England Under-21 international Jamie Bynoe-Gittens inspired Borussia Dortmund to a 3-1 Champions League win at AC Milan.
The 19-year-old won a penalty and scored a crucial second at San Siro as Dortmund booked their spot in the knockout stages.
Marco Reus’ 10th-minute penalty punished Olivier Giroud’s early miss from the spot before Samuel Chukwueze levelled.
Bynoe-Gittens made it 2-1 before Karim Adeyemi wrapped up the points for the visitors on Tuesday.
They are top of Group F, three points ahead of Paris St Germain in third after Kylian Mbappe’s stoppage-time penalty rescued a 1-1 draw against Newcastle and have a five-point lead over the Magpies with a game left.
Milan remain bottom with their only win in the group coming against PSG last month but they could still finish second if they beat Newcastle and the French club lose to Dortmund.
They were a point behind their Parisian rivals before kick-off but could have taken a sixth-minute lead when Giroud missed from the spot.
Nico Schlotterbeck was harshly penalised for handling Chukwueze’s shot but Giroud’s penalty lacked conviction and Gregor Kobel went to his right to save.
It was costly as just four minutes later Reus blasted the visitors into the lead from the spot.
Bynoe-Gittens was felled by Davide Calabria as he burst into the box and Reus dispatched the penalty.
Milan, who go to Newcastle in the final group game next month, initially struggled to recover and Bynoe-Gittens drove over as the visitors probed for a second.
Giroud was thwarted by Schlotterbeck but the hosts levelled nine minutes before the break when Chukwueze cut in from the right, between Bynoe-Gittens and Ramy Bensebaini to drill in low.
But Dortmund regrouped and retook the lead after 59 minutes through the England youngster.
A neat move involving Marcel Sabitzer and Niclas Fullkrug on the edge of the box saw the unmarked Bynoe-Gittens sweep in from 16 yards for his second goal in two games.
The visitors added a third after 69 minutes when Adeyemi was found on the edge of the area and neat footwork engineered space to shoot.
Mike Maignan got a strong hand to his shot but, while the goalkeeper almost managed to recover, he could only claw the ball away when it had already crossed the line.
Luka Jovic hit a post as Milan tried to hit back but they almost fell further behind with two minutes left when Fullkrug smacked the bar from 16 yards.
Al-Nassr 3-1 Al-Khaleej: Ronaldo nets twice and passes up penalty in cup semi-final
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the scoresheet with two goals as Al-Nassr beat Al-Khaleej 3-1 to reach the final of the King Cup of Champions on Wednesday.
Ronaldo scored either side of half-time as Al-Nassr teed up a final clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, who beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 in the other semi-final on Tuesday.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star took advantage of an error from opposing goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic to open the scoring 17 minutes in, then tapped home at the second attempt to make it a double shortly before the hour mark.
That goal could have made it a hat-trick for the Portugal star, but he passed up the chance to take a first-half penalty after Ivo Rodrigues handled in the area, Sadio Mane instead stepping up to blast his kick into the top corner.
Fawaz Al Terais was on target late on for Al-Khaleej, but that proved a mere consolation in a one-sided affair which saw Al-Nassr rack up 21 shots and 3.78 expected goals (xG), with their opponents managing just nine shots totalling 1.37 xG.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo's mini drought over
Ronaldo was frustrated against Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday, but he was back on song against the same opponents on Wednesday to end his mini drought of two games.
While Ronaldo's 43 touches were the fewest of any outfielder to start for Al-Nassr, he managed seven shots, five shots from inside the area and four dribbles – all game-high figures.
Sancho outshines Mbappe as Dortmund seize initiative against PSG
Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho issued a reminder of his star quality as Borussia Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday.
Niclas Fullkrug scored the winner after 36 minutes, taking in Nico Schlotterbeck's floated pass before driving a low shot beyond PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Fullkrug has now been involved in six Champions League goals this season (three goals, three assists), the joint-most by a German player in their debut campaign in the competition, alongside BVB team-mate Marco Reus in 2012-13 (four goals, two assists).
The star of the show, however, was undoubtedly Sancho.
He tormented Nuno Mendes throughout a lively performance, creating three chances for his team-mates – a game-high tally alongside Julian Brandt, Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi.
Sancho had completed seven dribbles by the halfway point, more than he managed in any full game for the Red Devils.
By full-time, that number had crept up to 12, the most by any player in a Champions League semi-final since Lionel Messi completed 16 for Barcelona against United in April 2008, and the most on record by an Englishman at any stage of the competition (since 2003-04).
Sancho even outshone Mbappe, who struck the far post with a curling effort early in the second half but was limited to just three shots totalling 0.17 expected goals (xG).
PSG did have their chances, though, with their total of 14 shots their most without scoring in any Champions League game since the second leg of their 2020-21 semi-final against Manchester City (also 14), when they were beaten 2-0 and eliminated from the competition.
Dortmund are now unbeaten in 11 straight Champions League home games, winning seven and drawing four.
It's their longest ever such streak at Signal Iduna Park, and they have also won four straight knockout games on their own turf for the first time in their Champions League history.
While Dortmund have a valuable lead to protect in Paris next Tuesday, Edin Terzic will be expecting a strong reaction from PSG.
The Ligue 1 champions have progressed from two of their last four Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, with the first of those successes coming against Dortmund in the last 16 in 2019-20 (1-2 away, 2-0 at home).
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain: Fullkrug hands hosts first-leg win
Niclas Fullkrug fired home a first-half winner as Borussia Dortmund claimed a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie in Germany.
Nico Schlotterbeck floated a pass into Fullkrug's path and the Germany international brought the ball under his spell with a wonderful touch before drilling a low shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 36th minute.
PSG, on the back foot for much of the first half, improved after the break and struck the woodwork twice in a matter of moments just after the restart.
Kylian Mbappe curled an effort against the right-hand post before Achraf Hakimi scuffed a shot against the other upright on the rebound as Edin Terzic's side escaped with a first-leg lead.
The teams will meet again at the Parc des Princes next Tuesday, with the winners of the tie facing either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid – who drew 2-2 in their first leg on Tuesday – in the final at Wembley Stadium.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
