Liverpool on the ropes as PSG close in on Champions League knockouts

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain took a big step towards qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday after Neymar helped sink Liverpool in a blistering 2-1 win at the Parc des Princes.

The Brazilian struck in the 37th minute after Juan Bernat’s early opener to put qualification for the last 16 in the French champions’ hands and leave Jurgen Klopp’s team needing to beat Napoli 1-0 or by two clear goals in two week’s time to guarantee a place in the knockout stage.

Thomas Tuchel’s PSG take second place in the extremely tight Group C but still need a win at Red Star Belgrade — who they beat 6-1 in Paris in October — to ensure their own place in the draw as they go into the final round of fixtures just two points ahead of Liverpool.

Napoli meanwhile took top spot in the group after breezing past Red Star Belgrade 3-1 thanks to Marek Hamsik’s first goal of the season and a Dries Mertens double either side of half-time. 

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are just a point ahead of PSG but three ahead of Liverpool, and know that having beaten the Premier League outfit 1-0 in October a goal at Anfield next month would make their task much easier.

If they score the Reds would need to do so three times to qualify ahead of the Italians with a superior head-to-head record.

– Spurs back from dead –

Christian Eriksen brought Tottenham Hotspur back from the dead after scoring the winner in a pulsating clash with Inter Milan at Wembley.

Mauricio Pocchetino’s side go level on seven points with Inter but move above them into second in Group B thanks to their head-to-head away goals and now need to match Inter’s result in the final week to qualify.

They will travel to the Camp Nou on December 11 to take on Barcelona, who showed no signs of slowing down in a 2-1 win at PSV Eindhoven which guaranteed top spot.

Atletico Madrid cruised into the next round with a simple 2-0 win over a Monaco team packed with youngsters and short on experience. 

Koke set the ball rolling against Thierry Henry’s rock-bottom Monaco after just 90 seconds, before Antoine Griezmann ended the match as a contest after just 24 minutes.

Porto and Schalke qualified before their Group D match kicked off thanks to Galatasaray falling 2-0 at Lokomotiv Moscow.

from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2FKl4IQ