It
was another dramatic night in the Champions League as the teams set
to feature in the Round of 16 became a little clearer.
Lionel
Messi celebrated his 700th game as a Barcelona player with his 613th
goal as the Spanish giants collided with Borussia Dortmund.
Elsewhere
Chelsea were involved in a thriller with Valencia and Liverpool were
held against a team they have struggled to beat for two seasons now
in Napoli.
Valencia
2-2 Chelsea
Daniel
Wass’s late equaliser denied Chelsea a place in the last 16 of the
Champions League as a profligate Valencia fought back for a 2-2 draw
that maintains both sides’ chances of reaching the knockout stages.
A
wide open game swung the visitors’ way after Carles Soler’s
opener for Valencia as Mateo Kovacic and Christian Pulisic put
Chelsea in pole position to avenge their 1-0 defeat on home soil to
the Spaniards on matchday one.
However,
after Kepa Arrizabalaga had saved Dani Parejo’s penalty, Wass’s
cross flummoxed the Spanish international to give Valencia a
lifeline.
Victory
at home to Lille in two weeks’ time will ensure Frank Lampard’s
men make the last 16 and they were thankful to five huge misses from
the hosts to escape with a point on a night that could also prove
costly as top-scorer Tammy Abraham was stretchered off at half-time.
Lille
0-2 Ajax
Ajax
closed in on a Champions League last 16 spot on Wednesday when the
Dutch giants won 2-0 at Lille to open a two-point lead at the top of
Group H with just one round of games to play.
Hakim
Ziyech scored the fastest goal of this year’s competition inside
two minutes at the French strugglers with Quincy Promes hitting his
fourth of the tournament on the hour mark.
Four-time
European champions Ajax have 10 points from five games, two more than
Valencia and Chelsea who fought out a 2-2 draw in Spain earlier in
the day.
Ajax
host Valencia, who they have already defeated 3-0, in their
concluding fixture next month.
Barcelona
3-1 Borussia Dortmund
Lionel
Messi marked his 700th game for Barcelona by scoring his 613th goal
on Wednesday as the Catalans beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 to go through
as group winners to the Champions League last 16.
Messi
celebrated his anniversary in style by putting Barca two up before
half-time, between laying on a pair of assists for Luis Suarez and
Antoine Griezmann in a comfortable victory at Camp Nou.
England’s
Jadon Sancho fired into the top corner for a late Dortmund
consolation but the visitors were largely disappointing and now face
a fight with Inter Milan to make it out of Group F.
Slavia
Prague 1-3 Inter Milan
A
brace from Lautaro Martinez and a Romelu Lukaku goal handed Inter
Milan a 3-1 win at Slavia Prague on Wednesday, keeping the Italians
in contention for the Champions League last 16.
Martinez
opened the scoring on 19 minutes after Lukaku had picked up a pass,
fought off two challenges and took the ball into the box before
cutting it back to the unmarked Argentinian. Martinez scored in the
fourth consecutive Champions League game for Inter.
Tomas
Soucek levelled for Slavia from the penalty spot in the 37th minute
after Stefan de Vrij had brought down striker Peter Olayinka in the
box.
Polish
referee Szymon Marciniak first ignored the foul and let play continue
with Lukaku scoring on the counter-attack before seeing his goal
chalked off as the video referee took centre stage.
Lukaku
added Inter’s second nine minutes from the end after Slavia’s
last man Michal Frydrych slipped and let him round keeper Ondrej
Kolar.
Martinez
then volleyed home his second as Lukaku robbed the Slavia defence and
provided him with a superb cross in the 88th minute.
Liverpool
1-1 Napoli
Liverpool
were made to wait to secure their place in the last 16 of the
Champions League as Napoli secured a vital point with a 1-1 draw at
Anfield on Wednesday.
Dries
Mertens threatened to inflict Liverpool’s first home defeat in the
Champions or Premier League since April 2017 with a sweetly struck
opener midway through the first half.
Dejan
Lovren’s header protected that proud unbeaten run, but the holders
still need to get at least a point away to Salzburg on December 10 to
secure their passage into the last 16.
Napoli
remain a point behind Liverpool, but are well-placed to reach the
knockout stages as they host winless Genk in two weeks’ time.
Genk
1-4 RB Salzburg
Teenager
Erling Haaland grabbed another goal and another record in the
Champions League as Red Bull Salzburg thrashed Genk 4-1 on Wednesday.
The
19-year-old Norwegian striker, who came on as a substitute in the
62nd minute, first delivered an assist and then rounded off his
team’s win three minutes from time.
Haaland
took his Champions League tally to eight goals and became the first
teenager in the history of the competition to score in five
consecutive appearances.
He
had already set a single-season scoring record for teenagers in the
Champions League.
RB
Leipzig 2-2 Benfica
RB
Leipzig qualified for the Champions League knockout stages for the
first time on Wednesday after Emil Forsberg fired them back from two
goals down to draw 2-2 with Benfica.
The
German outfit looked set to lose but Forsberg pulled a goal back from
the penalty spot in the 90th minute before hitting the leveller five
minutes into added time.
Leipzig
are three points clear of Zenit St Petersburg and Lyon at the top of
Group G with one match to play and cannot be removed from the top two
due to a superior head-to-head record.
Zenit
St Petersburg 2-0 Lyon
yon
missed out on a chance to seal a Champions League last 16 place with
a match to spare after losing 2-0 at Zenit Saint Petersburg.
A
victory in Group G over the Russian Premier League leaders would have
claimed a knockout spot for Rudi Garcia’s men but they now need
results in other matches to go their way in order to qualify.
Lyon
are third behind Zenit, level with the Russians on seven points,
ahead of their final group match on December 10 against leaders
Leipzig, who are two points clear at the top.
The
win for the home side, who travel to Benfica on the final day,
maintains their hopes of reaching the next round.
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