Benfica needed either a win against Napoli or a Besiktas loss to Dynamo Kiev Tuesday to advance to the Champions League knockout stage. They lost, 2-1, but Besiktas lost even worse (6-0).
The Portuguese side's lone goal was scored by Mexican international striker Raul Jimenez, who showcased just about the best-case scenario for the high press with his tackle and goal.
We’re one final match day away from wrapping up the Champions League group stage, but we can already draw a number of conclusions based on Tuesday’s play. For one, whoever draws group runners-up Bayern Munich in the round of 16 has every reason to feel extremely aggrieved.
By virtue of finishing behind Atletico, Bayern could conceivably be drawn against the likes of Barcelona, Arsenal, Juventus, Leicester City or Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid (the battle between Dortmund and Madrid in Group F will be settled tomorrow).
They don't have Thanksgiving in the Netherlands, but, if they did, Santiago Arias' Thanksgiving would be ruined by Yannick Carrasco.
Look at what Carrasco did to this poor man.
Carrasco caught a body pic.twitter.com/5tXLZsSpkR
— Zito (@_Zeets) November 23, 2016
Barcelona defeated Celtic 2-0 in Scotland, the Hoops providing a better account of themselves following their 7-0 drubbing in the reverse fixture at the Camp Nou. Barcelona’s victory made them Group C winners with Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach battling to a 1-1 draw in the group's other fixture.
Any Barcelona goal yields a plethora of astounding statistics, and Lionel Messi’s opener in the 24th minute was no different. Neymar provided the assist, and it was already his seventh of this Champions League campaign, equalling the all-time mark for a single season.
In Istanbul, the most dangerous lead you can hold is 3-0. Just ask AC Milan. 16 years after the original Miracle in Istanbul in the Champions League final, Besiktas mounted their own furious three-goal comeback against Benfica at the Vodafone Arena in the same city.
Goncalo Guedes, Nelsinho and Ljubomir Fejsa put the visitors up 3-0 by the 31st minute, and Besiktas still hadn’t managed to get on the scoresheet by the start of the second half. However, a phenomenal scissor volley from Cenk Tosun, like Steven Gerrard before him, triggered the heartfelt comeback.
It’s the age old question we’ve always wanted an answer to: yes, Bayern Munich are a great side, but can they do it on a freezing cold night the federal subject of Russia known as Yaroslavl Oblast? No is the definitive answer — FC Hollywood is soft, and now they're in crisis.
Generation Z has officially landed in the UEFA Champions League, and Moise Kean displayed an attention span lasting much longer than a few seconds during his six minutes on the pitch.
The 16-year-old came out sans a mobile device, belying his status as a young consumer and digital native. While some might claim that, in accordance with the desires of his fellow post-millennials, Kean’s debut was just a bit of instant gratification following his Serie A debut on Saturday, the forward is actually a pretty special and unique individual, just like everyone else in the iGeneration.