Mbappe Helps PSG Go Top, Haaland Back among the Goals

Kylian Mbappe scores against AC Milan. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Kylian Mbappe scores against AC Milan. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
TT

Mbappe Helps PSG Go Top, Haaland Back among the Goals

Kylian Mbappe scores against AC Milan. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Kylian Mbappe scores against AC Milan. FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Kylian Mbappe helped Paris Saint-Germain move top of Champions League Group F with a 3-0 victory over AC Milan on Wednesday, while Newcastle slumped to a first defeat, 1-0 against Borussia Dortmund.

Erling Haaland was back on the scoresheet as Manchester City won 3-1 away to Young Boys, and fellow British side Celtic drew 2-2 in Glasgow against Atletico Madrid, said AFP.

Goals from Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani and Kang-in Lee in Paris against Milan sent PSG top of the closely-contested Group F with six points.

The deadlock was broken just after the half-hour mark when Mbappe received the ball from Warren Zaire-Emery, unbalanced Fikayo Tomori and then wrong-footed compatriot Mike Maignan with a smart, low finish.

Ousmane Dembele thought he had doubled the hosts' advantage on 50 minutes only for a VAR check to disallow it for a foul in the build-up.

Kolo Muani, the third member of PSG's French front three, then did double the lead three minutes later with a close-range tap-in before Lee struck.

"We are very proud of our performance," Kolo Muani said to Canal Plus.

"Winning these games gives everyone confidence."

Newcastle came back to earth with a home defeat by Borussia Dortmund, which saw the Germans move above them into second place on head-to-head.

It was a tight encounter with Dortmund edging it thanks to a first-half goal from Felix Nmecha.

Nmecha gave Borussia a deserved lead on the stroke of half-time with a well-controlled finish following excellent defensive and then creative work by Nico Schlotterbeck.

Newcastle nearly claimed a point in the closing stages of the match when Callum Wilson's header struck the crossbar, before a later Anthony Gordon chance was deflected on to the woodwork.

Dortmund coach Edin Terzic told TNT: "With the first half we deserved to win and the second half we protected the win."

Haaland breaks duck
Manchester City made it three from three to top Group G, with Manuel Akanji's goal and a Haaland brace seeing off Young Boys in Switzerland.

Man City endured a frustrating first period on a plastic pitch in Bern, with Young Boys goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi producing several fine saves.

Immediately after half-time a stunning save from the Swiss 'keeper saw the ball rebound off the crossbar and fall straight to Akanji.

The hosts stunned the Champions League holders on 52 minutes when Meschack Elia broke clear of the defense and lobbed a finish over the advancing Ederson.

However, hopes of an upset were extinguished when Haaland broke his five-game goal drought in the competition with a penalty in the 67th minute.

After a Julian Alvarez goal was disallowed, the Norwegian striker produced a fine finish to round off a 3-1 win.

"I am sorry, but this guy will score goals all his life, with the chances he is an incredible threat," said City coach Pep Guardiola of Haaland.

In Germany, Leipzig created a five-point buffer for themselves in Group G's second position with a 3-1 win against Red Star Belgrade, thanks to David Raum, a second-half stunner from starlet Xavi Simons and Dani Olmo.

Topsy-turvy in Paradise
The points were shared between Celtic and Atletico in a lively draw, which saw the hosts pick up their first point of the campaign.

Celtic took the lead early when Kyogo Furuhashi lifted the ball beyond Jan Oblak in the fourth minute, completing a fine team move.

On 23 minutes, Joe Hart tipped an Antoine Griezmann penalty onto the post only for it to rebound perfectly to the Frenchman who made no mistake second time round.

The hosts sprang back immediately when a 27th-minute cross fell at the back stick to Luis Palma, who hammered the ball back across the unsighted Oblak.

Alvaro Morata got Atletico back into the tie on 53 minutes when he sent a perfectly judged header back across Hart and into the net.

Rodrigo De Paul picked up a late second yellow card, but the hosts were unable to turn their numerical advantage into a winner.

Feyenoord moved into top spot in Group E following a 3-1 victory against Lazio in the pool's early kick-off.

A Santiago Gimenez brace and first goal for summer signing Ramiz Zerrouki saw the Dutch home despite a late penalty converted by Pedro for Lazio, who dropped into third.

Barcelona saw out a win at home 2-1 against Shakhtar Donetsk thanks to first-half strikes from Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez, making it three from three for the Group H leaders.

Porto came from behind in Belgium to beat Antwerp 4-1, with all their goals coming in the second half courtesy of an Evanilson hat-trick and Stephen Eustaquio.



Liverpool Beats Lille to Reach Champions League Round of 16. Barcelona Wins 9-goal Thriller

Soccer Football - Champions League - Liverpool v Lille - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - January 21, 2025 Liverpool's Harvey Elliott celebrates with Mohamed Salah after scoring their second goal. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Soccer Football - Champions League - Liverpool v Lille - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - January 21, 2025 Liverpool's Harvey Elliott celebrates with Mohamed Salah after scoring their second goal. REUTERS/Phil Noble
TT

Liverpool Beats Lille to Reach Champions League Round of 16. Barcelona Wins 9-goal Thriller

Soccer Football - Champions League - Liverpool v Lille - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - January 21, 2025 Liverpool's Harvey Elliott celebrates with Mohamed Salah after scoring their second goal. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Soccer Football - Champions League - Liverpool v Lille - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - January 21, 2025 Liverpool's Harvey Elliott celebrates with Mohamed Salah after scoring their second goal. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Liverpool became the first team to guarantee a place in the last 16 of the new Champions League format by beating Lille 2-1 on Tuesday, while Barcelona fought back from two goals down to stun Benfica 5-4 in a thriller.
Harvey Elliott's bouncing, deflected shot gave Liverpool its seventh win from seven games, just after 10-man Lille had equalized following Mohamed Salah's opening goal, The Associated Press reported.
Liverpool needed a point at Anfield to be sure of reaching the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams in the league stage, skipping the playoff round for teams ranked ninth to 24th.
Salah raced through in the 34th minute to sweep Liverpool ahead with his 22nd goal in all competitions this season. And when Lille’s Aissa Mandi was sent off just before the hour mark, Liverpool looked certain to extend its 100% record in the league phase.
But Anfield was stunned when Canada striker Jonathan David converted from close range to level the score in the 62nd. It didn’t take long for Liverpool to regain the lead through Elliott’s deflected effort five minutes later.
Barcelona's comeback win Raphinha scored in stoppage time to complete a rousing comeback as Barcelona beat Benfica in Lisbon despite having been 4-2 down with less than a quarter of an hour remaining.
Benfica's Vangelis Pavlidis scored the third-fastest hat trick at the start of a Champions League game, with two of his goals coming after errors by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. Barcelona stays second with 18 points from seven games.
Another Spanish club staged a comeback as Julian Alvarez scored a 90th-minute winner to lift Atletico Madrid past Bayer Leverkusen 2-1. Atletico lost Pablo Barrios to a 23rd-minute red card and went into half time 1-0 down to a Piero Hincapie header for Leverkusen.
Alvarez scored in the 52nd and had the momentum when Hincapie was sent off for a second yellow card, before Alvarez struck again to take the win and lift Atletico to third.
Villa slides out of the top eight With Prince William watching on, Aston Villa’s hopes of automatic qualification for the round of 16 took a blow after a 1-0 loss to Monaco.
Villa led the standings early in the league phase of the competition after winning its first three games. But defeat to Monaco left the Premier League club eighth. Wilfried Singo’s goal at a corner in the eighth minute was enough to secure the win for ninth-place Monaco.
Dortmund slump continues Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 loss at Bologna increased the pressure on coach Nuri Sahin in Dortmund's fourth consecutive loss at the start of the new year in all competitions.
Serhou Guirassy gave Dortmund the lead with a chipped penalty and ran to celebrate with Sahin.
It looked like the Champions League could provide a much-needed boost for a team floundering in the Bundesliga, but two goals in two minutes from Thijs Dallinga and Samuel Iling-Junior changed the game for previously winless Bologna.
Atalanta beat Austria's Sturm Graz 5-0, strengthening the Italian club's push to qualify directly for the round of 16. Atalanta finished the evening fourth.
PSV Eindhoven hung on for a 3-2 win at Red Star Belgrade despite losing defender Flamingo to a red card just after halftime while leading 3-0. Stuttgart eased to a 3-1 win over Slovan Bratislava, which has lost all seven of its games. Club Brugge and Juventus drew 0-0.
Europa League: In the only Europa League game of the night, Galatasaray missed a chance to go third in the table, giving up a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with last-place Dynamo Kyiv.