Spurs, PSG, Liverpool clinch last-16 berths

Tottenham snatches draw at Barca • Parisians brush aside Red Star • Salah fires Liverpool past Napoli

BARCELONA (Reuters) – Tottenham Hotspur produced a bold and spirited performance, coming from behind to grab a 1-1 draw at Barcelona which saw them finish second in Champions League Group B and reach the last-16 at the expense of Inter Milan on Tuesday night.

Spurs were facing a much-changed Barca side, which had already qualified in first place and started without talisman Lionel Messi, but they fell behind to an astonishing run and strike from Ousmane Dembele in the seventh minute.

Tottenham dominated much of the game, but was repeatedly denied by outstanding saves from Barca’s reserve goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen before pulling level when Lucas Moura turned in a Harry Kane cross from close range in the 85th minute.

Danny Rose spurned a glorious chance to give Spurs the win but they squeezed through to the knockout stages thanks to Inter Milan drawing 1-1 at home to already-eliminated PSV Eindhoven.

The Dutch side, with only one point from its first five games, took a shock lead in the 13th minute when Hirving Lozano headed home after Kwadwo Asamoah lost possession in defense.

The visitors then survived incessant Inter pressure until Mauro Icardi headed in from Matteo Politano’s cross in the 73rd minute.

It meant both Inter and Tottenham finished with eight points, but Spurs qualified due to their superior head-to-head record.

Barcelona, which equaled Bayern Munich’s Champions League record run of 29 home games without defeat, was the runaway winner of the group on 14 points.

The result capped a fine comeback in the group from Spurs, who had taken only one point from their opening three games in the campaign and looked dead and buried after conceding late in a 2-2 draw at PSV in October.

“I’m so happy, so proud, I remember that after PSV, no-one believed in us, it was mission impossible, but we are here, we’re in the next round,” Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino told a news conference.

To guarantee a knock-out place, Tottenham needed to become the first team since Bayern Munich in 2013 to win at the Nou Camp in the Champions League and was encouraged by Barca coach Ernesto Valverde making seven changes from Saturday’s 4-0 win at Espanyol.

In other action, Paris Saint Germain reached the last-16 as superb first-half goals from Edinson Cavani and Neymar helped secure a 4-1 win at Red Star Belgrade.

The result lifted the French champion to the top of Group C on 11 points from six games, two ahead of Liverpool, which also qualified thanks to a 1-0 home win over Napoli that left it ahead of the Italian side on goals scored.

The visitors dominated the first half in Belgrade, and Cavani fired them ahead with a 10th-minute tap-in from close range after Kylian Mbappe raced clear of his marker and squared the ball back to the Uruguay striker.

Neymar doubled PSG’s lead in the 40th minute with a brilliant individual goal as his shimmies and lightning footwork left several markers flat-footed before the Brazil forward stroked the ball past goalkeeper Milan Borjan.

Roared on by a 55,000 home crowd, Red Star came out with renewed purpose in the second half and pulled one back when defender Marko Gobeljic unleashed a sumptuous volley after a fine cross from the left by full back Milan Rodic.

But PSG weathered the storm and put the game beyond Red Star’s reach as Brazilian midfielder Marquinhos buried an unstoppable header past Borjan in the 74th minute and Mbappe completed the rout with a clinical stoppage-time finish.

In England, Mohamed Salah’s first-half strike gave Liverpool the win over Napoli it needed at Anfield, sending the Italian side crashing out.

Liverpool knew that a 1-0 win, or a victory by two goals or more, would be enough to seal a top two spot in Group C, and Salah was again the hero, scoring what proved to be the winner in the 34th minute.

Napoli pressed for a leveler in the second half, with Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson denying Arkadiusz Milik in stoppage time, but the home side’s resolute defense – which has conceded just six Premier League goals all season so far – stood firm.

“I’m still full of good feeling,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said. “This game was just amazing. Outstanding, unbelievable. The boys played with their whole heart on the pitch.”

“Napoli has gone very close but not quite far enough,” said Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti.

“We have no regrets really. The players have done well in such a very difficult group. It would have been a wonderful achievement to qualify. Lots of people did not even think we would take it this far.”

Also, Atletico Madrid was denied top place in Group A after a goalless draw away at Club Bruges in Belgium meant it finished second behind Borussia Dortmund.

The Germans started the final match day two points behind Atletico, but by beating Monaco 2-0 away ended tied on 13 points with the Spanish club and took top place based on the head-to-head scores between them.

Bruges finished third in the standings and will play in the Europa League in the new year.