Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe starred in PSG's win as they topped group A after thrashing Galatasaray 5-0. Juventus, who have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, pumped in two goals to oust Leverkusen from the tournament, while Gabriel Jesus netted a hat-trick in Manchester City's 4-1 thumping of Dinamo Zagreb. Here are Images from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday
The 31-year-old is still recovering from the knee injury which forced him to limp out of the Euro 2016 final against France in the first half, coach Fernando Santos said.
Pep Guardiola's ManchesterCity will play Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League playoff round after the draw was made in Nyon on Friday.
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Arsenal and Chelsea were among seven teams to reach the Europa League knockout stage on Thursday, while last year's runners-up Olympique de Marseille were eliminated at the group phase.
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Visitors Ajax had looked comfortable after former Southampton winger Tadic set up the first goal with a swerving cross before drilling home the second himself.
Sevilla's love affair with the Europa League was immediately rekindled as last season's champions and three-time winners began this year's group stage with a 2-0 home victory over Feyenoord on Thursday.
Celtic, who won Europe's premier club competition in 1967, set up a clash with Romanians Cluj in the next stage after a 2-0 win at Nomme Kalju completed a 7-0 aggregate rout of the Estonian champions.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas says the signing of Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois has not affected his desire to remain at the triple European champions as he emphatically ruled out leaving the club in order to be assured of first team football.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez hit a brace and set up a double for a spritely Lionel Messi to score in his first start after injury in a rampant 6-1 Champions League victory over AS Roma on Tuesday.
Having seen the domestic league and cup double go to Porto last term, Benfica missed a string of chances against PAOK in a one-sided first half as they enjoyed 72% of possession.
Jonatan Soriano's love affair with the Europa League continued as last season's top scorer grabbed a hat-trick on Thursday to help Salzburg become one of four teams to reach the knockout stages.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur built hefty leads with emphatic away wins in their Europa League last 32 first-leg matches but AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw at Red Star Belgrade as the competition resumed on Thursday.
Sofiane Feghouli's late goal eased the nerves at Valencia's Mestalla as the Spanish club grabbed a 3-1 victory over Monaco in the first leg of their Champions league play-off round tie on Wednesday.
Last-minute starter Adrian Ramos scored a first-half header to give Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 victory over Sporting on Wednesday and earn a spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League with two Group F matches to spare.
Manchester United were given a troublesome tie against Club Bruges in the draw for the Champions League playoff round on Friday, although it could have been worse as they avoided Lazio, CSKA Moscow or Monaco.
Ajax were joined by Young Boys, who stunned Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 away for a 3-2 aggregate win over the Croatians, and AEK Athens who scraped a 1-1 home draw with FC Vidi after a 2-1 win in the first leg in Hungary.
Images from action in the Europa League matches on Thursday.
Ajax, semi-finalists last season, came from behind to beat PAOK 3-2 for a 5-4 aggregate win over the Greeks while Red Star knocked out FC Copenhagen on penalties after a bizarre shootout involving 22 spot-kicks.
Azeri champions Qarabag took a big step towards the playoff round with a 2-1 win at Cypriot side APOEL but Dinamo Zagreb left their progress hanging in the balance after the Croats played out a 1-1 home draw against Hungary's Ferencvaros.
Pep Guardiola will return to the Nou Camp in the Champions League group stage after his new club Manchester City were drawn against his former Barcelona team on Thursday. The two sides were drawn in Group C alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic in one of the toughest of the eight sections. Spanish coach Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice with Barca, faced the Catalans when he was in charge of Bayern Munich two seasons ago and suffered a 5-3 defeat in the semi-finals.
Thirteen teams have now qualified for the last 32 including Bayer Leverkusen, FC Zurich and Lazio who had already secured places in the next stage of the competition.
Olympique de Marseille were the fall guys on a hectic opening night of Europa League group stage action as German club Eintracht Frankfurt returned from the south of France with a surprise 2-1 victory on Thursday.
Barcelona are in the middle of an injury crisis as they head to Valencia for Saturday's La Liga game looking to keep up with pacemaking pair Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Without injured goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and right back Sergi Roberto for the last two games, Barca will also be missing defenders Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique after both were hurt in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League. Pique sprained his right ankle while Alba injured his left hamstring and both are out until November.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Levski Sofia fans force players to remove shirts after derby defeat
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Olympiakos Piraeus battled back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 home draw with last year's runners-up Tottenham Hotspur in their Champions League Group B opener.
The 24 sides through from the group phase join the eight third-placed finishers in the Champions League in Monday's draw, including Manchester United and Ajax Amsterdam.
"I've had a bit more luck than in recent weeks, so I'm making the most of it. For a striker, it always works in cycles and I know that. You can't start doubting yourself," Giroud told reporters after the game.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
"Tomorrow we don't play six points against zero. We play at 7.45, at 0-0 with 90 minutes to go," he said.
Jose Mourinho was delighted that Chelsea made a winning start to their Champions League campaign on Wednesday, but said he was not happy that Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal had all lost their opening matches.
Former European champions Celtic were helped by two own goals as they thumped Astana 5-0 at home and a late goal from Wissam Ben Yedder gave Sevilla a 2-1 win at Istanbul Basaksehir in torrential rain.
Bayern Munich are confident they have overcome a mini-slump just in time for their Champions League round of 16 second leg against Juventus on Wednesday as they chase a treble of titles this season.
Two late goals in two minutes from Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez gave European champions Barcelona a dramatic 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
CSKA Moscow must close part of their stadium for their next Champions League home game following the racist abuse hurled at ManchesterCity's Yaya Toure by the Russian club's fans last week, UEFA said on Wednesday.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Arsenal had scored 10 goals in two matches against BATE Borisov in the same competition in 2017 but never looked like being as prolific in the freezing temperatures of Belarus.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances