Lionel Messi Guides Barcelona to Top of Champions League Group

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2018 16 Neymar inspires PSG to leave Liverpool in danger Liverpool can still qualify into Champions League last 16 despite hard lesson from Neymar and PSG Liverpool must Liverpool’s Robertson frustrated beat• Napoli 1-0 or by by Neymar ‘playacting’ two goals to progress Reuters | London the French side had indulged AFP | Paris in gamesmanship. iverpool were left frus- “I suppose they were in the Ltrated by Paris St Ger - lead and they were looking iverpool manager Jurgen main striker Neymar during to waste time. You can use Klopp hit out at the refer- Wednesday’s 2-1 Champions gamesmanship, playacting, you Lee and Neymar as his side League loss but should have can use it all really,” Robertson slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Paris controlled their aggression told Sky Sports. Saint-Germain on Wednesday better in the face of the Bra- “I would like to know how that leaves last season’s run- zilian’s “playacting”, defender much time they wasted... it ners-up dangerously close to an Andy Robertson has said. was frustrating. But when you early Champions League exit. The Parc des Princes contest play against PSG you know Juan Bernat and Neymar was marked by a number of in- it’s something you’re going scored to put PSG in control terruptions with last season’s to come up against especially in the first half in the French finalists Liverpool committing with him (Neymar). It wasn’t capital, before a James Milner 20 fouls and picking up six yel- something we quite dealt with penalty on the stroke of half- low cards, but Robertson said tonight. time ensured this pivotal game remained in the balance until Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar (C) vies for the ball with Liverpool’s Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri the death. PSG knew a defeat here cou- C game could see the ambitious mitted Klopp. was clever from PSG, especially pled with an unfavourable re- Qatar-owned club eliminated He acknowledged that his Neymar, but a lot of others went sult in the night’s other Group already. team had not been good enough, down like it was something se- But instead it is Liverpool -- but hinted that a “clever” Ney- rious and we were not that calm beaten in each of their last five mar had play-acted to break the anymore.” games away from Anfield in the game up. He was also unhappy at With Napoli beating Red Star Champions League -- who now Polish referee Szymon Marcini- Belgrade 3-1, in a tight group Liv- seem the more likely to miss out ak for his decision not to send off erpool must now win either 1-0 KNOW WHAT on the last 16. Marco Verratti for a challenge or by two clear goals at home to “When you saw their line-up, on Joe Gomez in the first half. the Italians in a fortnight if they the approach they chose was “For me it’s a red card. I look are to progress. full risk, especially in the begin- like a bad loser, but I don’t care,” Such a regression in Europe PSG had only won ning, to try everything as long as said Klopp. would be a big blow to Liver- one of their previous your legs carry you. The quality “Tonight we looked like pool, even if it could conceiv- seven games in the they have meant it was obviously butchers when you look at how ably help them in the Premier Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar (R) is tackled by Liverpool’s competition quite intense to deal with,” ad- many yellow cards we had. It League. English midfielder Jordan Henderson Dortmund enters last 16 after goalless draw Lionel Messi guides Barcelona to top AFP | Dortmund, Germany stages of the Europa League of Champions League group with a guaranteed third place. orussia Dortmund eased Dortmund can still win the Reuters | Eindhoven, Nether- Binto the last 16 of the group, if they beat Monaco lands Champions League with a away in a fortnight and At - goalless draw at home to Brug- letico fail to beat Brugge in ionel Messi scored an excel- ge on Wednesday, but Axel Madrid in the final round of Llent individual goal and laid Witsel suffered a knee injury matches. on another as Barcelona beat for the Bundesliga leaders. “We had two big first-half PSV Eindhoven 2-1 to secure top After leaders Atletico Ma- chances and then things got spot in Group B of the Champi- drid had earlier secured their more and more difficult - we ons League on Wednesday. last 16 passage from Group A just couldn’t find the gaps,” Messi provided an assist for with a 2-0 win against Thi - said Dortmund sports director defender Gerard Pique to score erry Henry’s Monaco, sec - Michael Zorc. the second for the Spanish side, ond-placed Dortmund got the “But qualifying for the last 16 who have 13 points from their point they needed to also reach was the priority.” five matches and an unassaila- the knock-out stages. Dortmund dominated at ble lead at the top of the pool. However, the draw may have Signal Iduna Park, enjoying PSV will finish bottom. come at a price as Dortmund’s 75 percent possession and Captain Luuk de Jong scored Belgium midfielder Witsel making nearly three times a late consolation for the home limped off with a knee injury as many passes as the Bel - side as they matched Barcelo- in the dying stages. gians, but there were precious na for much of the contest at Brugge can not now qualify few clear chances for either the Philips Stadion, striking the and will go into the knock-out side. woodwork three times in the first half alone and missing a number of other chances. In a bright start, PSV forward Gaston Pereiro latched onto a poor pass from Ivan Rakitic Barcelona’s Argentine forward Lionel Messi shoots the ball but his low drive came back off the post, and minutes later he shot over the crossbar from five from the resulting corner. edge of the box and, with four yards. It was Barcelona thanking defenders around him, managed PSV had some good fortune, their lucky stars just before half- to drive forward and provide a too, though, as Barca had two time, though, when De Jong’s thunderous finish. efforts cleared off the line with- header from a free-kick came off It was 2-0 with 20 minutes in the space of a minute, with the crossbar and the follow-up remaining when the Argentine’s Arturo Vidal the unlucky player from close-range by Denzel free kick was guided into the 13 on both occasions. Dumfries struck the post. PSV net by an unmarked Pique. points have been earned by Barcelona His hooked effort from 12 The visitors took the lead just De Jong set up a frenetic fin- from their previous yards was cleared by Pablo Ro- past the hour mark, thanks to ish with his headed goal but Dortmund’s German forward Marco Reus (R) and Club Brugge’s Belgian five matches to reach sario before Angelino blocked a typical piece of Messi magic Barcelona were able to hold on defender Brandon Mechele vie for the ball top of the pool the Chilean’s goal-bound header as he picked up the ball on the under heavy home pressure..

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