Champions League: Dembele hat trick secures PSG play off spot as Lille automatically qualify after battering of Feyenoord

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich eased past Slovan Bratislava 3-1 in the but the Germans missed out on a top eight finish and automatic qualification and will go into a playoff for a spot in the Round of 16

Wed, 29 Jan, 2025 - 23:09

Reuters

Paris St Germain secured a playoff spot in the Champions League as Ousmane Dembele played chief tormentor in a 4-1 away demolition of VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday.

Dembele netted a hat-trick and fellow France forward Bradley Barcola added another as PSG qualified for the playoffs as one of the eight seeded teams for Friday's draw after finishing 15th in the 36-team league.

The result eliminated Stuttgart, who had a woeful first half and could only reduce the arrears through Chris Fuehrich.

Luis Enrique's PSG were in danger of also missing the cut in November before they completed a remarkable turnaround, winning their last three games and scoring 11 goals. The visitors will face either Stade Brestois or Monaco, both Ligue 1 rivals.

Elsewhere, Lille gatecrashed the top eight of the Champions League standings and booked an unexpected place in the last 16 when they hammered hapless Feyenoord 6-1 at home on Wednesday on the last night of the group competition.

An early goal from Osame Sahraoui was followed by three own goals plus strikes from Jonathan David and Remy Cabella as the unfancied French club advanced to 16 points from their eight matches in the new-look, 36-team group competition.

Speaking of the Bavarian giants. Bayern Munich eased past Slovan Bratislava 3-1 in the but the Germans missed out on a top eight finish and automatic qualification and will go into a playoff for a spot in the Round of 16.

Munich, needing a win by a large margin to have any chance of a top eight finish, had close to 80% possession at the start.

The pressure paid off after eight minutes when Joshua Kimmich floated a cross into the box and unmarked Thomas Mueller nodded in for the lead.

Harry Kane, who had come close in the first half, scored with another header in 63rd and Kingsley Coman sealed the win on the rebound before the hosts pulled one back through Marko Tolic in stoppage time.

Holders Real Madrid made sure they would be seeded for Friday's Champions League playoff draw by beating Stade Brest 3-0 away in the last round of the first phase on Wednesday.

Rodrygo scored the first and last goals after 26 and 78 minutes respectively while Jude Bellingham netted the second in the 56th following a smart pass from Lucas Vazquez.

Despite the loss, Brest will also feature in the two-legged playoffs as an unseeded team in their first European campaign.

Real reached the Champions League knockout phase for the 28th consecutive year and extended their winning streak to five matches in all competitions.

Real finished in 11th place with 15 points from eight games, and will face either Manchester City or Celtic in the playoffs.

Benfica secured their place in the playoffs with a 2-0 win away to Juventus, who were already assured of their playoff spot coming into the final game of the league phase on Wednesday.

The opening goal came in the 16th minute when Vangelis Pavlidis put the visitors ahead and the Benfica striker could have doubled the lead before the break but for a fine save by Mattia Perin.

Benfica's Orkun Kökçü celebrates after scoring against Juventus

Benfica finished off the job 10 minutes from time with Orkun Kokcu netting.

Borussia Dortmund cruised through to the knockout phase play-offs with a 3-1 home win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, with Guinean striker Serhou Guirassy grabbing two first-half goals as the Ukrainian side were eliminated.

With the top eight teams going straight through to the last 16 and those placed from ninth to 24th headed to the two-legged play-offs for the remaining eight spots, beaten 2024 finalists Dortmund finished the league phase in 10th place with 15 points. Shakhtar finished 27th on seven points.

Guirassy struck in the 17th and 44th minutes to send his side in 2-0 up at the break, but a dreadful error by Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel gifted Shakhtar's Marlon Gomes a goal to reduce the deficit early in the second half.

However, any hope the visitors had was extinguished when Dortmund's Ramy Bensebaini scored with a cool chipped effort in the 79th minute to wrap up the three points for the hosts and end Shakhtar's European adventure for this season.

Europa League champions Atalanta missed out on an automatic place in the last 16 with a 2-2 draw at Barcelona on Wednesday, with Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo scoring for the already-qualified hosts.

Atalanta, who were missing one of their top strikers Ademola Lookman because of a knee injury, slipped down to ninth in the standings on 15 points and will play in the two-legged knockout phase playoff round instead.

Five-time winners Barcelona, who last lifted the trophy in 2015, had already secured their last-16 berth last week through a dramatic 5-4 comeback win at Benfica.

Yamal gave Barcelona the lead two minutes after the break from point-blank range before Ederson levelled for Atalanta in the 67th minute with a stunning shot from the edge of the area that sailed inside the left post.

Defender Araujo restored the lead for Barca with a header following a corner in the 72nd but Atalanta's Mario Pasalic equalised again seven minutes later, nutmegging goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with a low strike.

A goal in each half sent Bayer Leverkusen into the round of 16 on Wednesday with a comfortable 2-0 win over a toothless Sparta Prague side unable to offer much resistance to the German champions.

Leverkusen broke through in the 32nd minute after dominating play from the opening whistle when Jeremie Frimpong collected the ball at midfield, raced down the right flank and sent in a cross to Florian Wirtz who hit a first-time shot past Sparta keeper Peter Vindahl.

Atletico Madrid's Rodrigo De Paul, right, and Salzburg's Hendry Blank compete for the ball

Atletico Madrid booked their place in the last 16 with a top-eight finish and automatic qualification after a decisive 4-0 win over RB Salzburg on Wednesday including a double from Antoine Griezmann.

The win left Atletico fifth in the standings, with their opponents in the next round to be determined after the playoffs.

Salzburg, 34th and third from bottom, exit the competition with just three points from eight games.

Captain Lautaro Martinez netted a hat-trick to become Inter Milan’s most prolific scorer in the Champions League as they eased to a 3-0 victory over the 10 men of Monaco at a raucous San Siro on Wednesday.

The victory ensured Inter finish fourth in the table and qualified directly for the round of 16 with 19 points from their eight games, while 17th-placed Monaco will feature in the knockout playoffs having managed 13 points in the league phase.

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Manchester City 3 Club Brugge 1

PSV 3 Liverpool 2

Girona 1 Arsenal 2

Aston Villa 4 Celtic 2

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Dinamo Zagreb 2 AC Milan 1

Sturm Graz 1 RB Leipzig 0

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The Table

Automatic qualification:

1. Liverpool - 21pts