UCL Wrap: Five-star Madrid blitz Salzburg as Feyenoord stun Bayern
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, right, celebrates with his teammate Federico Valverde after scoring his side's fifth and final goal
Holders Real Madrid hammered RB Salzburg 5-1 in a Champions League clash in the Spanish capital on Wednesday thanks to doubles from Brazilian forwards Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr either side of a goal by Kylian Mbappe.
Rodrygo opened the scoring with a tidy finish from a Vinicius cross in the 23rd minute and extended the home side's lead in the 34th, curling home a shot from inside the box after a brilliant back heel flick from Jude Bellingham.
Mbappe took advantage of a massive blunder by Salzburg goalkeeper and captain Janis Blaswich to score the third in the 48th minute, while Vinicius made two magnificent runs in the 55th and 77th minutes to extend Real's lead.
Mads Bidstrup scored the visitors' consolation goal in the 85th minute.
Last year's champions Real Madrid are 16th in the standings on 12 points and have secured qualification for the next round, but would need to win their last game at Brest and rely on other results to earn a top-eight finish and avoid a two-legged playoff.
Salzburg are 34th, third from bottom, eliminated from the competition with only three points from seven games.
Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez scored twice in the first half to steer the hosts to a stunning 3-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday and boost their chances of a top-eight finish.
The Mexico international fired them into the lead in the 21st minute with a deft shot before adding a second goal with a penalty in the ninth minute of first-half stoppage time.
Substitute Ayase Ueda killed off the game in the 89th after Feyenoord keeper Justin Bijlow had denied the Bavarians with a string of strong saves.
With one matchday remaining, Feyenoord climbed above Bayern into 11th place on 13 points. The Bavarians dropped to 15th on 12 points with their third defeat in seven matches.
A first-half goal by winger Rafael Leao helped AC Milan to a 1-0 home win against Girona in the Champions League on Wednesday, leaving the Italians well-placed to book a spot in the last 16.
Leao broke the deadlock in the 37th minute with a stunning shot into the roof of the net from a low cross by Ismael Bennacer, who won the ball around the halfway line and dribbled past Girona's midfield to set up the Portugal winger.
Milan are sixth in the standings on 15 points. Debutants Girona, who have a single league phase win, are 31st with three points and have no chance of securing a spot in the playoffs.
Lautaro Martinez scored a superb first-half volley as Inter Milan claimed a 1-0 Champions League victory over hosts Sparta Prague on Wednesday to stay on course for an automatic place in the round of 16.
Martinez fired home at the back post from the tightest of angles as he connected with Alessandro Bastoni’s cross and the ball bounced up and in off the underside of the crossbar, giving Sparta goalkeeper Peter Vindahl no chance.
Inter climbed to fourth in the table with 16 points from seven fixtures and should seal their automatic round of 16 place at home to Monaco in their final fixture on Jan 29.
Shakhtar Donetsk kept their Champions League hopes alive as they secured a vital 2-0 home win over Brest on Wednesday thanks to a brilliant strike from Kevin and a well-taken penalty from Georgiy Sudakov.
The Ukrainian champions broke the deadlock in the 18th minute when Brazilian winger Kevin pounced on a costly slip by Brest skipper Brendan Chardonnet, before racing into the area and confidently slotting home.
The hosts pushed hard to extend their lead and Brest keeper Marco Bizot made a series of impressive saves, before conceding a penalty for a poor challenge on Irakli Azarov and Sudakov scored with a chip down the middle of the goal.
Brest are 11th in the Champions League standings with 13 points, still well-placed to progress to the last 16, while Shakhtar are 27th on seven points and outside the playoff places with one match remaining.
RB Leipzig battled past visitors Sporting 2-1 on Wednesday to earn their first victory in seven Champions League matches and dent their opponents' hopes of a top eight finish.
Leipzig, who had lost their previous six matches in the newly-created league phase and are already eliminated, took a deserved lead when Benjamin Sesko slid in to connect with a perfectly-timed David Raum cutback in the 19th minute.
Raum, back from an injury that had ruled him out in October, then put the ball in the net himself in the 31st minute but it was ruled offside.
Sporting substitute Viktor Gyokeres took matters into his own hands, beating defender Willi Orban in a one-on-one before drilling in the equaliser in the 75th. The visitors' joy only lasted three minutes before Yussuf Poulsen scrambled the ball over the line for the winner.
Sporting are in 19th place on 10 points, with one game left to play. The top eight teams advance to the round of 16 while the next 16 battle it out in a playoff for a place in the knockout stage.
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