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.
Guardiola expecting challenging season for injury-hit Man City
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's current injury problems will make it harder for them to repeat the success of recent years.
Depleted by a number of injuries to key players, the Premier League champions saw a 32-game unbeaten league run ended by a loss at Bournemouth on Saturday after a midweek reverse at Tottenham in the EFL Cup fourth round, marking the first time City have lost successive matches in all competitions since September 2023.
While Guardiola says he is aware of the expectations surrounding his team, he knew they were likely to suffer more defeats due to injuries and the increasing level of their opponents.
"I know our standards, but we've lost just one game. Maybe we are going to lose again in the Premier League against Brighton and against Tottenham and against Liverpool," Guardiola told reporters, referring to their next three Premier League games.
"We are just two points behind Liverpool, who are a top-class team. We've started well in the Champions League, but I know people expect us to win 38 league games and win the treble every season as these are our standards.
"The reason it is difficult is because we have had a lot of absentees, which can happen in some seasons.
"Sometimes, to win the treble, everything has to be on the same page with injuries, but this is not possible this time. The teams are very strong and everything is more difficult, and we have to accept that. That is the challenge."
City will be without Ballon d'Or winner Rodrigo and Oscar Bobb for most of the campaign, while John Stones, Jack Grealish and Ruben Dias remain sidelined and have not travelled to Portugal.
Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker still have problems despite being in the squad, Guardiola said, and Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho are improving, while Erling Haaland is fit.
City sit third in the Champions League standings after two wins and a draw and are looking for a third consecutive European win at Portuguese champions Sporting CP, who are eighth but also have seven points and are unbeaten across all competitions this season.
Guardiola's side claimed a resounding 5-0 win at Sporting when they met in the 2022 Champions League last 16, and are looking to extend their record run of unbeaten games to 27 in the competition.
"They play quite similar like we faced two seasons ago, the pattern is so clear," Guardiola added.
"They have changed players but have the same manager and same mentality," he said, referring to Sporting boss Ruben Amorim, who will take over at Manchester United at the start of the international break.
Returning fan favourite Alonso calls Liverpool 'one of Europe's best'
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso hailed his former club Liverpool as "one of Europe's best" as he prepares for his Anfield return.
Alonso, who spent five successful years at Anfield and helped Liverpool win the Champions League in 2005, returns to his former stomping ground when Leverkusen take on the Reds on Tuesday.
Arne Slot has won 12 of his first 14 matches in charge of Liverpool, including all three in the Champions League so far.
Leverkusen have only won one of their 11 away major European matches in England (D3 L7), and have lost their last two visits to Anfield, and Alonso is under no illusion as to the scale of the task that awaits the reigning Bundesliga champions.
"For us, it is a big challenge," he said.
"Liverpool at the moment are one of the best, if not the best, in Europe, they are showing that in the Premier League and Champions League, a good squad, great coach. We're looking forward to it. Let's see what happens.
"You can play 70 minutes great but in 20 minutes it [the game] is gone, so it is mentally and emotionally we need to be ready.
"In all areas, they are really strong, so the process works really well. [Slot] has done a fantastic job in three months."
Alonso played 210 times across all competitions for Liverpool between 2004 and 2009, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists.
After winning the Champions League with the Reds in 2005, he helped them reach the final in 2007, though they lost to Milan on that occasion.
However, the Spaniard does not think he will have too much time for a trip down memory lane.
"Unfortunately, there is no time for tourism – maybe a little run or walk," he said.
"I know the city very well, I love it, but tomorrow I will focus on the game and only the game.
"It feels great to be back here after a few years. It's always special. You notice the development of the club; the new stand looks amazing.
"It is a big game against Liverpool, it cannot get much better than that."
The omens are not great for Leverkusen, though.
Liverpool have lost one of their last 21 European meetings with German opponents (W14 D6), albeit that one defeat came against Leverkusen in 2002.
“We want everyone involved”- Chung hoping for massive support for Reggae Boyz in Nations League Quarterfinal against USA
General Secretary of the Jamaica Football Federation, Dennis Chung, is hoping that Jamaicans come out in their numbers to support the Reggae Boyz during both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League Quarter-final at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday, November 14 and Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday, November 18.
The Reggae Boyz will be looking for revenge over their American counterparts after suffering defeat to them at the semi-final stage of last season’s Nations League 1-3 in extra time. The USA went on to win the whole thing with a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the final while the Reggae Boyz beat Panama 1-0 to claim third place.
If the Boyz are to get over the hump this time around, Chung understands that a massive part of it will be the energy they receive from the thousands of Jamaican fans in attendance.
“We are at the quarterfinal stage. We want to ensure that we are there in our numbers supporting the Boyz because we have to make it past the mighty USA which, after we finish with them, they won’t be so mighty,” Chung said in press conference on Monday.
As such, three support groups for Jamaican football-Reggae Boyz Supporters Club, Reggae Football Fans Club and Reggae Boyz Community, are all making it possible for fans from all over the diaspora to have an opportunity to cheer on the Reggae Boyz live and in person.
“We want to welcome this partnership because this is a way for us now to reach our fanbase. We want to ensure that everyone is involved. At the last two games we had over 17,000 people in attendance and that, for us, is very important. It’s not just about playing football. It’s about getting everybody involved,” Chung said on Monday.
Errol Walters and Louis Grant, members of the Reggae Football Fans Club, were also on hand on Monday and gave an overview of this initiative.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be serving our country in this way. What we’re trying to do is create an opportunity for fans in the diaspora that we use our collective bargaining power to negotiate to go to the games,” Walters said.
“There are times when I’m in London and want to go to a game and I have no one to travel with so it was always my dream to create a database to say listen, who’s going to the game from where,” Walters added.
Grant explained that this idea came about because of the desire of members of the diaspora to be a driving force behind the support of the team on their journey to the World Cup in 2026.
“This was birthed out a desire to be the proverbial 12th man for our football teams and more so for the second iteration of the historic trip to the World Cup. We, as members of the diaspora here in the United States, think it’s only right that we play our part in drumming up support as far as leveraging air travel, accommodation, and support,”
“For example, we’ve been in touch with US Soccer with regards to the game in St. Louis. We’ve gotten a section that we can have all or most of our supporters concentrated to create that ‘Office’ vibe,”
“In my experience, we’ve gone to games in my area and you’d see our supporters and our flag sparsely across the various stadiums and we are of the opinion that if we were more concentrated in one section, it bodes well or it is a better look and feel for our team,” he added.
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