Man City stage dramatic comeback against Leipzig to top Group G
Manchester City produced a remarkable second-half comeback to defeat RB Leipzig 3-2 in their UEFA Champions League match at the Etihad Stadium, securing top spot in Group G for the seventh consecutive season.
The visitors took a surprising lead in the first half through a brace from Lois Openda, leaving the hosts trailing 2-0 at the break. However, City emerged from the interval with renewed vigor, and the introduction of Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku proved to be a turning point.
Phil Foden played a pivotal role in City’s resurgence, setting up Erling Haaland for a goal and then scoring one himself to level the score. With three minutes remaining, Alvarez delivered the decisive blow, securing City’s fifth consecutive victory in the competition and maintaining their perfect record.
City’s slow start in the first half proved costly, as Openda capitalized on their defensive lapses to put Leipzig in control. However, the hosts’ second-half transformation was nothing short of spectacular, with Alvarez, Doku, and Foden orchestrating a stunning comeback.
Despite both teams having already qualified for the knockout stages, City’s desire to secure top spot shone through, and their determination was rewarded with a dramatic victory. They will now face Red Star Belgrade in their final group match, while RB Leipzig will host Young Boys.
PSG steal late draw from Newcastle in UCL clash
Newcastle United were on the brink of a infamous victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League, but a controversial penalty deep into stoppage time denied them all three points.
Kylian Mbappe converted the penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw for PSG at the Parc des Princes, leaving Newcastle’s fate in the Champions League hanging in the balance.
The Magpies looked set for a stunning victory after Alexander Isak put them ahead in the first half, but a VAR intervention led to a harshly awarded penalty for handball against Tino Lavramento.
Mbappe made no mistake from the spot to level the scores in the 98th minute, leaving Newcastle heartbroken.
The result means Newcastle sit third in Group F and will need to beat AC Milan in their final match and hope that Borussia Dortmund do them a favor by defeating PSG if they are to reach the knockout stage.
Barcelona seal last-16 spot, Celtic knocked out
Barcelona came back from a goal down to beat Porto 2-1 and seal their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Celtic’s late defeat Lazio saw them knocked out of Europe.
Barcelona and Porto both had three wins and a defeat from the first four matches, both needed a win in order to help nail down their chances of progressing to the next round.
There looked to be a surprise on the cards when Pepe put Porto ahead after half an hour.
However, Joao Cancelo scored just two minutes later in response, cutting in from the left to drill a fine shot into the far corner.
Joao Felix notched a rare goal for this season as he put the Catalans ahead on 57 minutes.
Barcelona lead Group H on 12 points, three ahead of second-placed Porto.
Elsewhere in the group, Shakhtar Donetsk defeated Antwerp 1-0.
Because of the war in Ukraine, Shakhtar were playing host at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany.
Antwerp, meanwhile, had four defeats from their opening four matches, so were largely playing for their own sense of honour.
Mykola Matviyenko gave the home side the lead after just 12 minutes, which proved to be the only goal of the game. The visitors had Arbnor Muja sent off in stoppage-time.
The three points moved Shakhtar level with leaders Barcelona and second-placed Porto.
Celtic started bottom of Group E with a single point, while Lazio were second on seven ahead of Atletico Madrid’s tie with Feyenoord.
The Scottish champions needed to win to stay in contention of qualifying for either the Champions League knockout stages or the remainder of the UEFA Europa League.
A win for Lazio would have guaranteed them a place in the knockout rounds.
Luis Alberto had an excellent early chance to put the home side ahead, but he headed his cross at the back post into the ground and wide, but Brendan Rodgers’ men were largely secure in defence.
However, while Celtic looked like they had done enough to earn a point, two strikes in three minutes saw their hopes dashed.
Atletico travelled to Feyenoord with the pressure on to stay in touch with Lazio, with Diego Simeone’s men on eight points, and Feyenoord on six.
They went ahead when the home side’s Lutsharel Geertruda scored an own goal on 14 minutes, and Mario Hermoso made it two just before the hour mark.
The Dutch side pulled one back through Mats Wieffer, but a Santiago Gimenez own goal re-established a 2-0 lead to leave Atletico back on top of Group E by one point.
