Gr.A: Paris tossed but qualified with City
For lack of first place, the qualification is there for Paris: dominated and beaten at the Etihad Stadium, the PSG secured a tenth consecutive participation in the eighth of C1 by taking advantage of the defeat, at the same time, of Club Bruges against the RB Leipzig (5-0).
Paris Saint-Germain forwards, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar, after Manchester City's equalizer, during their Champions League group match, on November 24, 2021 at the Etihad Stadium Paul ELLIS AFP
With eight points, the Parisians can no longer be joined by the Germans and the Belgians (4 pts each) ... but can no longer join the Mancuniens (12 pts), assured of first place in the group and therefore of a protected draw for the eighths.
At least the Paris ball will be in the hats on December 13, regardless of a last game without a stake on December 7 against Bruges at the Parc des Princes ...
But the muddled copy made by Mauricio Pochettino's team, the center of attention of the English press because of Manchester United's supposed interest in the Argentine coach, is not reassuring.
Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé opens the scoring against Manchester City in their Champions League group match on November 24, 2021 at the Etihad Stadium Paul ELLIS AFP
Kylian Mbappé, scorer between the legs of the goalkeeper (50th), believed to achieve the perfect robbery ... but Raheem Sterling (63rd) and Gabriel Jesus (77th) materialized the stranglehold of the players of Pep Guardiola, ultradominators throughout the match .
The two teams knew anyway that they were already qualified for the eighth, as Leipzig easily dominated Bruges with in particular a double from the French Christopher Nkunku (12th, 90th + 3), author of his sixth and seventh goals in this C1.
Gr.B: Milan surprises Atlético, who will play big
In the other poster of the evening: Atlético Madrid was surprised at home by AC Milan (1-0) on a goal from Messias Junior at the end of the game (88th).
Brazilian AC Milan striker Messias Junior scores the only goal in the Champions League group match against Atletico on November 24, 2021 at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU AFP
Small consolation for the "Colchoneros": Liverpool, already qualified, played the game and beat Porto 2-0.
But Diego Simeone's team (4 pts) will play very big in two weeks in Portugal, where they will have to beat the Dragons (5 pts) to see the eighth ...
Gr.C: Sporting oust Dortmund, Haller continues
Small event: Borussia Dortmund, still deprived of its injured star Erling Haaland, fell 3-1 at Sporting, in Lisbon, leaving the Portuguese to secure second qualifying place for the eighth, in particular thanks to a brace of Pedro Gonçalves (30th, 39th).
The joy of Sporting Portugal striker Pedro Goncalves after scoring the second goal against Borussia Dortmund during their Champions League group match on November 24, 2021 in Lisbon PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA AFP
This success, acquired in numerical superiority after the exclusion of Emre Can (74th), allows Sporting Portugal to secure the ascendancy in direct confrontations (1-0 defeat in the first leg) and therefore to condemn BVB , quarter-finalist last season, to be transferred to the Europa League ...
In the other meeting, without a stake between Ajax Amsterdam already qualified and Besiktas already eliminated (2-1), the insatiable Sébastien Haller struck again: in Istanbul, the Ivorian international striker scored a new double (54th , 69th), his 8th and 9th goals in C1, to join Robert Lewandowski at the top of the scorers ranking for this edition.
The joy of Ivorian striker of Ajax Amsterdam, Sebastien Haller, congratulated by midfielder Davy Klaassen, after scoring his second goal against Besiktas, during their group match of the Europa League, on November 24, 2021 in Istanbul OZAN KOSE AFP
And the meeting was also marked by the tenure of Ajax goalkeeper André Onana, back after a one-year suspension for doping.
Gr.D: Real and Inter in 8th, Benzema scorer
The big names have enforced the hierarchy in Group D: Real Madrid, striker of Sheriff (3-0) in Tiraspol, and Inter Milan, victorious of Shakhtar Donetsk (2-0), won the first two places and will compete in two weeks to see who will finish first.
Bosnian Inter Milan striker Edin Dzeko (l) congratulated by his teammates after opening the home scoring against Shakhtar Donetsk in their Champions League group match on November 24, 2021 at San Siro Marco Stadium BERTORELLO AFP
Real side, we expected Karim Benzema, in the viewfinder of public opinion Wednesday after his sentence to one year suspended prison sentence and 75,000 euros fine after being found guilty of complicity in attempted blackmail on his former teammate Mathieu Valbuena .
The French, honored with the captain's armband of the "White House", did not seem affected by these setbacks, scoring a splendid goal (55th).
He helped ensure the qualification of Real, along with David Alaba (32nd) and Toni Kroos (45th + 1).
The joy of French striker of Real Madrid, Karim Benzema, after scoring the third goal against Sheriff Tiraspol, during their group match of the Champions League, on November 24, 2021 in Tiraspol (Moldova) Sergei GAPON AFP
In the early evening, Inter Milan had done the job by taming Shakhtar 2-0 on a brace from Bosnian Edin Dzeko (61st, 67th).
© 2021 AFP