Quartet secure CL progress as United sweat

PARIS: Last season’s beaten finalists Juventus joined Paris St Germain, Atletico Madrid and Benfica in clinching qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League with one round of group games to spare on Wednesday.

A first-half strike from Mario Mandzukic saw Juve qualify from Group ‘D’ with a 1-0 win over Manchester City as they went top of the section on 11 points, two more than already-qualified City, and need only a draw from their final game against Sevilla to go through as group winners.

“Hats off to the lads, they’ve gifted me qualification with a game to spare,” said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrated his return to his first senior club with a goal as PSG advanced to the knockout phase with a 5-0 thrashing of Malmo in Group ‘A’.

“I lived a dream tonight, coming back,” Ibrahimovic, playing his first competitive club match at his hometown team Malmo since joining Ajax in 2001, said.

“On top of that I scored one. I’m very happy. Since the beginning, there’s been a great relationship between Malmo’s fans and me.”

Already qualified before travelling to Ukraine, 10-time European champions Real Madrid conceded three goals in 13 minutes yet still came away with a 4-3 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the group’s other match.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real made sure of finishing top.

Atletico secured their place in the next round with a 2-0 victory over Galatasaray in Group ‘C’ and will travel to Benfica to decide first place in two weeks’ time.

Both teams have 10 points after Benfica recovered from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 at Astana.

“As a concept, it is always better to be first than second, although it doesn’t guarantee you anything,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. “In the last 16 all the teams are competitive. We will go and play the match in Lisbon with the same intensity and abilities as always.”

In contrast, there is still all to play for in Group ‘B’ with Manchester United playing out a disappointing 0-0 draw against PSV Eindhoven at Old Trafford.

The group remains wide open and will be decided on the final day after VfL Wolfsburg moved to the top of the standings with a 2-0 defeat of CSKA Moscow.

POOR FINISHING

City had already secured their progress before the game in Turin but the defeat leaves them staring at the prospect of finishing second in Group ‘D’ and facing a tougher last-16 draw.

Manuel Pellegrini’s men will therefore be determined to avoid the fate of their last two campaigns when they went through only as group runners-up, drew Barcelona and suffered early exits.

The Sky Blues let their fate slip out of their hands on when Mandzukic struck in the 18th minute when Alex Sandro fired a delightful cross into the path of the Croatian who muscled his way past Nicolas Otamendi to finish from close range.

Juve would have qualified even if they had lost, after Borussia Moenchengladbach defeated Sevilla 4-2 to boost their chances of playing in the Europa League with Lars Stindl scoring twice.

Sevilla, Europa League winners in each of the last two seasons, now must beat Juve in their final game and hope Gladbach don’t defeat City just to claim the consolation of dropping into the secondary competition.

Atletico, the 2014 runners-up, dismissed Turkish club Galatasaray at the Vicente Calderon thanks to an Antoine Griezmann double, with his goals in each half set up by team captain Gabi.

Benfica’s draw earlier in the day in Kazakhstan means a draw against Atletico will see the Portuguese giants win the Group ‘C’.

HAPPY HOMECOMING

Bearing the slogan ‘Je suis Paris’ (I am Paris) on their shirts in solidarity with the French capital following the Nov 13 attacks, PSG’s players secured qualification for the knockout stages with ease.

Ibrahimovic earned a standing ovation from supporters of his hometown team and the club where his glittering career began.

Adrien Rabiot and Angel Di Maria netted in the first half before Ibrahimovic finished past Johan Wiland early in the second period.

Markus Rosenberg missed a penalty for Malmo before Di Maria scored again and substitute Lucas curled in a free-kick to complete the rout.

A Ronaldo brace either side of a Luka Modric goal and a delightful Dani Carvajal chip had Real out of sight before Shakhtar mounted a comeback.

Alex Teixeira scored twice, the first a penalty, while Dentinho also scored, but Rafa Benitez’s under-pressure side held on.

United have been criticised for their defensive style under Louis Van Gaal and their goalless draw against PSV leaves their qualification chances in jeopardy.

Wolfsburg are now top of Group ‘B’ after Andre Schuerrle came off the bench to provoke an Igor Akinfeev own goal and score one of his own in Russia. They lead United by one point, with PSV a point further behind in third.

PSV will qualify by beating CSKA at home in two weeks. If that happens, United will have to beat Wolfsburg away to avoid dropping into the Europa League.

Results at a glance

Malmo 0Paris Saint-Germain 5

(At Malmo, Sweden)

Shakhtar Donetsk 3Real Madrid 4

(At Lviv, Ukraine)

CSKA Moscow 0Wolfsburg 2

(At Moscow)

Manchester United 0PSV Eindhoven 0

(At Manchester, England)

Astana 2Benfica 2

(At Astana)

Atletico Madrid 2Galatasaray 0