Champions League: Chelsea, Barcelona through to knockout stage
Chelsea advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League with a game to spare after beating 10-man Qarabag 4-0 on Wednesday, securing manager Antonio Conte’s 50th victory in all competitions with the Blues.
Barcelona needed only a point to reach the Round of 16 and the Spanish superpower got exactly that against Juventus. A 0-0 draw at last year’s runner-up was enough to ensure top spot in Group D.
Already through, Paris Saint-Germain conceded the first goal of its European campaign in the first minute — before then unleashing its unstoppable firepower to thrash Celtic 7-1 in Paris.
A goalless draw at Basel would have been enough for Manchester United to top Group A, but the Premier League club slipped to its first group stage loss, going down 1-0 to a goal conceded just a minute from time.
Here is a look at what happened in Wednesday’s games.
GROUP A: Manchester United was deservedly beaten 1-0 by a spirited Basel, leaving all the qualification places open with one game remaining. Basel defender Michael Lang struck in the 89th minute to earn a win for the Swiss champion.
Still, United leads the standings
with 12 points, three clear of both Basel and CSKA Moscow, which earlier won 2-0 at home to last-place Benfica.
GROUP B: Neymar scored twice and set up another goal as Paris SaintGermain produced its biggest Champions League win to extend its perfect record in the group stage this season.
PSG leads Group B with 15 points, three more than Bayern Munich, which won 2-1 at Anderlecht.
Both PSG and Bayern are guaranteed a spot in the knockout phase
and will battle for group supremacy on Dec. 5.
GROUP C: Antoine Griezmann found the net with a stunning overhead kick as Atletico Madrid defeated Roma 2-0 to keep alive its hopes of advancing.
Atletico has six points, two less than Roma, with one match to play.
GROUP D: Juventus will have to wait until the final round to try and qualify for the knockout stages. The Italian side remained second in the group but is only a point above Sporting Lisbon, which beat Olympiakos 3-1.