Man.City clinch Champions League last-16 spot with Galatasaray win
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki struck before halftime to secure a Champions League place in the last 16 for their side in a 2-0 victory over Galatasaray on Wednesday.Pep Guardiola’s side claimed eighth spot with 16 points in the eight-game league phase to just avoid the two-legged playoffs and advance directly to the last 16 for a precious slice of breathing room in a packed fixture schedule.Galatasaray ended 20th on 10 points and go into the playoffs.Liverpool, and Barcelona booked last-16 places in the Champions League on Wednesday, as holders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Real Madrid missed out on the top eight.Haaland headed an early chance wide but made up for it in the 11th minute when Jeremy Doku delivered a perfect ball to put him one-on-one with Ugurcan Cakir. The Norwegian chipped the ball over the keeper for his first open-play goal in 10 games.Doku also provided the assist for Cherki’s goal when he drew two defenders before laying the ball back for the Frenchman, who took a touch before slotting it home in the 29th minute.Doku went off with a calf injury soon afterwards to a standing ovation.City were coming off a shock 3-1 defeat at Bodo/Glimt last week that left them 11th and needing a win to have a chance of claiming a top-eight spot.Haaland’s goal was his seventh in eight Champions League games and his 56th in 56 appearances in Europe’s elite club competition. He is now joint-eighth on the all-time scorers list alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy, who netted 56 times in 73 games.Haaland missed a late chance which would have been a stunning strike when he flew in with an outstretched leg but failed to connect with Phil Foden’s cross into the six-yard box.City controlled long stretches of the match and squandered numerous chances. Nico O’Reilly launched a rocket in the first half that Cakir tipped over. The keeper also saved a close-range shot from an unmarked Omar Marmoush in the second half.Despite Galatasaray’s spirited second-half response, City’s much-needed victory - the fifth win of the campaign for the 2023 Champions League winners - never felt in doubt.After the final whistle, fans at Etihad Stadium peered at their phones as a late goal from Real Madrid in their game against Benfica would have knocked City down to ninth. A rousing cheer went up when instead Benfica’s goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored in the 98th minute for a 4-2 victory.Inter, Juve miss top eight: Inter Milan failed to seal a top-eight berth despite a 2-0 success over Borussia Dortmund, as did Juventus after their goalless draw at Monaco.Atletico, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund, Olympiacos, Club Brugge and Galatasaray are the other sides into the play-off round.Liverpool thrash Qarabag: Premier League champions Liverpool thrashed Qarabag 6-0 in the eighth and final round of league-phase matches at Anfield to finish third in the 36-team table behind already-qualified Arsenal and Bayern Munich.They were joined in the last 16 by Tottenham, Barca, Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon and City.But holders PSG will have to go through the knockout play-off round, as they did en route to glory last season, after a 1-1 home draw with Newcastle.Record 15-time winners Real Madrid also missed out on direct last-16 qualification in a dramatic 4-2 loss at former coach Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, who snatched the final play-off spot thanks to a 98th-minute goal from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.Liverpool forged ahead against Qarabag with a scrappy goal from Alexis Mac Allister before Florian Wirtz slotted in a second.Mohamed Salah curled in from the edge of the box after Dominik Szoboszlai laid off a free-kick early in the second half and Hugo Ekitike raced clear to make it four.Mac Allister completed a brace and substitute Federico Chiesa rounded off the rout.Barcelona, semi-finalists last season, came from behind to beat FC Copenhagen 4-1 at the Camp Nou, finishing fifth in the table.Agencies
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki struck before halftime to secure a Champions League place in the last 16 for their side in a 2-0 victory over Galatasaray on Wednesday.Pep Guardiola’s side claimed eighth spot with 16 points in the eight-game league phase to just avoid the two-legged playoffs and advance directly to the last 16 for a precious slice of breathing room in a packed fixture schedule.Galatasaray ended 20th on 10 points and go into the playoffs.Liverpool, and Barcelona booked last-16 places in the Champions League on Wednesday, as holders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Real Madrid missed out on the top eight.Haaland headed an early chance wide but made up for it in the 11th minute when Jeremy Doku delivered a perfect ball to put him one-on-one with Ugurcan Cakir. The Norwegian chipped the ball over the keeper for his first open-play goal in 10 games.Doku also provided the assist for Cherki’s goal when he drew two defenders before laying the ball back for the Frenchman, who took a touch before slotting it home in the 29th minute.Doku went off with a calf injury soon afterwards to a standing ovation.City were coming off a shock 3-1 defeat at Bodo/Glimt last week that left them 11th and needing a win to have a chance of claiming a top-eight spot.Haaland’s goal was his seventh in eight Champions League games and his 56th in 56 appearances in Europe’s elite club competition. He is now joint-eighth on the all-time scorers list alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy, who netted 56 times in 73 games.Haaland missed a late chance which would have been a stunning strike when he flew in with an outstretched leg but failed to connect with Phil Foden’s cross into the six-yard box.City controlled long stretches of the match and squandered numerous chances. Nico O’Reilly launched a rocket in the first half that Cakir tipped over. The keeper also saved a close-range shot from an unmarked Omar Marmoush in the second half.Despite Galatasaray’s spirited second-half response, City’s much-needed victory - the fifth win of the campaign for the 2023 Champions League winners - never felt in doubt.After the final whistle, fans at Etihad Stadium peered at their phones as a late goal from Real Madrid in their game against Benfica would have knocked City down to ninth. A rousing cheer went up when instead Benfica’s goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored in the 98th minute for a 4-2 victory.Inter, Juve miss top eight: Inter Milan failed to seal a top-eight berth despite a 2-0 success over Borussia Dortmund, as did Juventus after their goalless draw at Monaco.Atletico, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund, Olympiacos, Club Brugge and Galatasaray are the other sides into the play-off round.Liverpool thrash Qarabag: Premier League champions Liverpool thrashed Qarabag 6-0 in the eighth and final round of league-phase matches at Anfield to finish third in the 36-team table behind already-qualified Arsenal and Bayern Munich.They were joined in the last 16 by Tottenham, Barca, Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon and City.But holders PSG will have to go through the knockout play-off round, as they did en route to glory last season, after a 1-1 home draw with Newcastle.Record 15-time winners Real Madrid also missed out on direct last-16 qualification in a dramatic 4-2 loss at former coach Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, who snatched the final play-off spot thanks to a 98th-minute goal from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.Liverpool forged ahead against Qarabag with a scrappy goal from Alexis Mac Allister before Florian Wirtz slotted in a second.Mohamed Salah curled in from the edge of the box after Dominik Szoboszlai laid off a free-kick early in the second half and Hugo Ekitike raced clear to make it four.Mac Allister completed a brace and substitute Federico Chiesa rounded off the rout.Barcelona, semi-finalists last season, came from behind to beat FC Copenhagen 4-1 at the Camp Nou, finishing fifth in the table.Agencies
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