RB Leipzig scored twice in the opening 13 minutes but had to survive a late comeback from Manchester United to cling on to a 3-2 win on Tuesday that sent them into the Champions League knockout stage and eliminated the English side.
The Germans, semi-finalists last season, were totally dominant in the early stages and raced into a 2-0 lead with goals from Angelino and Amadou Haidara, before a third in the second half from Justin Kluivert appeared to be the final nail in the United coffin.
A Bruno Fernandes penalty, however, sparked the visitors into life in the 80th minute and a Paul Pogba header soon after set up a tense finale, but it all came too late for United who were left to rue a sloppy start and will now drop into the Europa League.
“It was really intense at the end but we played a good game for long spells,” Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann said. “The players implemented our plan well, especially in the first half.
“The boys fought hard, I said before the game that they are machines and they showed that again tonight.”
Leipzig are top of Group H on 12 points but will have to wait to see if they stay there, while United are out having finished third with nine points.
Second-placed Paris St Germain, also on nine but with a better head-to-head record against United and Leipzig, are through to the last 16 and can still finish top.
They will line up again against Istanbul Basaksehir on Wednesday after their game was suspended due to an incident involving the fourth official.
Leipzig, beaten 5-0 by United in Manchester, got off to a sensational start, stunning the visitors in the second minute with Angelino’s powerful shot from a Marcel Sabitzer cross.
The Spaniard, on loan from Manchester City, ran United ragged down the left wing and was again left with far too much space in the 12th minute when he floated the ball across for Haidara to volley in.
United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka was completely overwhelmed on their right flank and the Germans deserved a third goal.
They thought they had got it when Willi Orban put the ball in the net only for it to be ruled offside.
United, despite the return of Luke Shaw and keeper David De Gea, were vulnerable at the back and had to change their system several times in a desperate effort to stop the onslaught.
Leipzig added a third goal through substitute Kluivert in the 69th minute.
Yet Fernandes, who had earlier hit the bar with a free kick, scored with an 80th-minute penalty to spark some urgency into United’s game.
Substitute Pogba’s header bounced off Maguire and into the net to make it 3-2 in the 82nd but United, who needed at least a point to advance, could not get the equaliser.
“There are 11 bodies out there who have got to go out there and be aggressive,” United defender Harry Maguire said.
“It is the basics of football, if you don’t block crosses you won’t win matches.”
Jorginho secures point for Chelsea in dead rubber v Krasnodar
Chelsea’s Jorginho converted a penalty as a much-changed side were held to a 1-1 draw by Russians Krasnodar at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday in their final Champions League Group E game with nothing at stake.
Frank Lampard’s side had already secured top spot and Krasnodar the Europa League qualifying place by finishing third, but the match was still played at a breezy tempo in front of 2,000 fans as the hosts made 10 changes to their lineup.
Krasnodar took the lead when midfielder Remy Cabella finished a fine move by firing low into the bottom corner in the 24th minute, only the second goal conceded by Chelsea in the competition this season, but the lead lasted just four minutes.
Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham was upended in the box and Jorginho, who missed a spot kick in the corresponding fixture in Russia in October, made no mistake this time.
Abraham forced an excellent save from Krasnodar goalkeeper Evgeni Gorodov in the second half and might have done better with a header when teed-up by N’Golo Kante on what was ultimately a frustrating night for the England striker.
In the other Group E match, Jules Kounde’s excellent volley from the edge of the box and Youssef En Nesyri’s double sealed a 3-1 win for section runners-up Sevilla at Stade Rennes, who grabbed a consolation through Georginio Rutter’s late penalty.
Lazio sneak into last 16 after nail-biting finale
Lazio enjoyed the luckiest of escapes as they sneaked into the Champions League last 16 for the first time in more than 20 years on Tuesday after being held to a 2-2 draw at home by Club Brugge who played the entire second half with 10 men.
Needing at least a draw to qualify, Lazio appeared totally in control as they took a 2-1 lead in less than half an hour while the visitors had Eduard Sobol sent off in the 39th minute.
However, Hans Vanaken headed Brugge level in the 76th minute and, in an incredible finish, the Belgian outsiders hit the bar in stoppage time.
Amid huge relief at a soggy Stadio Olimpico, the Italians -- who previously went beyond the group stage only in 1999-2000 -- held on to finish second in Group F on 10 points, with Brugge third on eight. Borussia Dortmund topped the section with 13 points.
"After the first match I said that it would be decided in the last match but I didn’t think of the last seconds," said Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
"It’s a great experience for the young guys. They will learn a lot from it and become better in the future."
Sobol was booked in the second minute for a foul on Manuel Lazzari, which he would later regret, and Lazio took a 12th-minute lead through Joaquin Correa who snapped up the rebound after Luis Alberto’s shot had been saved by Mignolet.
The Belgians levelled with a similar goal three minutes later, Ruud Vormer scoring after Pepe Reine parried Noa Lang’s shot.
Ciro Immobile won and converted a penalty to put Lazio back in front after 27 minutes, scoring for the ninth successive game in all competitions.
As the rain turned to a downpour, Sobol was let off unpunished for another foul on Lazzari but then pushed his luck with a third tackle on the same player and was dismissed.
Instead of cruising through the second half, however, Lazio suffered an outbreak of jitters.
Immobile squandered a chance for the third goal by firing over the top after being released by Luis Alberto, and coach Simone Inzaghi then replaced Immobile, Luis Alberto and Lucas Leiva -- all key players -- at the same time.
Immediately, Vanaken headed home from Vormer’s cross, Lazio’s nerves became even more frayed and a spell of intense Brugge pressure ended with Charles De Ketelaere rifling a shot against the bar deep into stoppage time.
Dortmund clinch top spot with 2-1 win at Zenit
Borussia Dortmund struck twice in the space of 11 second-half minutes to seal a 2-1 victory at Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League on Tuesday and clinch top spot in Group F.
The victory took Dortmund to 13 points from their six games, with Lazio taking second spot on 10 after a 2-2 draw with 10-man Club Brugge, who finished third.
Dortmund signalled their intent early on with a sustained spell of pressure but the hosts drew first blood when Argentine winger Sebastian Driussi’s deflected shot ended up in the back of the net after wrongfooting keeper Marwin Hitz.
Zenit looked to have doubled their lead 17 minutes later but Sardar Azmoun’s effort was ruled out for offside. Dortmund nearly found the equaliser on the stroke of halftime through Marco Reus but the German’s curling effort cannoned off the crossbar.
Full back Lukasz Piszczek drew Dortmund level in the 68th minute after a goalmouth scramble before Axel Witsel’s powerful left-footed strike from the edge of the penalty area put Lucien Favre’s men in the lead.
The Russian side threw bodies forward in search of a late equaliser but Dortmund held firm to seal the victory.
The game also witnessed a slice of history, with Dortmund’s 16-year-old striker Youssoufa Moukoko becoming the youngest-ever player to feature in a Champions League match when he replaced Felix Passlack in the second half.
