Bayern show European Cup credentials with PSG win

Bayern Munich 3 PSG 1

Bayern Munich ruined Paris St Germain’s perfect Champions League record this season with a 3-1 victory at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday but their rousing win could not stop the French side advancing as Group B winners.

With both teams already qualified for the knockout stages, Corentin Tolisso's double and another goal from Robert Lewandowski gave Bayern hope of pulling off the improbable win by a four-goal margin that would see them top the group.

Yet PSG, who had thumped Bayern 3-0 in Paris, always looked likely to avoid that indignity in a high-quality contest once Kylian Mbappe scored just after halftime when they were 2-0 down.

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The top-of-the-table clash proved far from a ‘dead rubber’ with both sides determined to demonstrate the qualities that make them among the favourites to lift the title this season.

The German champions started hungrily, Lewandowski having time to turn and score in the eighth minute after being played onside by a careless Dani Alves, before Tolisso headed home James Rodriguez's cross in the 37th minute.

With the home crowd sensing an extraordinary story, Mbappe ruined the script when heading in from Edinson Cavani’s neat chipped cross five minutes after the break.

Still, the French midfielder Tolisso kept the pressure on, finishing clinically in the 69th minute after David Alaba’s storming run and cross down the left flank.

While PSG and Bayern ended on 15 points each, Celtic took third place, guaranteeing Europa League football, despite losing 1-0 at home to Anderlecht, whose second-half winner came from a Jozo Simunovic own goal.

The win represented the Belgian side’s first success of the competition after five straight defeats but Celtic’s previous 3-0 win at Anderlecht ensured they had the better head-to-head record.

Olympiakos 0 Juventus 2

Juventus claimed a place in the Champions League last 16 as Juan Cuadrado and Federico Bernardeschi secured a 2-0 win at Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus and second place in Group D on Tuesday.

The Serie A side, runners-up in last year’s competition, needed a win to ensure progression to the knockout round was not threatened by Sporting who were in action at Barcelona.

The result, coupled with Barca’s 2-0 win over Sporting, meant Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve side finished as group runners-up, three points behind the Spaniards.

Juventus took the lead after 15 minutes with Cuadrado set up by an Alex Sandro cross for an easy tap-in to score his first Champions League goal this season.

The Italians controlled msot of the match but were indebted to stand-in goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny who saved Uros Djurdjevic's downward header shortly before halftime.

Bottom side Olympiakos, playing only for pride, pushed forward in the second half but the contest was effectively ended in the 90th minute by Bernardeschi who cut in from the right and fired past goalkeeper Silvio Proto with his left foot.

Barcelona 2 Sporting Lisbon 0

Barcelona completed their Champions League Group D campaign with a 2-0 win over

Sporting Lisbon at the Nou Camp. With the LaLiga leaders already qualified as group winners and a testing trip to Villarreal ahead on Sunday, coach Ernesto Valverde made the expected wholesale changes as talisman Lionel Messi started on the bench.

After a lacklustre first half, Barcelona broke the deadlock after 59 minutes when Paco Alcacer headed in from a corner and former Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu netted an own goal in stoppage time, which left Sporting having to be content with a Europa League spot after finishing behind Juventus.

Benfica 0 FC Basel 2

Manchester United topped Group A ahead of Basel, who clinched second place with a 2-0 victory over Benfica in Lisbon.

The Swiss outfit got off to the perfect start when Mohamed Elyounoussi headed them into a fifth-minute lead from Michael Lang's cross.

They doubled their advantage 20 minutes into the second half when Dimitri Oberlin headed home from close range, and that was enough to condemn the Portuguese to a sixth successive defeat.

AS Roma 1 Quarabag 0

Roma needed Diego Perotta’s 53rd-minute header to get past Azerbaijani side Qarabag to book their place in the last 16 as group winners.