By: Nana Kwame Bediako
The UEFA Champions League games on November 28 ended with some exciting match results and disappointments as PSG and other struggling clubs recorded some setbacks at home to put their qualification for the round of 16 on hold.
Newcastle were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in Paris, having led at the Parc des Princes until the 98th minute, when Mbappe equalised from the spot. Isak put them ahead with 24 minutes on the clock, as a blustery second-half display seemed to have been enough to earn a crucial three points for the English side and move them up to second in the group.
Goals from Reus, Bynoe-Gittens, and Adeyemi guided Dortmund to a 3-1 victory against AC Milan at the San Siro in Milan. AC Milan fought back after Giroud missed from the spot, but that wasn’t enough.
Atletico Madrid secured a 3-1 win away to Feyenoord. The Spanish side took the lead through an own goal from Geertruida in the first half and went into the break 1-0 up. Atletico added a few more goals in the second half as Hermoso coiled a superb finish over Bijlow. Feyenoord pulled one back as though they were about to start a potential comeback as Wieffer powered a header home in the 77th minute. The goal didn’t last for long as Santiago Gimenez scored an own goal four minutes later to hand Atletico a 3:1 victory.
Barcelona secured their place in the Champions League knockout stages for the first time under Xavi with a 2-1 comeback home win against Porto. The visitors hit the front through Pepe Aquino’s first-half strike but were pegged back just two minutes later through Joao Cancelo’s superb effort. Jao Felix also scored in the 57th minute after he capitalised on Cancelo’s cross.
Manchester City won 3-2 over RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium after a wonderful comeback. City crawled their way back from two goals down at halftime to secure first place in Group G with one match remaining. The reigning European champions slept through the first half, finding themselves punished twice by Openda’s lethal finishing, but some second-half substitutions brought a change of momentum and, crucially, three goals, as City moved six points clear of Leipzig and secured their spot in the next round.
Qualified to UCL round of 16:
Manchester City
RB Leipzig
Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid
Barcelona
Real Sociedad
Lazio
Inter
The actions continues today November 29, 2023 with Real Madrid welcoming Napoli to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to slug it out.