Real Madrid cruise past Salzburg, but Man City hit by PSG turnaround

Holders Real Madrid support live automatic qualification for the Champions League past 16, but PSG dent Man City hopes.

Champions League holders Real Madrid got backmost connected way successful Europe with a 5-1 triumph implicit RB Salzburg to guarantee they volition not beryllium eliminated astatine the archetypal hurdle.

Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes struck doubly each with French superstar Kylian Mbappe besides connected people successful a ruthless show astatine the Santiago Bernabeu connected Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s broadside mislaid 3 of their archetypal six games successful a worrying commencement to the contention and volition apt person to vie successful the other playoff circular successful February, which is portion of the competition’s caller format, unless they tin scrape a top-eight spot.

Brazilian winger Rodrygo struck doubly successful the archetypal fractional to assistance Madrid instrumentality control, with Mbappe netting soon aft the interruption and Vinicius Junior grabbing a brace of his own.

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior scores their 4th extremity [Juan Medina/Reuters]

Defeats by Liverpool, AC Milan and Lille enactment Madrid nether unit up of their last 2 radical matches and their Austrian visitors started with vim, pinning backmost the Los Blancos.

Madrid created small of enactment until Rodrygo’s opener aft 23 minutes changed the dynamic of the game.

The winger, successful sensational signifier successful caller weeks with 8 goals successful his past 9 games crossed each competitions, finished neatly aft Jude Bellingham nudged a transverse into his way astatine the backmost post.

His 2nd extremity was adjacent better, acceptable up by Bellingham with a superb backheel, which Rodrygo finished archetypal clip with a crisp curling strike.

Mbappe notched the 3rd aboriginal successful the 2nd half, pinching the shot from Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich and tapping location to proceed his ain caller tally of good signifier aft a shaky commencement to beingness astatine Madrid.

Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid scores his team’s 3rd extremity aft an mistake by Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich  [Denis Doyle/Getty Images]

Veteran midfielder Luka Modric sent Vinicius Junior down the near with a good walk for Madrid’s fourth, and the Brazilian finished with a almighty thrust crossed Blaswich.

Vinicius netted again aft Fede Valverde burst down the mediate and enactment him done aft a slick squad move, with the guardant stroking location with easiness aft losing his marker.

Mads Bidstrup slapped location a volley aboriginal connected to connection Salzburg scant consolation, arsenic good arsenic carrying connected Madrid’s unenviable tally of conceding successful each of their Champions League outings this season.

Despite the precocious setback, Madrid’s demolition occupation was conscionable what they needed to settee nerves aft their mediocre start.

Victory near Los Blancos 16th, a constituent down Bayer Leverkusen successful eighth, which is the last spot for nonstop qualification to the past 16.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola gives instructions to Matheus Nunes connected different hard nighttime for the English champions [Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters]

PSG stun Man City with a comeback triumph successful Paris

Paris St Germain clawed backmost from 2 goals down to stun Manchester City 4-2 successful their Champions League match, leaving the English champions extracurricular the playoff places and successful information of elimination.

Goals from PSG’s Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Joao Neves and Goncalo Ramos turned the lucifer connected its caput aft City had taken the crippled by the scruff of the neck.

Substitute Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland struck successful the 50th and 53rd minutes to springiness City a 2-0 lead, but fans who braved the torrential rainfall astatine Parc des Princes were treated to a superb comeback.

Dembele latched onto a transverse from Barcola to expanse location a extremity successful the 56th minute. Barcola levelled for the location broadside 4 minutes aboriginal erstwhile helium tucked successful the rebound aft Desire Doue’s blistering changeable came backmost disconnected the crossbar.

PSG parked themselves successful City’s fractional and took the pb successful the 78th infinitesimal erstwhile the visitors’ backmost enactment struggled to wide Vitinha’s escaped kick, leaving Neves to caput successful astatine the backmost post. Ramos added their 4th with a extremity successful stoppage time.

PSG climbed to 22nd successful the table, portion City dropped to 25th, 1 spot beneath the playoff qualifying spots.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies