VfL Wolfsburg reached the Champions League last 16 and dealt a knockout blow to Manchester United with a 3-2 victory last night that secured top spot in Group B and condemned their opponents to the Europa League.
United had taken an early lead in Germany when Anthony Martial expertly sidefooted home after 10 minutes, but Brazilian centre back Naldo drew the Germans level with a precise volley and Portuguese midfielder Vieirinha swept home to make it 2-1.
United were set to reach the next round when an own goal by Josuha Guilavogui levelled the scores at 2-2 with eight minutes left but Naldo grabbed his second and left the visitors needing PSV Eindhoven to lose at home to CSKA to reach the next round.
For a brief moment late in the second half it looked like United would get their wish, but PSV rallied to level and then snatch a 2-1 win that left them second in the standings on 10 points, two ahead of United and two behind Wolfsburg.
Davy Propper was PSV’s hero after he struck on the run from the edge of the area in the 86th minute, six minutes after Luuk de Jong had revived home hopes with his 19th goal of the season. They had gone behind to Sergei Ignashevich’s penalty in the 76th.
PSV, who knew they would qualify with a win if United failed to beat Wolfsburg, are the first Dutch club to reach the Champions League knockout stage in the last eight years.
Raheem Sterling celebrated his 21st birthday with two goals as Manchester City scored three times in the last 10 minutes to sink Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-2 and finish top of Group D.
City, without several first-team regulars including captain Vincent Kompany and striker Sergio Aguero, took the lead in the 16th minute when Sterling fed David Silva with a clever backheel in the box and the Spain playmaker drove home a bullet shot.
Gladbach then took command with their slick-passing style and were 2-1 up by half-time.
Julian Korb equalised in the 19th minute before Brazilian Raffael scrambled the ball home from close range in the 42nd following another neat passing move.
City perked up after the break and it was no surprise when Sterling converted from close range after overlapping right back Gael Clichy pulled the ball back from the byline in the 80th minute.
A minute later substitute Wilfried Bony set Sterling up and the former Liverpool forward provided a delightful curling effort from 16 metres.
Bony made it 4-2 from a left-wing cross by Aleksandar Kolarov in the 85th minute as City ended the group stage with 12 points from six games.
Juventus had to settle for second place after going down 1-0 at Sevilla who will now be chasing a third straight Europa League title.
Fernando Llorente scored the all-important goal against his former club when headed past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in the 65th minute.
Ronaldo record
Cristiano Ronaldo set a record for goals scored in the group stage of the Champions League of 11 when he netted four as Real Madrid crushed Malmo 8-0 to secure top spot in Group A.
The Portugal forward made it 3-0 to Real six minutes before halftime at the Bernabeu and added three more goals in the 47th, 50th and 59th minutes to extend his all-time Champions League scoring record to 88 goals.
Karim Benzema also grabbed a hat-trick with the other goal coming from Mateo Kovacic as Real finished three points clear of PSG who beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0.
Summaries
PSG 2
Moura 57; Ibrahimovic 86;
S. Donetsk 0
Real Madrid 8
Benzema 12, 24; Benzema 84; Ronaldo 39, 47; Ronaldo 50, 59; Kovacic 70;
Malmo 0
Wolfsburg 3
Naldo 14, 84; Vieirinha 29;
Man. United 2
Martial 10; Guilavogui 82 og;
PSV 2
De Jong 78; Propper 86;
CSKA Moscow 1
Ignasevich 76 pen.;
Galatasaray 1
Inan 64;
Astana 1
Twumasi 62;
Benfica 1
Mitroglou 75;
Atl. Madrid 2
Niguez 33; Vietto 55;
Sevilla 1
Llorente 65;
Juventus 0
Man. City 4
Silva 16; Sterling 80, 82; Bony 85;
B. M’gladbach 2
Korb 19; Raffael 43;
Group A
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Real Madrid | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 16 |
| Paris SG | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| S. Donetsk | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| Malmo | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 3 |
Results
Paris SG vs Malmo - 2-0
R. Madrid vs Shakhtar Donetsk - 4-0
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Paris SG - 0-3
Malmo vs Real Madrid - 0-2
Malmo vs Shakhtar Donetsk - 1-0
Paris SG vs Real Madrid - 0-0
S. Donetsk vs Malmo - 4-0
Real Madrid vs PSG - 1-0
Malmo vs Paris SG - 0-5
S. Donetsk vs Real Madrid - 3-4
PSG vs Shakhtar Donetsk - 2-0
Real Madrid vs Malmo - 8-0
Group B
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Wolfsburg | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 12 |
| PSV | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 10 |
| Man. United | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| CSKA Moscow | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
Results
Wolfsburg vs CSKA - 1-0
PSV vs Manchester United - 2-1
Man. United vs Wolfsburg - 2-1
CSKA vs PSV Eindhoven - 3-2
CSKA vs Man. United - 1-1
Wolfsburg vs PSV - 2-0
Manchester United vs CSKA - 1-0
PSV vs Wolfsburg - 2-0
CSKA Moscow vs Wolfsburg - 0-2
Manchester United vs PSV - 0-0
Wolfsburg vs Man. United - 3-2
PSV vs CSKA Moscow - 2-1
Group C
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Atl. Madrid | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 13 |
| Benfica | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| Galatasaray | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 5 |
| Astana | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 4 |
Results
Galatasaray vs Atl. Madrid - 0-2
Benfica vs Astana - 2-0
Astana vs Galatasaray - 2-2
Atl. Madrid vs Benfica - 1-2
Atl. Madrid vs Astana - 4-0
Galatasaray vs Benfica - 2-1
Astana vs Atl. Madrid - 0-0
Benfica vs Galatasaray - 2-1
Atletico Madrid vs Galatasaray - 2-0
Astana vs Benfica - 2-2
Galatasaray vs Astana - 1-1
Benfica vs Atl. Madrid - 1-2
Group D
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man. City | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 12 |
| Juventus | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| Sevilla | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 6 |
| B. M’gladbach | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 5 |
Results
Man. City vs Juventus - 1-2
Sevilla vs B. M’gladbach - 3-0
B. M’gladbach vs Man. City - 1-2
Juventus vs Sevilla - 2-0
Juventus vs B. M’gladbach - 0-0
Man. City vs Sevilla - 2-1
B. M’gladbach vs Juventus - 1-1
Sevilla vs Man. City - 1-3
Juventus vs Manchester City - 1-0
B. M’gladbach vs Sevilla - 4-2
Man. City vs B. M’gladbach - 4-2
Sevilla vs Juventus - 1-0
Playing today...
Group E
B. Leverkusen vs Barcelona - 20.45
Roma vs BATE Borisov - 20.45
Standings: Barcelona 13; Roma, B. Leverkusen 5; BATE Borisov 4.
Group F
D. Zagreb vs B, Munich - 20.45
Olympiakos vs Arsenal - 20.45
Standings: B. Munich 12; Olym-piakos 9; Arsenal 6; D. Zagreb 3.
Group G
Chelsea vs Porto - 20.45
D. Kiev vs M. Tel-Aviv - 20.45
Standings: Chelsea, Porto 10; D. Kiev 8; Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0.
Group H
Ghent vs Zenit SP - 20.45
Valencia vs Lyon - 20.45
Standings: Zenit SP 15; Ghent 7; Valencia 6; Lyon 1.