The penultimate round of the UEFA Champions League group stage kicked off on Tuesday with several teams looking to claim a spot in the knockout stage of the world’s most prestigious club competition. And while that happened — Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Lazio all sealed the deal — the first half of Matchday 5 will probably be better remembered for one eye-popping upset and three more that might have been.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from Tuesday’s eight-game slate.
AC Milan on shaky ground after lopsided defeat to Dortmund
The Rossoneri’s win over Paris Saint-Germain on Matchday 4 earlier this month vaulted the seven-time continental champ from last place to second in Group F, but then it’s not called “The Group of Death” for nothing. Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund at the San Siro combined with Newcastle’s point in Paris (more on that later) means AC Milan is right back to the bottom of the standings and in serious danger of seeing its European campaign end before Christmas.
The result was no fluke, with the Black and Yellow thoroughly outplaying the hosts. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens’s first career Champions League goal stood up as the winner before Karim Adeyemi added a backbreaking third:
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The victory was enough to send Dortmund to the knockout phase. Meantime, the Milanese no longer control their own destiny. Christian Pulisic and his team must beat Newcastle next month in England and home that already-qualified Dortmund can do them a favor by defeating PSG. If not, it will be a long winter for last season’s semifinalists.
[Related: Dortmund advances to last 16 of Champions League with 3-1 win at Milan]
Newcastle comes oh-so-close to doubling up PSG
The conventional wisdom among even the most optimistic Newcastle United fan before this week’s trip to the French capital was that the Magpies, which trounced Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 on Tyneside last month, was that Tuesday’s rematch was unlikely to top one of the most memorable victories in club history.
It almost did. Alexander Isak scored for the visitors midway through the first half and Newcastle held that lead all the way until the eighth minute of second half stoppage time, when Kylian Mbappé converted a penalty kick that had been controversially awarded after the video assistant referee spotted a handball.
It was an extremely harsh decision. While Ousmane Dembélé’s cross did hit Tino Livramento on the arm, the limb was in a natural position and the ball was inadvertently deflected onto it from close range. But the call stood, and Mbappé wasn’t about to squander the opportunity after what to that point had been a painfully frustrating night.
Newcastle’s supporters would’ve gladly taken that point beforehand. Instead, with another famous win denied in the latest and cruelest way imaginable, it’s a tie that feels more like a loss.
Manchester City survives yet another scare
Truth be told, the defending champions hadn’t been all that impressive during the 2023-24 Champions League season despite a perfect 4-0 record heading into Tuesday’s visit from RB Leipzig.
It was still a little shocking to see the Germans run out to a 2-0 lead at the City of Manchester Stadium — an advantage they took into the dressing room at halftime. But Pep Guardiola’s team had already overcome adversity on several occasions during the group stage. And of course, having Erling Haaland helps.
[Related: Man City comes back from down 2-0 to remain unbeaten in Champions League]
Sure enough, Haaland cut the deficit in half shortly after the break, becoming the youngest player to score 40 Champions League goals in the process. Phil Foden then pulled the hosts level with 20 minutes still to play. Finally — inevitably — Man City found one more before it was over, with Julian Alvarez completing the comeback by scoring the winner in the 87th minute.
And just like that, Man City are still perfect with just one more group stage match, on Dec. 13 at Red Star Belgrade, left to play.
Barcelona comes back, too
Tied on nine points with Porto and leading Group H only on goal difference, Tuesday’s meeting between the teams in Barcelona was a true six-pointer.
Barça was at home and the clear favorite. But after being stunned by Shakhtar Donetsk in its last Champions League contest, Porto’s opener through Pepê a half-hour in had alarm bells ringing across Catalonia.
[Related: Barcelona advances to Champions League knockout stage for first time since Lionel Messi era]
Before panic could fully set in, João Cancelo equalizer two minutes later restored order. João Félix then put the hosts up for good in the second half — guaranteeing Xaxi’s team a place in the second round:
Lazio ends Celtic’s European journey
After losing three of its first four games in a stacked Group E, Scottish titan Celtic needed to beat Lazio in Rome to have any hope of advancing even to the Europa League as a third place finisher.
With the game still scoreless after 80 minutes, it looked like the Hoops might be able to steal all three points at Stadio Olimpico. But the dam broke when second half substitute Ciro Immobile blasted the hosts ahead in the 81st. Immobile would add another four minutes later to put the outcome beyond doubt on the way to a 2-0 win. He beat Celtic’s U.S. national team center back Cameron Carter-Vickers on both goals.
While the Scots are now assured of ending up last, Lazio’s win — combined by Feyenoord’s loss at home to Atletico Madrid later in the day — was enough to send the Italians to the round of 16 for the first time since 2021.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
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