Manchester City masterclass exposes brittle Barca

Barcelona's Argentinian striker Lionel Messi (L) and Barcelona's Brazilian striker Neymar (2L) react as Manchester City's Spanish midfielder Jesus Navas (2R) and Manchester City's German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan leav the pitch following the UEFA Champions League group C football match between Manchester City and Barcelona at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England on November 1, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLIS

Defeat to Manchester City shouldn’t dent Barcelona’s chances of Champions League progression but the manner in which the English side stormed to victory exposed the brittleness of a Barca side badly missing the injured Gerard Pique and Andres Iniesta.

Barca had won all five previous meetings between the sides over the past two years and a landmark European victory looked set to be beyond City once more when Lionel Messi finished off a lethal counterattack for his 15h goal in his last 13 games against English opposition.

Arsenal, Atletico, Bayern make Champions League last 16

Arsenal’s midfielder Mesut Özil celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Champions League Group A football match between PFC Ludogorets and Arsenal, on November 1, 2016 at the Vassil Levski stadium in Sofia. / AFP PHOTO / NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV

Last season’s runners-up Atletico Madrid were one of four teams to clinch a place in the last 16 of the Champions League with two group matches to spare on Tuesday.

Atletico beat Russian side Rostov 2-1 in Spain with Antoine Griezmann scoring both goals as they sealed their progress from Group D along with five-time European champions Bayern Munich, who were 2-1 winners at PSV Eindhoven.

Meanwhile, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain both clinched qualification from the knockout stage from Group A.

Arsenal came from two goals down to win 3-2 away to Ludogorets in Bulgaria to go through along with PSG, who were 2-1 winners over Basel in Switzerland.

AFP

Champions League: Iheanacho scores, Ahmed Musa enjoys big win

It was a good night for the Nigerian duo of Kelechi Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa in the UEFA champions league with their respective clubs.

A hat-trick by Sergio Aguero and a late goal by substitute Iheanacho ensured that Man City continued life in Europe under Pep Guardiola with a comfortable win.

Iheanacho, fresh from his heroics in the Manchester derby, was a delight to watch again on Wednesday.‎ He scored minutes after coming in as a substitute.

There was also much to cheer for Ahmed Musa as his club Leicester City began their Champions League adventure with an impressive 3-0 win over Club Brugge in Belgium.

A brace by Riyad Mahrez and an opening goal by Marc Albrighton were enough to seal a 3-0 win over the Belgian side.

In some of the other games, Real Madrid left it late to beat Sporting CP 2-1 as they began their title defence at the Santiago Bernerbeau on a shaky note.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata were the scorers for Real Madrid.

In Turin, it ended goalless between Juventus and Sevilla.

Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 1-2 at home by Monaco while Dortmund crushed Legia Warsaw 6-0 at their backyard.

Champions League draw kind to Spurs and Leicester, Guardiola paired with old club

THE UCL CUP

Thursday’s Champions League draw was very kind to Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs were seeded third but avoided a Group of Death scenario.

Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich and Juventus were possible opponents from Pot 1, but Spurs were instead paired with Russian champions CSKA Moscow.

Although a trip to Moscow is not ideal in terms of logistics, Mauricio Pochettino’s men will fancy their chances of coming out on top against CSKA.