Real Madrid have booked their place in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 after they recorded the needed victory over APOEL Nicosia on match day 5 on Tuesday.
Liverpool were denied a chance to seal qualification after the squandered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 at Sevilla.
Real Madrid join the likes of Bayern München, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Besiktas and Tottenham Hotspur who are already throung to the knockout stages of the competition.
Champions Madrid put their difficult spell behind by confirming their place in the next round with a 6-0 thumping of APOEL Nicosia. A brace from Karim Benzema and other strikes from Luka Modric and Nacho Fernandez in the first half goals gave the Los Blancos a deserved lead into the break.
At the restart, Cristiano Ronaldo also bagged a brace to take his Champions League tally to 18 goals in 2017 to hand Zinedine Zidane his third win of the competition in Group H.
At the Signal Iduna Park, Borussia Dortmund lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur despite going ahead through a 31st minute strike from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Goals from Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son sealed top spot for the English Premier League side.
At the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, in Spain, Sevilla came from three goals down to draw Liverpool 3-3. Guido Pizarro stoppage time goal salvaged a point for the Spanish side after they trailed 3-0 at the break.
A Sadio Mane header in between Roberto Firmino’s brace had given the Reds a 3-0 lead into the break but six minutes into the second half Wissam Ben Yedder’s header gave the Spanish side a lifeline.
The Tunisian striker bagged his second goal from the spot after he was brought down in the box by Alberto Moreno.
Liverpool conceded a late goal from another set piece to record their third draw in Group E. Jurgen Klopp’s side now have nine points from five games. Liverpool will face Spartak Moscow in their final game Sevilla are away to Maribor.
In Group F, SSC Napoli recorded their second win of the competition with a 3-0 home win over Shakhtar Donetsk. Second half goals from the in form Lorenzo Insigne, Piotr Zielinsk and Dries Mertens for Napoli further boosted the chances of qualification for the Italian side. The Italian forward scored in the 56th minute of the nervy game. In the other fixture Feyenoord frustrated Manchester City to a goalless draw at the Ethiad stadium.
Napoli now have six points from five games three adrift second placed Shakhtar Donetsk. The Italian side will be hoping the defeat Feyenoord in Holland in their final group game and Shakhtar Donetsk lose to Manchester City in Ukraine.
In Group G, RasenBallsport Leipzig brightened their chances of qualifying for the next round of the UEFA Champions League defeating AS Monaco 4-1.
An own goal from Jemerson gave AS Monaco a poor start and RB Leipzig took good advantage with Timo Werner scoring a brace. Radamel Falcao pulled on back for the host,Monaco but Naby Keita restored the German team’s three goal advantage making 4-1 before half time. The win sees RB Leipzig now tied FC Porto with to seven points thought with an inferior goal difference.
In Cyprus,Real Madrid put their difficult spell behind by confirming their place in the next round with 6-0 thumping of APOEL Nicosia. A brace from Karim Benzema and other strikes from Luka Modric and Nacho Fernandez in the first half goals gave the Los Blancos a deserved lead into the break.
At the restart, Cristiano Ronaldo also bagged a brace to hand Zinedine Zidane his third win of the competition in Group H. At the Signal Iduna Park, Borussia Dortmund lost 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur despite going ahead through a 31st minute strike from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Goals from Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son sealed top spot for the English Premier League side.
Champions League Results
Group E
Spartak Moscow 1 – 1 Maribor
Sevilla 3 – 3 Liverpool
Group F
Manchester City 1 – 0 Feyenoord
SSC Napoli 3 – 0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Group G
Besiktas 1 – 1 FC Porto
Monaco 1 – 4 RasenBallsport Leipzig
Group H
APOEL Nicosia 0 – 6 Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund 1 – 2 Tottenham Hotspur
