PSG held to goalless draw as Athletic Bilbao's Simon shines between the posts
Paris St Germain played out their first goalless draw of the season at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday but stayed in the driving seat for direct qualification for the Champions League last-16 after a string of fine saves by home goalkeeper Unai Simon denied the defending champions.
Luis Enrique’s side had the clearest chances after being under pressure in the first half, but Simon produced several superb saves and Ousmane Dembele’s absence was once again felt up front by the visitors.
The result left PSG in third place in the 36-team league with 13 points from six games while Bilbao are 28th on five points, two points from the playoff places.
PSG next travel to Sporting and Bilbao visit Atalanta.
Bilbao threatened first when Alex Berenguer curled a right-footed free kick towards the far post in the 31st minute, forcing PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov to fingertip the ball behind for a corner.
The Basque side enjoyed their best spell around the half-hour mark, pressing high and testing PSG's defensive organisation without finding a breakthrough.
PSG, who had to deal with the absence of Dembele after the France forward fell ill, had their best opening earlier on a swift counterattack in the 19th minute when Fabian Ruiz, after controlling well on his chest, fired his effort over the crossbar.
The Ligue 1 side emerged with renewed intensity after the break and went close in the 49th minute when Simon denied them twice in quick succession.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia burst down the right on a rapid counter and delivered a low cross that evaded Joao Neves before Senny Mayulu pounced, only for Simon to react brilliantly and push the close-range effort away.
The pressure continued from a corner on 53 minutes as Warren Zaire-Emery collected a clearance on the edge of the area and unleashed a powerful half-volley towards the far corner, forcing another sharp save from the Bilbao keeper.
The clearest chance came in the 65th minute when Bradley Barcola raced into the area for a one-on-one with Simon and saw his powerful attempt rattle the crossbar.
Juventus made to battle before earning much needed win over Pafos
Juventus registered their first home win of this season's Champions League but were made to battle before overcoming Pafos 2-0 at home on Wednesday thanks to second-half goals from Weston McKennie and Jonathan David.
The sides were level on points going into the game and Pafos proved more than a match for their more illustrious Italian opponents for long periods, but Juventus earned a second successive win to boost their European hopes.
Juventus are 17th in the standings on nine points while Pafos are 26th on six points, with the top eight teams qualifying for the knockout stage and the next 16 going into the playoffs for the other eight spots.
Pafos created an early chance with Anderson Silva's backheeled shot going just wide and minutes later Juventus keeper Michele Di Gregorio needed to be alert to keep out an own goal when the ball ricocheted off Andrea Cambiaso.
The visitors' keeper Neofytos Michael parried away Kenan Yildiz's curling shot and Teun Koopmeiners headed wide from a Juventus corner but Pafos proved dangerous with quick counter-attacks.
Joao Correia got on the end of a long ball, shrugging off the attentions of McKennie before firing over and Vlad Dragomir reached Correia's cross into the box but Di Gregorio had little trouble gathering his tame effort.
Pafos continued to cause problems. Silva struck the outside of the upright with another effort, Derrick Luckassen headed narrowly wide from a corner and Di Gregorio tipped over a powerful strike from Dragomir.
Juventus spurned a chance when David missed the target from inside the six-yard area and the halftime whistle was greeted with boos from the home fans after watching their side come under extreme pressure from the Cypriots.
The hosts had the first opportunity after the break when Koopmeiners's shot was parried away and Yildiz blasted the rebound high and wide.
Francisco Conceicao, a halftime replacement, forced the Pafos keeper into a save at his near post as Juventus began to look more in control and Spalletti made another offensive change, replacing Manuel Locatelli with Lois Openda.
Openda had a shot deflected away and from the resulting corner Juventus found the opener in the 67th minute.
Pafos cleared the initial danger but Cambiaso played the ball back into the box and McKennie blasted past Michael at his near post from a tight angle.
Juventus doubled their lead six minutes later when Yildiz played a pin-point pass across to the unmarked David in the area and this time the striker made no mistake, taking a touch to control before steering his low shot past Michael.
The goals took the sting out of the Pafos fight and Juventus never looked like letting their lead slip.
Arsenal make it six out of six with easy win over Club Brugge
Noni Madueke scored two goals and Gabriel Martinelli netted another as Arsenal kept up their 100% run in the Champions League to stay top of the standings with a comfortable 3-0 triumph at Belgium’s Club Brugge on Wednesday.
Arsenal’s sixth win in as many games all but confirms a top-eight finish, meaning they will skip the knockout phase playoffs in February and move straight into the round of 16 in March. Brugge remain on four points and in stark danger of missing out on the knockouts.
It was a satisfying night at the Jan Breydelstadion for the under-strength Gunners, who lost at Aston Villa at the weekend and made five changes to freshen up an injury-stricken squad, including a first run-out in almost a year for Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus, who got half an hour of action as a second-half substitute.
Madueke got matters going with a thunderous strike in the 25th minute, collecting possession on the halfway line and swiftly weaving his way up field before unleashing a powerful effort that flew into the top corner.
The home side went close to an equaliser in the 39th minute, when some swift passing saw Aleksandar Stankovic curl a shot narrowly wide, and continued to probe up to halftime with David Raya making two key saves, from Christos Tzolis and Stankovic.
But that momentum looked to have been left in the changing room at halftime as they were caught two minutes into the second half when Madueke headed home his second goal.
A cross from the left from Martin Zubimendi found Madueke unmarked at the back post with the home defence caught ball watching and hopelessly out of position.
Nine minutes later, Martinelli added the third, cutting in off the left wing and hammering a right-footed shot into the net for a fifth goal in as many Champions League appearances this season, having missed one of Arsenal’s matches.
Jesus struck the crossbar in the 79th minute, inches away from a dream return after his lengthy layoff due to a knee injury, and Arsenal still had time to give 16-year-old Marli Salmon a debut at right back in the last seven minutes. He is the fourth youngest player to feature for the Gunners.
Brugge went into the match in some turmoil after Monday’s surprise sacking of coach Nicky Hayen, with his replacement, Ivan Leko, in charge on his return for a second spell at the club.
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