Man United, Juventus clinch last-16 spots
Manchester United reached the Champions League last-16 as the Group A winner after coming from behind to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 at home and finish ahead of Basel, which also went through with a 2-0 win at Benfica late Tuesday night.
The result left United top of the section on 15 points, three more than second-place Basel and six ahead of third-place CSKA, which will carry on in the second-tier Europa League after the winter break.
In other action, Juventus also claimed a place in the last-16 as Juan Cuadrado and Federico Bernardeschi secured a 2-0 win at Greek side Olympiacos and second place in Group D.
The Serie A side, the runner-up in last year’s competition, needed a win to ensure progression to the knockout round was not threatened by Sporting, which in action at Barcelona.
The result, coupled with Barca’s 2-0 win over Sporting, meant Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve side finished second in the group, three points behind the Catalans.
Chelsea surrenders top spot with Atletico draw
Meanwhile, Chelsea surrendered the top spot in Group C when it drew 1-1 at home against Atletico Madrid.
The Blues, who had already secured their place in the knockout phase, finished second in the group behind Italy’s AS Roma, while Atletico, a finalist in 2014 and 2016, will drop into the Europa League after finishing third.
Chelsea could face Barcelona, Paris Saint Germain, Besiktas or potential Group E winners Sevilla, in the last-16.
“When you go through to the next round in this competition, you must be prepared to face the best teams. We could play against Barcelona, PSG or Besiktas, but we must be ready,” said Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.
“This is the best tournament. That’s why you want to go through and try and be a protagonist in this tournament. At the same time, our opponents won’t be happy to play against us. We’ll see what happens.”
Conte’s side is the only English team to not finish first in its group so far after Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur progressed as group winners.
Liverpool had a chance to join the trio and finish ahead of Sevilla in Group E, if it beat Spartak Moscow late on Wednesday.
Bayern ends PSG’s perfect record
Also, Bayern Munich ruined Paris Saint Germain’s perfect Champions League record this season with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday, but the rousing win could not stop the French side advancing as the Group B winner.
With both teams already qualified for the knockout stages, Corentin Tolisso’s double and another goal from Robert Lewandowski gave Bayern hope of pulling off the improbable win by a four-goal margin that would see it top the group.
Yet PSG, which had thumped Bayern 3-0 in Paris, always looked likely to avoid that indignity in a high-quality contest once Kylian Mbappe scored just after halftime when PSG was 2-0 down. (Reuters)