Atletico Madrid pipped FC Porto and Milan to the final group qualification place alongside Liverpool as Erling Haaland and Sebastien Haller continued their goal scoring records
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Atletico Madrid progressed through to the Round of 16 in the Champions League after a dramatic and bad-tempered win at Porto.
Second best for most of the evening, two second half red cards changed the course of the game and Atleti netted three late goals to seal their progress at the expense of the Portuguese side.
Milan also exited the competition after a final day loss at home to a weakened Liverpool side, while Real Madrid and Ajax were other big winners on the night.
Earlier in the evening, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi both netted doubles as Paris Saint-Germain eased past Club Brugge 4-1 in the French capital, while Man City – who had already been confirmed as group winners – went down to a defeat at RB Leipzig.
Here are the five main talking points from Tuesday’s Champions League action.
Atletico Madrid through after Porto brawl
Late goals from Antoine Griezmann, Angel Correa and Rodrigo de Paul sealed Atleti’s place in the Round of 16 as they won at Porto.
Griezmann opened the scoring against the run of play from a corner kick and as Porto pushed for a vital equaliser, they were caught out on the break through Correa and then de Paul – while Sergio Oliviera netted a late consolation penalty for Atleti.
After Griezmann’s first goal, a series of brawls and bad-tempered clashes between the players soured the occasion.
Atleti’s Yannick Carrasco was shown a straight red card after lashing out at Porto’s Otavio – who received a yellow card – on the touchline, sparking a brawl.
The Portuguese side’s one-man advantage lasted only three minutes as Wendell – who had only been introduced as a substitute minutes earlier – was dismissed for the hosts.
The Brazilian was attempting to take a quick throw-in as Atleti’s Matheus Cunha stepped across him to block the move, and as Wendell brushed him off with an arm, Cunha theatrically collapsed to the ground holding his face.
It was an incident that sparked another huge brawl, as Atleti boss Simeone played the role as a peacemaker.
Suarez left in tears
One player not involved in the brawl was Atleti striker Luis Suarez, who limped off in the 13 th minute through an injury and was left in tears on the bench.
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Now aged 34, muscular injuries are starting to creep into Suarez’s game and Tuesday’s misfortune added to his lack of form this season.
He has scored just once in his last 11 appearances for club and country – and may now have to sit out a period of time on the sidelines.
Haller equals Ronaldo record
Ajax striker Sebastien Haller was already one of the stories of the Champions League season, having bagged four goals on his competition debut against Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.
He also netted in each of the following matches against both Besiktas and Borussia Dortmund, before finding the target again against Sporting on Tuesday.
Ajax had already sealed top spot in Group C with a round of games remaining but Haller rolled in an early opening penalty to ensure had scored at least once in every group stage game – only Cristiano Ronaldo had done so before, in the 2017-18 campaign.
Haller has set a new competition record as no other player has scored as many goals (10) in their first six games in the Champions League, with Erling Haaland holding the previous record with nine goals.
Asensio stunner helps down Inter
Real Madrid confirmed their progress as Group D winners thanks to a two-goal victory over 10-men Inter – who qualify in second spot – in the Spanish capital.
Toni Kroos gave Los Blancos a first half late while Nico Barrella was dismissed for the Serie A champions in the second half after a clash with Madrid defender Eder Militao.
The game was sealed late on by a stunning strike from Marco Asensio, which clinched Madrid’s progress through to the last 16.
Haaland return too late for Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund are out of the Champions League after suffering three successive defeats – a run which coincided with Erling Haaland ’s injury.
The Norwegian is back in action and was a 63 rd -minute substitute as Dortmund blew away Besiktas 5-0 on Tuesday night – yet he still had time to score twice.
That takes his tally for this season up to 17 goals in 13 games this season while he has 74 goals in 72 appearances for Dortmund.
The goalscoring machine truly is back for the German side, although it came too late for their Champions League hopes – as Ajax and Sporting Lisbon progressed through their group.
