Chronicle EditorPARIS. – Manchester United and Juventus were among the sides to clinch a place in the last 16 of the Champions League soccer on Tuesday night, while Bayern Munich gained a measure of revenge over Paris Saint-Germain.
United, Juventus, Roma and Basel all went through with victories in their final group games, but Atletico Madrid, beaten finalists in 2014 and 2016 were eliminated. Jose Mourinho’s United side came from behind to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 at Old Trafford as they reach the knock-out rounds for the first time since 2013-14.
Only a heavy defeat could have eliminated United in Group A, but Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford scored two minutes apart in the second half to seal victory at Old Trafford, where they are unbeaten in 40 games in all competitions now.
CSKA had taken the lead with a contentious goal on the stroke of half-time, a shot from the Brazilian Vitinho going in off the back of Alan Dzagoev.
At first glance Dzagoev appeared off-side, but replays showed he had been played on by Daley Blind, who had just slid off the pitch. The goal was credited to Vitinho. CSKA drop into the Europa League, while Basel reached the last 16 for the third time this decade, the Swiss champions beating Benfica 2-0 in Lisbon with goals from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Dimitri Oberlin.
Last season’s beaten finalists Juventus progressed from Group D thanks to their 2-0 win away to Olympiakos in Greece, Juan Cuadrado opening the scoring early on before Federico Bernardeschi completed the victory late on.
The Italian champions go through behind Barcelona, who rounded off their group phase by easing to a 2-0 win at home against Sporting Lisbon. Lionel Messi was left on the bench at a sparsely populated Camp Nou as Paco Alcacer headed the hosts in front on the hour and Jeremy Mathieu then scored a late own goal against his old side. Sporting drop into the Europa League. – AFP.
Online Reporter