BELGRADE: Paris Saint-Germain reached the Champions League knockout rounds as group winners thanks to a 4-1 victory over Red Star Belgrade, with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani all on the scoresheet. PSG went into their match in Belgrade knowing that victory would send them through, and Edinson Cavani gave the French champions the perfect start by tapping in after an excellent run and pass by Kylian Mbappe.
Neymar’s strike five minutes before half-time appeared to have put the game to bed, but Red Star, who had already beaten Liverpool and held Napoli in Serbia earlier in the campaign, pulled one back before the hour mark through Marko Gobeljic.
But PSG finally sealed their spot in the last 16 as Marquinhos headed in Angel Di Maria’s free-kick with 16 minutes to go and Mbappe added further gloss to the scoreline in added time. “We made mistakes, but I really liked the reaction after Belgrade’s goal. We controlled the match,” PSG coach Thomas Tuchel told RMC Sport.
Dortmund on top
Borussia Dortmund snatched top spot in Group A with a 2-0 win over rock-bottom Monaco, as Atletico Madrid were held to a goalless draw at Club Brugge.
Raphael Guerreiro tapped in Maximilian Philipp’s low cross in the 15th minute against Thierry Henry’s crisis-hit Monaco, before slamming in a second late on. “It’s a perfect evening. On the whole it was a deserved victory,” said Dortmund coach Lucien Favre. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
