PLAYERS SHOW UNITY AGAINST RACISM
The last night of the Champions League group stage began with a display of players united against racism for a second straight evening in Paris.
It ended with business as usual for Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, who avoided early exits to advance to the knockout rounds.
Atalanta and Borussia Monchengladbach also claimed places in the round of 16.
There were nine games instead of the usual eight Wednesday after the remarkable events 24 hours earlier when Paris Saint-Germain’s game against Istanbul Basaksehir was suspended.
Players on both teams had refused to continue after a fourth official from Romania used a racial insult when referring to a Basaksehir assistant coach, Pierre Webo, who is Black.
They returned to Parc des Princes to resume the game in the 14th minute with replacement match officials from the Netherlands.
The new refereeing crew joined players in observing the competition anthem before kickoff by taking a knee around the center circle, while most raised a fist.
“Nothing beats actions. We’re tired of this, we never
want to experience this again,” PSG striker Kylian Mbappe said.
When the game restarted, Neymar ensured PSG would finish top of Group H by scoring a hat trick in a 5-1 win. The French champion was already assured of advancing with Leipzig.
Earlier Wednesday, UEFA said it appointed a disciplinary inspector to investigate the incident. The fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, risks a ban from games.
Relief in Madrid
Ahead of a Madrid derby in the Spanish league this weekend, both teams risked going
out of the Champions League.
Real Madrid kept its record intact of always advancing from the group stage by beating Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0 at its empty training ground.
Karim Benzema scored twice in the first half to take Madrid through for the 24th straight season as Group B winner.
Gladbach fell to second place and stayed there through a nervous few minutes after the final whistle. The team huddled around a tablet to watch the closing stages of Inter Milan’s 0-0 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.
A goal for either team would have earned a place in the last-16. Inter finished in last place, and Shakhtar was third — going into the Europa League round of 32 — despite beating Madrid twice.
Atletico had to avoid defeat at Salzburg to join group winner Bayern Munich in the knockout rounds. Coach Diego Simone’s team won 2-0 with goals late in each half.
Salzburg and its American coach, Jesse Marsch, head to the Europa League.
Notable
Bayern won 2-0 at home to Lokomotiv Moscow to finish with a competition-best 16 points. Manchester City matched that tally with a 3-0 win over Marseille that included a goal from Sergio Aguero in his return from injury.
• Ajax and Atalanta were the feelgood stories of the past two Champions League seasons. There was room for only one of them in the knockout stages this time, and Atalanta won 1-0 in Amsterdam to join group winner Liverpool in the last 16. Liverpool settled for a 1-1 draw at Midtjylland.
The final 16 features 14 teams from the four big leagues — Spain, England, Germany, Italy — plus PSG and Porto. The draw is Monday, with first-leg games played from Feb. 16-24 and second legs from March 9-17.