November – Fourth round fixtures saw upsets and deciding moments as the UEFA Champions League Group Stage enters its closing matches.
Amongst the Tuesday night frenzy and looming largest amongst the upsets, FC Barcelona suffered a surprise loss to Shakhtar Donetsk but remain top of Group H. The match, hosted at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany, due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, saw young striker Danylo Sikan net the only goal of the match to gain his side a vital three points in a tough group.
Elsewhere in the group, Porto comfortably saw off Antwerp in a 2-0 affair, as the Belgians remain on the hunt for their first points of the UCL campaign.
AC Milan scored the first goals of their UCL campaign as they ran out 2-1 victors over a flat PSG side. Ex-Inter defender Milan Skriniar opening the scoring for PSG against his former arch-rivals, before an overhead kick from Portuguese winger Rafael Leao levelled the game ust three minutes later. It was Olivier Giroud’s 50th minute winner sealed Milan’s first victory of their 2023-24 UCL campaign.
To round out Group F, Dortmund captured an important win at home to Newcastle, which has blown the group wide open as only 3 points separate first-placed Dortmund from last-placed Newcastle. After this week’s results, Dortmund (7 points) lead the group, with PSG (6 points) and AC Milan (5 points) not far behind. Despite an emphatic win against PSG earlier in the season, Newcastle (4 points) are leapfrogged by AC Milan after losing to Dortmund.
Group G saw Manchester City cruise to another comfortable victory in Europe, guaranteeing qualification into the round of 16 with two games left to play. The treble winners are joined by fellow Group G victors RB Leipzig after the German side beat Crvena Zvezda to guarantee progression into the next round.
Atletico Madrid thumped Celtic 6-0 in a superb attacking display led by Antoine Griezmann that keeps Los Rojiblancos at the top of Group E. The Spanish side led 2-0 at the break but piled on the goals in the second half as the Celtic fight deteriorated.
Elsewhere in the group, Lazio leapfrogged Feyenoord in the standings thanks to a first-half finish from Ciro Immobile. A win against Celtic later this month could be enough to send Lazio into the final 16.
Tonight’s fixtures
In Group A, all eyes are on Manchester United as the three-time UCL champions look to make up for early mistakes. They travel to Denmark to face FC Copenhagen in a match that could define the season for the Red Devils. Meanwhile, group leaders Bayern Munich have the chance to automatically qualify with a win against second-placed Galatasaray.
Group B will see leaders Arsenal face Sevilla whilst group underdogs Lens take on bottom-placed PSV away from home.
Real Madrid can automatically qualify tonight after winning their first three games. Los Blancos host Braga in a must-win game for the Portuguese outfit if their UCL hopes are to stay alive. Elsewhere in Group C, Napoli will host a struggling Union Berlin side that are yet to pick up their first UCL points of the season.
Finally, Group D will see Benfica attempt to stump their first points of the group stage away against leaders Real Sociedad, whilst Inter Milan face a tough trip to Austria to face RB Salzburg. The Nerazurri won 2-1 in the reverse fixture at the San Siro a fortnight ago.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1716070664labto1716070664ofdlr1716070664owedi1716070664sni@g1716070664niwe.1716070664yrrah1716070664