Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbappé secured their spot in the Champions League knockout round after a tense conclusion to the closely contested group, while Porto also advanced to the round of 16 with a 5-3 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk, who needed a win to progress.
Despite PSG’s 1-1 draw against Group F winner Borussia Dortmund, secured by Warren Zaïre-Emery’s 56th-minute equalizer, it was enough to secure second place as Newcastle lost 2-1 at home to AC Milan.
Newcastle, starting the second half with a one-goal lead, ended up in last place without the consolation prize of entering the Europa League as a third-place finisher. Milan claimed that reward by taking the lead in the 84th minute, with substitute Samuel Chukwueze scoring just one minute after coming off the bench. Milan had leveled in the 59th minute with a goal from US playmaker Christian Pulisic.
Both Newcastle and Manchester United, who lost at home on Tuesday, finished at the bottom of their groups, resulting in England facing its weakest round of 16 challenge in 11 years, with only defending champion Man City and Arsenal in the draw.
Porto secured their place in the round of 16 by finishing as the runner-up in Group H to Barcelona, despite Barcelona losing 3-2 to Royal Antwerp. Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 win over Lazio ensured they would finish at the top of Group E and be seeded in Monday’s draw. Last-place Celtic secured a stoppage-time goal to beat Feyenoord 2-1.
In a game that did not affect the final standings, Man City sent out a team of few regular starters to win 3-2 at Red Star Belgrade, completing a six-win program atop Group G. In the other group game, Leipzig beat Young Boys 2-1.
