FC Barcelona, Lazio Rome and Atletico Madrid, like Borussia Dortmund, qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League. In BVB Group F, superstar Kylian Mbappé saved Paris St. Germain from defeat – he converted a controversial hand penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time to make it 1-1 (0-1) against Newcastle United.
Barcelona defeated FC Porto 2-1 (1-1) and cannot be intercepted by either the Portuguese or Shakhtar Donetsk with one match day remaining. The final between these two will take place on December 13th in Porto for the second ticket to the knockout phase. Schachtar had previously positioned itself in the “home game” in Hamburg thanks to a 1-0 (1-0) win against Royal Antwerp.
Meanwhile, former Dortmund player Ciro Immobile led the Italian top club Rome with a brace to a late 2-0 (0-0) win against Celtic Glasgow and thus into the round of 16. After the goals conceded by Immobile (82nd, 85th), Celtic also lost their last chance of overwintering in the European Cup. Atletico also secured their ticket to the knockout rounds with a 3-1 (1-0) win at Feyenoord Rotterdam.
PSG has progress in the game against BVB in their hands
The Parisian star ensemble ran behind against Newcastle until Alexander Isak conceded a goal (24′) until deep into stoppage time. Mbappé finally converted a controversial hand penalty – the ball had jumped from defender Valentino Livramento’s chest to his hand – and ensured a significantly better starting position for PSG. The French now have progress in the final group game in Dortmund in their own hands.
Swiss champions Young Boys Bern won the third-place final against Red Star Belgrade in RB Leipzig’s Group G. With the 2-0 (2-0) win against the Serbs, Bern will be “relegated” to the Europa League.
In Hamburg, the home venue of the war-torn Ukrainians, Mykola Matwijenko (12th) scored the decisive goal for Donetsk early on. The guests, trained by former Bayern professional Mark van Bommel, suffered their fifth defeat in their fifth game.