UEFA Champions League

UCL wrap: Liverpool seal progression while Man City cruise past Brugge

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Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane
  • Post published:November 4, 2021

Liverpool booked their spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield while Manchester City thumped Club Brugge 4-1 to go top of group A.

Liverpool 2-0 Atletico Madrid

Liverpool cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League by exacting revenge on 10-man Atletico Madrid to win 2-0 at Anfield on Wednesday and qualify with two games to spare.

Goals inside the first 21 minutes from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane gave the Spanish champions a mountain to climb even before Felipe was sent off before half time for a cynical hack on Mane.

Maximum points from four games is enough to win Liverpool Group B and guarantee home advantage in the second leg of their last-16 tie come the new year.

Atletico, on the other hand, have a battle to reach the knockout stages as they sit third, one point behind Porto with two games to play.

Manchester City 4-1 Club Brugge

City got back on track as they thrashed Club Brugge 4-1 on Wednesday to move within touching distance of a place in the Champions League last 16.

Pep Guardiola’s side recovered from the shock of conceding a John Stones own goal after Phil Foden’s early opener at the Etihad Stadium.

Riyad Mahrez put City back in front in the second half and Raheem Sterling came off the bench to end his goal drought before Gabriel Jesus capped the rout.

City sit top of Group A, one point above Paris Saint Germain, after their third win in four matches in the competition.

Last season’s Champions League runners-up are five points clear of third-placed Brugge and will reach the knockout stages with one point from their last two games against PSG and Leipzig.

Real Madrid 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk

Karim Benzema scored twice as a below-par Real Madrid did just enough to beat Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday and move within sight of the Champions League last 16.

Benzema’s opener made Madrid the first club to score 1,000 goals in the European Cup but this was far from a vintage performance from Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who were frequently whistled at by the home fans at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Shakhtar struck a deserved equaliser towards the end of a shoddy first half only for Benzema to score a second for a 2-1 win, with both of his goals set up by the in-form Vinicius Junior.

A second victory over Shakhtar in as many weeks has restored Madrid’s control over Group D after the shock defeat by Sheriff in September briefly dragged them into the pack.

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