AC Milan come from behind to end Newcastle’s European adventure

By Sports Desk December 13, 2023

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.

Related items

  • 'It's a shame' - Alonso confirms Leverkusen's Boniface out with thigh injury 'It's a shame' - Alonso confirms Leverkusen's Boniface out with thigh injury

    Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso confirmed that Victor Boniface will be sidelined for some time after picking up a thigh injury on international duty with Nigeria. 

    Boniface, who has scored eight goals in 15 appearances in all competitions this season, was replaced late on in the Super Eagles' 2-1 defeat to Rwanda on Monday. 

    It is another blow for Leverkusen, who have managed 17 points from 10 games so far this season, the worst start to a league campaign in 12 years by a defending champion.

    Only Omar Marmoush and Harry Kane (both 11) have scored more goals in the league than Boniface this term (six). 

    Alonso revealed that the 23-year-old will miss Saturday's Bundesliga encounter against Heidenheim and their Champions League tie against RB Salzburg next week. 

    "We will have to see how long he will be out. It is a shame," Alonso told a press conference.

    "He has a thigh injury. For tomorrow, for Salzburg and maybe a bit longer. We will have to wait and see.

    "It is too early to say but we hope he can still play this year. We have to see with the recovery and improvement but it is not a matter of six or eight weeks."

    Leverkusen have dropped points in six Bundesliga games already this season (D5, L1), as often as they did during the entirety of their 2023-24 title-winning campaign (D6).

    They come into this weekend's fixture against Heidenheim on a three-game winless run in the Bundesliga (D3), the first time they have gone this long without a victory since between April and May 2023 (five games). 

    Leverkusen sit fourth in the Bundesliga, already nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich as the busy festive schedule kickstarts on Saturday. 

    Alonso's side have eight games in just under a month, including a DFB-Pokal round of 16 clash with Bayern at the start of December. 

    "Eight games in four weeks. It is nothing new for us," Alonso said. "An intense phase is coming up for us and it starts tomorrow.

    "We have clear goals for the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the German Cup."

  • Object thrown at City striker 'Bunny' Shaw in Champions League win over Hammarby sparks UEFA investigation Object thrown at City striker 'Bunny' Shaw in Champions League win over Hammarby sparks UEFA investigation

    UEFA has opened an investigation after Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw was hit by an object during their Women’s Champions League win against Swedish side Hammarby on Thursday.

    The towering Jamaican striker scored both goals in City’s 2-1 win at the Stockholm Arena to see her side through to the quarterfinal stage.

    Her animated celebration in front of the home fans after her first goal saw the 27-year-old being booked, with replays also showing an object seemingly thrown her way from the stands.

    “Proceedings have been opened against Hammarby IF for throwing of objects (Article 16(2)(b) of the Disciplinary Regulations),” UEFA said in a statement.

    “Manchester City player Khadija Shaw received a yellow card following her goal presentation for unsporting conduct,” the statement added.

    Following the game, City captain Alex Greenwood chided match broadcaster DAZN for failing to mention the incident in a social media post.

    The post on X, external said Shaw “antagonised” the home fans and received “stick” from them.

    Greenwood replied, "Correction. Travel to Stockholm, score a big goal. Celebrates her goal. Gets objects thrown at her.”

  • Girona handed huge injury boosts ahead of Espanyol clash Girona handed huge injury boosts ahead of Espanyol clash

    Michel says Girona are in better physical shape ahead of their home clash against Espanyol after being handed numerous injury boosts.

    Last season's surprise package, Girona, have had a mixed start to the campaign and sit 10th in the table but registered back-to-back league wins before the international break.

    They have struggled with injuries to key players this season, but Viktor Tsygankov, Jhon Solis, Arnaut Danjuma, Yaser Asprilla, Ladislav Krejci, Ivan Martin, and Alejandro Frances are all available for the game.

    Michel hopes that having a wider group of players available will help them to extend their winning run.

    "We are better physically. Only Yangel Herrera, [Gabriel] Misehouy, Portu and Abel Ruiz are out, and the rest are in the squad" Michel told reporters. 

    "Each case will be different in terms of giving us minutes, but they are ready to help us.

    "Now we have replacements in each position, and it gives me peace of mind. We need everyone ready and in the next two to three weeks, we will be ready to play at 100%."

    Michel said Herrera, who has scored twice and registered one assist in LaLiga this term, was not expected to return until the new year.

    "He is a player who makes the difference in terms of duels, arrivals into the opponent's area and possession. He is vital, but we will not have him until 2025," he added.

    Girona have 18 points after 13 games and will face an Espanyol side sitting in the relegation zone. The visitors are yet to win away this season, losing five of six games on the road, but Michel has won just one of his four LaLiga matches against Espanyol (D2 L1).

    The Girona head coach said Manolo Gonzalez's team cannot be taken lightly despite their underwhelming performances in away games.

    Espanyol are yet to win away this season, losing five of six games on the road.

    "We faced each other in pre-season and we drew. It will be difficult since they are a very good team in transition with players like [Javi] Puado or Jofre [Carreras] with speed and depth," Michel said.

    "It's always a different game. It's a derby, and it's good to play them. There is a rivalry that must be sporting and, for our people and the players, it is a different game."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.