 | « Back to article | Print this article |
A summary of Tuesday's Champions League Round of 16, Second Leg, matches.
Paris St Germain beat Liverpool 4-1 in a penalty shootout to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals after winning a rip-roaring last-16 second-leg match at Anfield 1-0 on Tuesday thanks to a goal from livewire Ousmane Dembele.
After the tie had finished 1-1 on aggregate, PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved spot kicks from Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones, while the visitors converted all of their efforts.
Ligue 1 leaders PSG will meet either Aston Villa or Club Brugge in the quarters, with Villa taking a 3-1 lead into Wednesday's second leg.
Dembele stunned the Anfield crowd with his 12th-minute goal against the run of play. Ibrahima Konate slid in to block Bradley Barcola's effort but pushed the ball away from goalkeeper Alisson in the process, and Dembele needed only to knock it into an empty net.
The goal was the earliest Premier League-leading Liverpool had conceded at Anfield in the Champions League since September 2017 against Sevilla.
Arne Slot's team played considerably better than a week earlier -- when they needed a last-gasp goal from substitute Harvey Elliott after the Parisians had dominated -- and Reds talisman Mohamed Salah had a shot blocked on the goal line by Nuno Mendes in the game's first few minutes.
Donnarumma was forced into making an early diving save to keep out a shot from Konate, but both sides spurned chances in a nervy game that had fans on the edge of their seats.
Liverpool parked themselves in PSG's territory for much of the second half of normal time and had a goal from Dominik Szoboszlai chalked off for offside in the build-up early in the second period.
They kept Donnarumma busy in the dying minutes, with the keeper parrying away ball after ball fired into the box, but it was Dembele who unleashed what looked like the winner in extra time before Alisson made a dramatic diving save to push the ball wide with his fingertips.
PSG were rock solid under pressure in the shootout, with Vitinha, Goncalo Ramos, Dembele and Desire Doue all finding the net. Liverpool got off to a good start with Mo Salah slamming his effort home, but Nunez and Jones both had tame efforts comfortably stopped by Donnarumma.
Liverpool boss Slot was magnanimous in defeat and even had words of praise for his beaten side.
"I think it was the best game of football I’ve ever been involved in," he said.
"We ran out of luck maybe after last week. After 90 minutes we played the perfect game except for not scoring."
History was not on the Parisians' side on Tuesday, as they became just the fourth of 28 teams to progress after losing the first leg at home in a Champions League knockout tie.
The thousands of travelling fans, many of them shirtless despite the chilly temperature, were not daunted by the odds, as they danced and sang until the final whistle.
Barcelona too good for Benfica
Raphinha scored twice and Lamine Yamal netted with a stunning strike in a rampant first half as Barcelona dismantled Benfica 3-1 in their Champions League last-16 second leg, advancing to the quarter-finals with a 4-1 aggregate victory.
Barca will meet the winner of the tie between Lille and Borussia Dortmund, who play on Wednesday after the first leg in Germany ended in a 1-1 draw.
It was an inspired evening for teenager Yamal, who was virtually unplayable running up and down the right channel, creating most of Barca's scoring chances.
The 17-year-old Spain winger worked his magic with a spectacular solo run to gift Raphinha the opener in the 11th minute, leaving two opponents on the ground before crossing for the Brazil forward to poke the ball into the net with a close-range volley.
Benfica hit back through a Nicolas Otamendi header from a corner two minutes later, but Barca kept piling on the pressure with Yamal proving a nightmare for Benfica left back Samuel Dahl, who was powerless to stop the Spanish teenager.
Yamal teed up chances for Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo and missed with a low strike from the edge of the box, before he finally put the home side back in front in the 28th minute.
He cut inside and beat a disorientated Dahl before unleashing a swerving left-footed shot into keeper Anatoliy Trubin's top-right corner.
At 17 years and 241 days, Yamal became the youngest player to both score and assist in the same Champions League game, surpassing Breel Embolo's previous record with Basel against Ludogorets in 2014 by 22 days.
Raphinha extended Barca's lead from a quick counter-attack in the 42nd minute to go top of the Champions League scoring chart this season with 11 goals.
The 28-year-old forward became the highest scoring Brazilian in a single Champions League season, surpassing Jardel, Rivaldo, Kaka, Neymar and Firmino who held the record with 10 goals.
