There will be three Spanish teams in the first knock-out round of the Champions League after Real Madrid and Sevilla both classified as second in their respective groups. Real Madrid were already sure of finishing as runners up behind Tottenham, and they ended the group stage with a 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund. Early goals by Borja Mayoral and Cristiano Ronaldo (who set a new record of scoring in all six ties) appeared to have wrapped things up, but Aubameyang scored twice either side of half time, and it was not until ten minutes from the end that Lucas Vázquez got the winner. Sevilla meanwhile got the point they needed in a 1-1 draw at Maribor, Ganso making it all square after Tavares had given the locals the lead in the tenth minute. In the end however even that wasn’t necessary after third placed Spartak Moscow were thrashed 7-0 by group leaders Liverpool. (06.12.17)
Atlético Madrid have failed to reach the knock-out stage of the competition after they could only draw 1-1 at Chelsea on Tuesday, and they will now have to make do with the Europa League as the third placed team in their group. Simeone’s team needed a win in Stamford Bridge to have any chance of qualifying, and Saúl headed them in to the lead following a corner after the break. Savic turned Hazard’s cross in to his own net a few minutes later though, and Roma’s victory against Qarabag in the other group game meant that they would not have gone through even with a victory. Barcelona though had already made sure of top spot in their group two weeks’ ago, and they completed the formalities with a 2-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon. Valverde used the occasion to rest key players such as Messi, Busquets and Ter Stegen and give a run out to others, but even so an Alcácer header and injury time Mathieu own goal made sure of the three points. (05.12.17)