RB Leipzig is assured of a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League with a 1-2 win over Red Star. Xavi Simons was important with a nice goal. Manchester City also continues. AC Milan narrowly beat Paris Saint-Germain.
Two weeks ago, Simons was also important in the 3-1 victory against Red Star with a nice goal and an assist. Simons also left his mark on the match on Tuesday. The Dutch international dribbled towards the goal in the eighth minute and curled the ball beautifully into the far corner: 0-1.
Loïs Openda made it 0-2 in the 77th minute, but a few minutes later the score was suddenly 1-2 due to an own goal by Leipzig. It wasn’t an expensive mistake. Leipzig took three points and is therefore assured of a place in the eighth finals.
Manchester City also secured the knockout phase. Coach Pep Guardiola’s team had no children in Young Boys. At halftime it was already 2-0 thanks to a penalty from Erling Haaland and a well-placed shot from Phil Foden. Haaland increased the score after halftime with a wonderful long shot.
1:08Simons scores another beautiful goal for Leipzig
AC Milan wins a cracker against PSG
The match between AC Milan and PSG was a real cracker. After fifteen minutes the score was 1-1 in San Siro thanks to goals from Milan Skriniar (header) and Rafael Leão (bicycle kick). Shortly after halftime, PSG’s defense was not paying attention, allowing Olivier Giroud to head in.
After more than an hour of play, Theo Hernández seemed to have closed the game, but PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma prevented the free kick from ending up in his goal with a wonderful save. It remained 2-1.
Borussia Dortmund recorded an important 2-0 win over Newcastle United. Dortmund clearly wanted to take revenge for last weekend’s 0-4 league defeat against Bayern Munich in the Signal Iduna Park.
The team, with Donyell Malen remaining on the bench, deservedly took the lead in the first half through a goal by Niclas Füllkrug. The thirty-year-old attacker tapped in from close range after a messy attack and poor defensive work by Newcastle. Julian Brandt made the decision ten minutes before the end after a quick counter.
Gold bars on the field
Shortly after halftime, the game in Dortmund stopped for a while so that fabricated gold bars could be cleared away. A banner reading “You don’t care about the sport at all, you only care about money” was also on display.
It is not exactly clear what the action of the Dortmund supporters was aimed at. It could be that the fans were protesting against the high ticket prices or the new Champions League format. It could also be a protest against the Saudi contribution to the sport; Newcastle United has a Saudi owner.
1:16Dortmund fans protest with ‘gold bars’ in Champions League
The post first appeared on www.nu.nl