Man United, Chelsea head to Champions League knockouts as Barca stalls
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Energized by a change of manager and another opportunistic finish by Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a game to spare on Tuesday.
Another newly appointed coach sill has work to do, though, to get Barcelona into the last 16.
United was led for the first time by Michael Carrick following the weekend firing of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and, just like his predecessor, the interim manager was left to be thankful for a goal by the Champions League’s record scorer.
Ronaldo produced a sublime lobbed finish to put United ahead against Villarreal and a 90th-minute strike by Jadon Sancho — his first goal since joining for $100 million in the offseason — sealed a 2-0 win to secure progress as the winner of Group F. Ronaldo has scored in all five group games so far, and now has a record-extending 140 Champions League goals in his career.
Another English team, defending champion Chelsea, also advanced on the back of a 4-0 win over already-qualified Juventus, which slumped to its heaviest ever loss in the Champions League. With Liverpool also qualified and Manchester City likely to join them, the Premier League will again be well represented in the knockout stage.
Barcelona, now coached by former star midfielder Xavi Hernandez, has advanced from its group every season for almost two decades but a 0-0 draw at home to Benfica means the Spanish club might need to beat Bayern Munich in the final round of games to advance.
All four teams in Group G are separated by three points and could still qualify heading into their last games after wins for Lille and Sevilla over Salzburg and Wolfsburg, respectively.
Ronaldo delivers again
Ronaldo had already scored two winners and a late equalizer in the Champions League this season before his smartly taken go-ahead goal against Villarreal…
Source : france24
