Paris Saint-Germain head coach Christophe Galtier was "proud" despite his team being astonishingly beaten to top spot in Champions League Group H by Benfica, an outcome that left captain Marquinhos frustrated.
Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Nuno Mendes at Juventus, either side of Leonardo Bonucci's equaliser, on Wednesday seemed to have Galtier's side on course to win the group courtesy of a 2-1 triumph.
However, Benfica scored five unanswered second-half goals at Maccabi Haifa to win 6-1, with Joao Mario's 92nd-minute effort snatching first place on away goals scored.
PSG and Benfica could not be separated by their head-to-head record, goals scored or conceded, making the away goals scored tie-breaker a Champions League first.
Finishing second means the Ligue 1 champions will face one of the group winners in the last 16, but Galtier generally seemed content, acknowledging how unusual and unfortunate it was to be pipped in such fashion.
"Of course, we have to value our campaign," he told reporters. "We beat Juventus twice, we got 14 points, we scored a lot of goals and in the end we finished second on the number of goals scored away from home, and that's how it is.
"But obviously I'm still very proud of my group, of my team in this group stage. We had a tough match, we knew we were going to have a difficult match, but we still managed to win, and then there is this scenario [Benfica scoring their sixth goal] that happens in the 92nd minute.
"Nobody could have imagined that. We finished second on the number of goals scored away from home. That's incredible."
But Marquinhos was rather more subdued as he struggled to hide his irritation despite claiming he was attempting to be optimistic.
"We're trying to take the positives out of it," he told reporters. "There were obviously two feelings, because we won against Juve in a difficult match, but we finished second, whereas the aim was to get this first place. Unfortunately, we didn't succeed.
"You have to look at the good aspects of things, there are good things to take away from this group stage, even if there are things to improve.
"In the Champions League, this first phase was important, but it is really played out in the second half of the season.
"That's when we have to perform well, be decisive, be good, because it's all about the end of the season."
Nevertheless, Marquinhos did value PSG's ability to see out an important win against a big club even though their performance was hardly spectacular.
"We have already seen teams win without necessarily being the best or playing the most beautiful football, but knowing how to be effective," he continued. "If we manage to be effective in these decisive moments, we can do great things.
"Even if there were difficult moments in this match, we managed to score and that unlocks a match. So, when we win a match like this, even if it wasn't our best game, we have to tell ourselves that it's important to know how to play like that too."
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Juve must play at their limits against in-form Lille, warns Motta
Thiago Motta stressed the importance of Juventus playing at their very best when they face Lille in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Juve face a tough task against a side who have already upset Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in this season's competition.
This will be the first ever meeting between these teams.
However, Juve have lost three of their last four Champions League matches against French opponents (W1), including both against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022-23 campaign. and Motta warned against any complacency.
"All matches are important. We, as Juventus, always want to win. The most important thing is always trying to improve," Motta told reporters on Monday.
"Lille are very confident, and we want to face them in optimal condition. We aim to give more than our maximum.
"There are no favourites in a match. It's a beautiful game, in a beautiful stadium, and we hope the pitch will be in good condition tomorrow. We can only talk tomorrow about who played better."
Motta will have midfielder Douglas Luiz from injury, but is still without a glut of players.
"He's [Luiz] one more player who can help the team. We’ll be missing Arek [Arkadiusz Milik], Gleison [Bremer] and [Nicolas Gonzalez]."
Lille boss Bruno Genesio knows Juve will present a stern test for his team, despite their shock wins over the Madrid clubs this term.
"Every Champions League match is different, but there is one essential parameter to get a result - commitment," he said.
"Like all Italian teams, Juventus are very well organised, very difficult to play against. Having already achieved two big results in this competition, we are going to give it our all again and we have our fans who will give us strength."
Jonathan David will be one of the standout Lille players Juve have to keep a close eye on.
The Canada international has scored six goals in his last eight Champions League appearances for Lille.
Lille have won all five games he has scored in but have not won any of the six games he has featured in without scoring (D2 L4).
Barcelona 3-1 Espanyol: Olmo brace sends Blaugrana nine points clear
Barcelona moved nine points clear at the LaLiga summit following a 3-1 victory over Espanyol in the Catalan derby.
Dani Olmo scored twice while Raphinha was also on target as Hansi Flick's side stretched their advantage over second-place Real Madrid, whose scheduled showdown with Valencia this weekend was postponed.
Barca broke the deadlock after just 12 minutes. Olmo latched onto Lamine Yamal's brilliant throughball with the outside of his boot, before beating Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia with a well-taken first-time finish.
The hosts doubled their lead 11 minutes later with Marc Casado finding Raphinha, who bravely lifted over the advancing Garcia.
It was 3-0 just after the half-hour mark, as Olmo received Alejandro Balde's pass before drilling home from the edge of the penalty area.
Espanyol, who saw two goals disallowed following VAR reviews, pulled one back when Javi Puado turned home Carlos Romero's cross in the 63rd minute.
However, it proved a consolation for the visitors, who suffered their sixth defeat in seven league games.
Data Debrief: Free-scoring Barca maintain derby dominance
Now unbeaten in 27 LaLiga derbies against Espanyol, Barcelona have now scored 40 goals this season; their second-highest tally after the first 12 games of a LaLiga season (42 in 1950-51).
Following Olmo's brace, which took his tally for the campaign to five, the Blaugrana are the only team with four different players to have scored at least five goals in Europe's top five leagues this term.
In setting up Raphinha's goal, Casado is the first Barca player from Spain to provide an assist in three successive games in all competitions since at least the 2014-15 season.
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
