession although they struggled to turn it into genuine chances.
Already missing Giorgio Chiellini from their so-called ‘BBC’ defence, Juventus also saw Leonardo Bonucci limp off in the 67th minute when he had to be replaced by Mehdi Benatia.
The revamped defence was caught out with five minutes left when Rachid Ghezzal delivered a superb free kick into the Juve area which was attacked by three players, with Tolisso getting there first to head past Gianluigi Buffon.
*Reuters
Sevilla 4 Dinamo Zagreb 0
Sevilla: Vietto (31’), Escudero (66’), N’Zonzi (80’), Ben Yedder (87’)
• Sevilla moved to the brink of qualification for the last 16 for the first time in six years with a 4-0 thrashing of 10-man Dinamo Zagreb at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
Luciano Vietto’s 31st-minute opener put Sevilla in control and Zagreb’s hopes of ending a 10-game losing run on the road in the Champions League evaporated when Petar Stojanovic was shown a second yellow card in first-half stoppage time.
Sergio Escudero, Steven N’Zonzi and Wissam Ben Yedder extended Sevilla’s advantage in the final 24 minutes as Jorge Sampaoli’s men moved to the top of Group H.
A late Lyon equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Juventus prevented Sevilla from mathematically qualifying, but they need just a point from their final two games to reach the knockout phase.
*Agence France-Presse
TUESDAY
Basel 1 Paris Saint-Germain 2
Basel: Zuffi (76’)
PSG: Matuidi (43’), Meunier (90’)
• Thomas Meunier volleyed a spectacular last-minute goal to give Paris Saint-Germain a win at Basel, which took them into the last-16.
PSG had taken the lead with a Blaise Matuidi goal two minutes before half-time but Basel rattled the Ligue 1 champions when Luca Zuffi equalised out of the blue in the 76th minute.
In a dramatic finale the Swiss champions had midfielder Serey Die sent off for a second yellow card following a foul on Marco Verratti and could have snatched a win seconds before Meunier’s strike.
PSG dominated the first half and went ahead when Meunier drove a fierce shot at goal which Matuidi flicked into the net from close range.
The visitors had enough chances to settle the game, but instead Zuffi collected a throw in around 30 metres out and launched a looping effort towards goal which flew over Alphonse Areola and into the net.
Basel went agonisingly close to scoring a second when a free kick flew across the PSG goal and found Marc Janko unmarked at the far post, but he failed to make proper contact.
Seconds later, a PSG cross found Meunier who, having missed two easier chances, met the ball with a thumping volley which swerved past Tomas Vaclik and into the top corner.
*Reuters
Ludogorets 2 Arsenal 3
Ludogorets: Barbosa (12’), Keseru (15’)
Arsenal: Xhaka (20’), Giroud (41’), Ozil (87’)
• Mesut Ozil scored a superb late winner as Arsenal hit back from two goals down to beat resilient Ludogorets and secure their place in the last-16 with two games to spare.
Arsenal, who reached the tournament’s knockout stages for a 17th time in a row, and PSG, who also qualified after a 2-1 away win over Basel, are joint top in Group A with 10 points from four matches. Ludogorets and Basel have one point.
Brazilian Jonathan Cafu opened the scoring for Ludogorets from close range with his second goal in the Champions League, giving Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina no chance from a Wanderson free kick.
Three minutes later, Cafu dribbled past Kieran Gibbs, delivered a tempting cross for Romanian striker Claudiu Keseru, who doubled Ludogorets’s lead to send the home fans at the Vasil Levski stadium into dreamland.
Granit Xhaka, who returned to Arsenal’s starting line-up after serving a domestic ban, reduced the deficit midway through the first half.
French striker Olivier Giroud made it 2-2 three minutes before the break after getting to the ball ahead of goalkeeper Milan Borjan from Aaron Ramsey’s cross and flicked home a header.
Ludogorets almost restored their lead in the second half but Ospina did well to parry Wanderson’s shots on two occasions but Ozil, who scored a hat-trick in Arsenal’s 6-0 win over Ludogorets two weeks ago, had the final word.
Ozil collected the ball in Ludogorets’s half, lifted it over an advancing Borjan before slipping past two defenders and calmly slotting into an empty net.
*Reuters
Besiktas 1 Napoli 1
Besiktas: Quaresma (78’ pen)
Napoli: Hamsik (82’)
• Napoli stayed on course for a place in the last-16 after Marek Hamsik’s excellent late goal secured a 1-1 draw with Besiktas in Istanbul.
The Turkish champions had claimed a stunning 3-2 win in the reverse fixture in Naples last month to improve their own prospects in Group B and looked to be on course to do the double at the Vodafone Arena.
Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson hit the woodwork for the home side in the first half but it took them until 12 minutes from time to get the opening goal.
Referee Mark Clattenburg awarded a penalty when a Vincent Aboubakar cross struck the arm of Nikola Maksimovic in the box and Ricardo Quaresma converted from 12 yards.
