Newcastle were knocked out of the Champions League after AC Milan came from a goal down to win 2-1 at St James’ Park.
Newcastle started the brighter of the two sides and made their first-half pressure count when Joelinton rifled a superb strike past Mike Maignan and into the top corner to give them the lead at the break.
Milan shifted into the gear in the second period and found an equaliser through Christian Pulisic, but the decisive moment came with six minutes to go when Samuel Chukwueze curled home from inside the area to earn their spot in the Europa League.
Paris St Germain secured their place in the last 16 of the competition with a 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund.
The French side’s Champions League hopes were thrown into doubt when Dortmund took the lead early in the second half as Karim Adeyemi swept home from close range.
But they were not ahead for long as Warren Zaire-Emery found the bottom corner, which proved vital to send PSG through from Group F in second place.
In Group G, Manchester City made it six wins from six games with a 3-2 away victory over Red Star Belgrade.
Debutant Micah Hamilton powered into the roof of the net to give Pep Guardiola’s side the lead and they looked on their way to a comfortable victory when Oscar Bobb rolled home, but Belgrade responded through Hwang In-beom.
City re-established their two-goal lead thanks to Kalvin Phillips’ penalty before the Serbian side pulled another one back in stoppage time through Aleksandar Katai, but it was not enough to stop City from picking up a maximum haul of 18 points.
Benjamin Sesko and Emil Forsberg struck twice in five second-half minutes to earn already qualified RB Leipzig a 2-1 victory over Young Boys. Ebrima Colley briefly levelled for the Swiss outfit.
Celtic picked up their first victory of the group-stage campaign thanks to Gustaf Lagerbielke’s late strike to give them a 2-1 win over Feyenoord at Celtic Park.
Luis Palma opened the scoring for Celtic just after the half-hour mark, but they thought they would remain winless in the competition when Feyenoord pulled level through Yankuba Minteh. However, Celtic snatched the win in stoppage time when Lagerbielke nodded in from close range.
Strikes from Antoine Griezmann and Samuel Lino handed Atletico a 2-0 win over Lazio after both sides had already secured their place in the last 16 from Group E.
Porto progressed through to the last 16 of the Champions League with a 5-3 win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Porto hit the front in the ninth minute when Galeno opened the scoring. Danylo Sikan equalised on the half-hour mark, only for Galeno to grab a second to give the hosts a 2-1 lead at the break.
The Portuguese side doubled their advantage when Mehdi Taremi lashed into the roof of the net, but Shakhtar hit back through Stephen Eustakio’s own goal.
Porto sealed victory in the 76th minute when Pepe stabbed home and added another through Francisco Conceicao before Eguinaldo knocked in a late consolation for the Ukrainian team.
Royal Antwerp grabbed their first victory in the Champions League this season with a dramatic 3-2 triumph over Barcelona.
The Belgian side hit the front in the second minute when Arthur Vermeeren slammed home from close range, however, Barca were on level terms 10 minutes before the break through Ferran Torres.
The hosts regained their advantage with a goal from Vincent Janssen, but Barcelona thought they nicked a point thanks to Marc Gulu’s strike in the first minute of stoppage time.
But Antwerp hit a dramatic winner when George Ilenikhena struck a minute later.
Hayes concedes title race is over as Chelsea suffer dramatic Liverpool defeat
It has been a difficult week for Chelsea and their boss Emma Hayes.
After seeing their Champions League dreams dashed by holders Barcelona on Saturday, they had no margin for error when they travelled to Liverpool in the Women's Super League on Wednesday.
Six points behind Manchester City with two games in hand but an inferior goal difference, the Blues needed three points to stop Hayes' final season in charge from totalling unravelling.
But there was to be no respite for the Blues, who were at one point tipped for a quadruple but have been stuck in a downward spiral since losing Sam Kerr to an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the winter break.
Matt Beard's Liverpool put on a tremendous display to win 4-3, with Gemma Bonner scoring a stoppage-time equaliser to leave Hayes certain the title is out of reach.
"I think the title is done," she said after Wednesday's game.
"Of course mathematically it's not, but I think the title is done. Our job between now and the end of the season is to keep pushing until the end, but I think it will be very difficult.
"This team has done a tremendous job in my time here to push for titles.
"I don’t know if we have ever conceded four goals in a half before. Three from set pieces is just unforgivable. But I'm going to credit Liverpool."
Chelsea now need an almighty collapse from City, who may only require three points from their remaining two matches to seal the title, if their goal difference advantage holds firm.
Hayes believes fighting on multiple fronts has not helped her team, adding: "We looked exhausted but I don't want to make excuses.
"I want to remind our fans how much success we have brought over the years. It's just not to be this year."
Next up, Chelsea face relegated Bristol City in their final home game before Hayes departs to take the United States job, with City taking on Arsenal in Sunday's headline fixture.
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
