Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and FC Barcelona had no chance of reaching the round of 16 even before their Champions League games kicked off. Naples and Bayern keep their white vests.
Group A: Napoli impressive, Rangers trailing behind
Napoli stayed clean with their fifth win in five Group A games and are top on 15 points. Liverpool are three points behind in second. They are followed by Ajax with three and Rangers with zero points.
SSC Neapel – Glasgow Rangers 3:0 (2:0)
An early brace from Naples’ Giovanni Simeone (11th/16th) quickly ensured a clear balance of power. After that, Napoli somewhat managed the result. Glasgow might not emit a great goal threat even with increasing possession of the ball. Naples’ Leo Ostigard (80th) provided the final point.
Naples’s Giovanni Simeone (right) heads on goal
Ajax Amsterdam – FC Liverpool 0:3 (0:1)
Coach Jürgen Klopp’s team needed something to get into the game at Ajax. Mo Salah (42′) finally gave the Reds the lead, who narrowly missed Nunez’s 2-0 lead just before half-time. After the break, Liverpool’s striker did better (49′). Harvey Elliott (52nd) was the last Liverpool player to score.
Group B: Final matchday decisions
Porto keep the race for group victory exciting. After winning the top game at FC Brugge, the decision for first place is made on the last day of the game. Then it will also be decided who will continue playing in the Europa League: Atlético Madrid (5 points) or Bayer Leverkusen (4 points)?
FC Brugge – FC Porto 0:4 (0:1)
Club Brugge suffered their first defeat of the group stage on Matchday 5. In the top game of Group B, the opponents from Porto were clearly the better team, initially missing out on a higher lead in the first half.
Mehdi Taremi scored the first goal for the Portuguese (33′). The goal was the first goal conceded for the Belgians in the current group stage. Brugge had the chance to equalize shortly following the restart (49th): but Hans Vanaken missed a penalty. However, this had to be repeated because players had run into the penalty area before the whistle was blown.
But the second attempt was also unsuccessful. Nao Lang put the ball on the right post. Porto immediately punished and doubled the lead to 3-0 through Evanilson (57′) and Stephen Eustáquio (60′). Mehdi Taremi sealed the end of the Champions League for Bayer Leverkusen with his second goal (70th).
In a duel: Bruges’ Casper Nielsen (left) and Porto’s David Carmo
Atletico Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen 2:2 (1:2)
Back and forth in Madrid: Bayer Leverkusen got off to a good start at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium. Moussa Diaby (9′) gave the Werkself an early lead. Yannick Carrasco (22nd) equalized for coach Diego Simeone’s team. Before the break, Callum Hudson-Odoi (29th) took the lead once more. But it wasn’t enough for a win. Rodrigo de Paul (50th) flicked into the far corner, which is well worth seeing. At the end there was excitement once more following the referee awarded a penalty even though the game had already ended. But Yannick Carrasco lost his nerve.
Group C: Barca soon in the Europa League
Bayern Munich gets their fifth win in five games (15 points) and is the clear group winner. Behind them, Inter Milan secured second place (10 points) ahead of FC Barcelona (4 points) and Pilsen, who had no points at the bottom.
Inter Milan – Viktoria Pilsen 4: 0 (2: 0)
Inter Milan has sealed FC Barcelona’s Champions League exit. With the 4-0 home win once morest the bottom of the table Viktoria Pilsen, Inter secured participation in the round of 16 and caused a disillusionment with the Catalans even before the game started.
Ex-BVB player Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave Milan the lead (35th). Another former Bundesliga player followed suit before the break: Edin Dzeko scored to make it 2-0 (42nd). The former Bundesliga top scorer from VfL Wolfsburg made it 3-0 following the restart (66′), substitute Romelu Lukaku scored the final point (87′).
Inter’s Edin Dzeko celebrates following scoring
FC Barcelona – FC Bayern Munich 0:3 (0:2)
Even before the game it was clear that Barcelona would soon play in the Europa League. Bayern were successful at the Camp Nou through Sadio Mane (10′), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (31′) and Benjamin Pavard (90′).
Group D: Suspense until the end
Group D remains exciting until the last day of the group match. Tottenham hold the lead with eight points ahead of Sporting (7 points). But Eintracht Frankfurt (7 points) and Olympique Marseille (6 points) still have a chance of reaching the last sixteen of the Champions League.
Eintracht Frankfurt – Olympique Marseille – 2:1 (2:1)
Daichi Kamada (3rd) made the spectators in the sold-out Frankfurt stadium cheer early on. Mattéo Guendouzi (22nd) equalized in the meantime. Randal Kolo Muani (27th) brought Eintracht back on the road to victory and their second Champions League victory.
Tottenham Hotspur – Sporting Lissabon 1:1 (0:1)
In the event of a home defeat once morest Sporting, Totttenham would have lost the lead in the table. But the late equalizer by Rodrigo Bentancur (80th) helped the Spurs to first place. Marcus Edwards (22nd) gave Sporting Lisbon the lead in the first half in London.