However, Napoli were back on level terms in the 82nd minute when captain Hamsik took a touch and curled a shot past Fabri from 25 yards into the bottom-left corner.
The draw moved Napoli to the top of Group B until Benfica defeated Dynamo Kiev in the later kick-off.
* Agence France-Presse
Benfica 1 Dynamo Kiev 0
Benfica: Salvio (45+2’ pen)
• Eduardo Salvio converted a penalty and Dynamo Kiev missed one as the Portuguese side won 1-0 to go level on points with Napoli at the top of the group.
Salvio put Benfica ahead in first-half stoppage time when he scored from the spot after Luisao had been hauled down by Domagoj Vida when he tried to connect with a free kick.
The goal was just reward for Benfica after they had created several clear chances in the first half.
Goncalo Guedes nearly extended Benfica’s lead early in the second half when he rattled the crossbar, but the Eagles appeared to blow their chance when goalkeeper Ederson rashly upended Derlis Gonzalez in the 67th minute.
Ederson, however, atoned for his error by diving to his right to deny his fellow Brazilian Junior Moraes from the spot.
Benfica have seven points from four games in Group B alongside Napoli and one ahead of Besiktas while Dynamo have one.
*Reuters
Borussia Monchengladbach 1 Celtic 1
Galdbach: Stindl (32’)
Celtic: Dembele (76’ pen)
• Celtic are still alive in the Champions League after Moussa Dembele’s penalty allowed them to come away from Borussia Moenchengladbach with a 1-1 draw.
The Scottish champions seemed to be heading for elimination with two matches to spare in Group C after Lars Stindl gave the hosts the lead at Borussia-Park.
But Dembele netted from the spot with 14 minutes left after Julian Korb had been sent off to earn Brendan Rodgers’ men a draw.
Celtic remain bottom of their group and are five points behind Manchester City in second place with a home clash against Barcelona and a trip to the Etihad Stadium still to come.
*Agence France-Presse
Manchester City 3 Barcelona 1
City: Gundogan (39’, 74’), De Bruyne (51’)
Barca: Messi (21’)
• Pep Guardiola was left thrilled after Manchester City revived their Champions League bid by beating his old club Barcelona 3-1 in a thrilling Group C encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
Ilkay Gundogan scored twice and Kevin de Bruyne netted a superb free kick in a magnificent display from the home side that ended Barcelona’s 100 per cent record and made handsome amends for City’s 4-0 drubbing at the Camp Nou two weeks ago.
The victory looked unlikely when Lionel Messi followed up his hat-trick in that game with a dazzling opener on the counter attack in the 21st minute and Barca were in control before Gundogan cashed in on a Sergi Roberto mistake.
In a game peppered with fine attacking and dubious defending, City then ran Barca ragged as the exceptional De Bruyne netted in the 51st minute before helping set up Gundogan’s second after 74 minutes.
*Reuters
Atletico Madrid 2 Rostov 1
Atletico: Griezmann (28’, 90+3’)
Rostov: Azmoun (30’)
• Antoine Griezmann scored a 93rd-minute winner as Atletico Madrid secured their place in the last-16 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over FC Rostov at the Vicente Calderon.
Griezmann’s brilliant volleyed effort gave Atletico the lead just before the half-hour mark, but Rostov immediately replied through Sardar Azmoun.
Atletico struggled to create chances throughout, but got a break deep into added time when Griezmann fired home and the goal was allowed to stand despite Rostov’s furious protests for offside.
*Agence France-Presse
PSV Eindhoven 1 Bayern Munich 2
PSV: Arias (14’)
Bayern: Lewandowski (34’ pen, 73’)
• Two goals from Robert Lewandowski secured Bayern Munich’s progress to the last-16 after coming from a goal down to beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in their Group D clash at the Philips Stadium.
Lewandowski twice struck the woodwork before equalising from the penalty spot and then steering home a superb 73rd-minute winner as Bayern advanced to nine points, second in the group standings with two rounds to play.
The Polish international turned home a square ball from David Alaba for the winner, showing a deft touch and superb skill to steer the ball into the net. Alaba had made a defence-splitting run to set up the chance.
Lewandowski had tucked away Bayern’s first goal after 34 minutes from the penalty spot after a handball by PSV midfielder Andres Guardado.
The home side, who needed to win to keep alive slim hopes of repeating last year’s feat of reaching the last 16, were controversially ahead after 14 minutes.
Television replays showed defender Santiago Arias to be offside as he reacted quickest to Manfred Neuer’s parry from a Davy Proper close-in header.
But the linesman’s flag stayed down to the delight of the home fans, hoping their side would be able to turn the tables on a Bayern team who easily beat PSV 4-1 in Munich a two weeks ago.
Lewandowski hit the crossbar with a header in the fourth minute and struck the woodwork again on the half-hour and again in the final five minutes, turning the PSV defence with a swivel move reminiscent of the Dutch great Denis Bergkamp.
PSV will now set their sights on the Europa League but will need to beat Rostov to third place in the group.
*Reuters
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport