City advance to the last 16 of the top flight
Defending champions Manchester City have reached the last 16 of the Champions League ahead of schedule. The English soccer champions won 3:0 (2:0) against Young Boys Bern and can therefore no longer be displaced from one of the top two places in Group G.
Paris Saint-Germain, on the other hand, missed a big step towards the knockout round with a 2-1 (1-1) defeat at AC Milan - instead, Borussia Dortmund are now top of Group F.
Milan Skriniar (9') had initially put Paris ahead. But then Rafael Leão (12) and Olivier Giroud (50) turned the entertaining game in the hosts' favor. Milan (5 points) moved to within one point of second-placed PSG (6). Dortmund lead the extremely tight group with seven points.
Man City in command
City, who have won all four of their games so far, are a far cry from such tight constellations. Erling Haaland (23rd/penalty/52nd) and Phil Foden (45.+1) scored the goals for Manchester against a weak Swiss side.
Atlético Madrid are also on course for the knockout rounds after their 6:0 (2:0) win against Celtic Glasgow. Antoine Griezmann (6th/60th), Álvaro Morata (45th +2/76th), Samuel Lino (66th) and Saúl Ñíguez (85th) scored. However, the visitors had to play short-handed early on after Daizen Maeda (23) was shown red.
Donetsk win in Hamburg
In their temporary European Cup home of Hamburg, Shakhtar Donetsk had previously upset FC Barcelona with German internationals Ilkay Gündogan and Marc-André ter Stegen. On their second visit to the Volksparkstadion, the Ukrainian club prevented the Spanish champions from advancing to the round of 16 with a deserved 1:0 (1:0).
In front of almost 50,000 spectators, ex-Rostock professional Danylo Sikan (40th minute) scored the winner for the home side, who prevented the Catalans from winning their fourth game in the group stage with this surprising success. Shakhtar thus also preserved their own chances of progressing.
Manchester City's dominance in Group G is evident, as they have secured a spot in the Champions League's last 16 with wins against teams like Young Boys Bern.
Shakhtar Donetsk, in a surprising turn of events, managed to defeat FC Barcelona in the Champions League, preventing the Spanish champions from advancing to the round of 16.
FC Barcelona and Manchester City are just two of the numerous renowned soccer teams participating in the Champions League, competing alongside teams like AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and YB Bern.
Despite their strong performance, teams like Shakhtar Donetsk and YB Bern still have to contend with formidable opponents in groups, such as the Champions League's title contenders like Manchester City and FC Barcelona.
Source: www.dpa.com