Barca managed the game after the break against a Benfica side that lacked both the will and firepower to pose a real threat to the Catalan giants in a second half that looked like a glorified training session.
Barca are on a 17-game unbeaten run across all competitions and are in contention for three major titles. They lead LaLiga and have reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals, where they drew 4-4 with Atletico Madrid in the first leg before the return on April 2.
Bayern ease past Leverkusen into last eight
Bayern Munich's Harry Kane scored one goal and set up another as his side beat hosts Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in the Champions League last-16 second leg on to advance with a 5-0 aggregate win to the last eight where they face Inter Milan next month.
Kane, who netted twice in last week's 3-0 first leg win, tapped home from close range in the 52nd minute for a 10th Champions League goal that made him the first English player to score 10 times in a single European Cup season.
The England striker then delivered a one-touch pinpoint assist for Alphonso Davies to score the second goal in the 71st.
In the fifth clash of the two teams this season, Bayern got off to a stronger start and had two early chances through Kane.
With a 3-0 first leg deficit to overcome, it was Leverkusen who had to go forward but they were badly missing the creativity and tempo of injured midfielder Florian Wirtz.
They did come close through Patrik Schick's' header late in the first half though.
Bayern kept the hosts on the backfoot and Michael Olise's deflected shot narrowly missed the target three minutes after the restart.
Kane did it better, tapping in a Joshua Kimmich cross after sloppy defending from Schick, to put the visitors in front and the tie to bed.
Leverkusen, who have now lost their last three matches across all competitions, were toothless for most of the game and only got their first shot on target in the 62nd minute.
It came as no surprise when Bayern struck again, this time with Davies drilling in from a Kane assist nine minutes later.
Bayern, who also lead the Bundesliga title race with an eight-point gap over second-placed reigning champions Leverkusen, had several late chances to add to their tally.
Kane fired wide with only goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky to beat and Jamal Musiala rattled the crossbar in the 81st. The 22-year-old also hit the post with a shot five minutes later.
Bayern's next opponents Inter, who are top of Serie A, last lifted the trophy in 2010, beating the Bavarians in the final in a treble-winning season which they are on course to repeat.
Inter Milan cruise past Feyenoord
Marcus Thuram and Hakan Calhanoglu were on target as Inter Milan beat Feyenoord 2-1 in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the San Siro on to advance comfortably into the quarter-finals with a 4-1 aggregate win.
Serie A leaders Inter will face Bundesliga table toppers Bayern Munich, who defeated Bayer Leverkusen 5-0 on aggregate, in the quarter-finals next month.
Three-time winners Inter last lifted the trophy in 2010, beating Bayern in the final in a treble-winning season, and Inzaghi's side are still on course to repeat that feat, with a Coppa Italia semi-final also to come in April.
Feyenoord keeper Timon Wellenreuther was in action early on, failing to hold a Henrikh Mkhitaryan shot but he did gather Carlos Augusto's headed effort from the resulting corner.
Aymen Sliti, making his senior debut for the Dutch club, tried his luck from outside the area but Inter keeper Yann Sommer easily smothered the 18-year-old winger's shot as Feyenoord looked to grab an early goal.
Feyenoord came into the game with an uphill task after losing 2-0 at home last week, and by the eighth minute they were left with a mountain to climb following Thuram's superb solo goal.
Thuram, who also opened the scoring at De Kuip in the first leg, collected the ball on the left wing before cutting inside to the area and making room with some clever footwork for the shot which he curled into the far top corner.
Mehdi Taremi sent a shot straight at the keeper as Inter looked to put the tie even further out of reach but Feyenoord pulled one back three minutes before the break from the penalty spot.
Calhanoglu was penalised for a foul on Jakub Moder who picked himself up and sent his spot kick into the bottom corner to beat Sommer, just the second goal Inter have conceded in this season's competition, and the first at the San Siro.
Any hope of a Feyenoord comeback all but ended when Calhanoglu made up for his mistake by converting his own penalty six minutes into the second half after Thomas Beelen fouled Taremi.
With Feyenoord taking risks in an effort to get something from the game, Inter were always dangerous on the counter and looked like they had another penalty but after a VAR check, Thuram was booked for simulation instead.
Thuram still received a standing ovation from the home crowd when replaced, having just struck a thunderous shot which bounced back off the underside of the crossbar, and Inter had little trouble seeing the game out.
