English teams edge Italians to advance in Champions League
GENEVA >> It ended England 2, Italy 0 on a tense night of decisive Champions League group games on Tuesday.
Liverpool advanced to the round of 16 by beating Napoli 1-0, though it relied on a stoppage-time save by goalkeeper Alisson Becker. Tottenham is also in Monday’s draw after defying expectations in Barcelona thanks to Lucas Moura’s 85th-minute leveler in a 1-1 draw.
Even with that point, Tottenham still needed Inter Milan to fail to beat winless PSV Eindhoven — and it ended 1-1 in San Siro.
Both English teams overcame nervous endings to finish runner-up in their groups, and edged headto-head tiebreakers with Italian rivals after finishing level on points.
A late goal in any of the three games would have changed the equation but Alisson saved Liverpool, second-half substitute Lionel Messi couldn’t lift Barcelona, and Inter failed to find a winner in seven minutes of stoppage time.
Napoli kicked off Tuesday leading Group C but dropped below Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, which won 4-1 at Red Star Belgrade to advance in top spot.
The four qualifying places in the other two groups playing Tuesday were decided last month.
Still, Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win at Monaco meant it rose above Atletico Madrid — which drew 0-0 at Club Brugge — to win Group A.
Porto had already clinched Group D’s top spot before winning 3-2 at Galatasaray, and runner-up Schalke beat visiting Lokomotiv Moscow 1-0.
Group winners will be drawn against a runner-up and play the second leg at home in the round of 16.
Third-place teams transfer to the Europa League’s round of 32, which is also drawn Monday at UEFA headquarters.
Napoli and Inter are joined there by Club Brugge and Galatasaray.
ENGLAND’S REVIVAL
England is having a stellar year on the international stage compared to four-time world champion Italy.
The English reached the semifinals at the World Cup in Russia, for which Italy failed to qualify, and advanced to the Nations League Final Four. Italy could have hosted that mini-tournament next June but failed to advance from a group won by Portugal.
Now, England will have all four of its teams in the Champions League round of 16 draw because both Manchester clubs, City and United, already secured their places before playing Wednesday.
After Napoli and Inter was eliminated Tuesday, Italy has just two teams in the draw. Juventus and Roma are also already through ahead of their final group-stage game Wednesday.