Barcelona ensured their place in the knockout stages with a 2-1 win over PSV in Eindhoven. Lionel Messi’s fired in a spectacular solo goal to put the visitors ahead shortly before Gerard Piqué doubled their lead with a tap-in. Luuk de Jong struck a late consolation.
Marek Hamsik’s early strike set Napoli on their way to a victory over Red Star Belgrade that kept the Italians top of Group C. Dries Mertens added a goal either side of half-time in a 3-1 win, Mohamed Ben Nabouhane scoring for the visitors.
“We need to play well and win at Anfield, it’s as simple as that,” said Napoli coach, Carlo Ancelotti, whose side will go through if they avoid defeat. “The truth is that we’re top of the group which nobody would have believed at the start.”
“This team gives me a lot of excitement, which I have not felt for more than two years, and when you feel emotion you can work better. I feel Neapolitan inside.”
A year after elimination at the group stage, Atlético Madrid qualified for the knockout phase by defeating Thierry Henry’s Monaco 2-0. Koke opened the scoring in the third minute after his deflected shot fooled the goalkeeper, before Antoine Griezmann added to the lead. Radamel Falcao, a second-half substitute, sent a late penalty wide.
“It’s a relief and a shame at the same time,” said Henry of their failure to even make the Europa League. “We still have the game against Dortmund, but our real battle is against Montpellier and what comes after that.”
Borussia Dortmund secured their progress from Group A later on with a goalless draw against Club Brugge.
Goals from Grzegorz Krychowiak and Vladislav Ignatyev were enough for Lokomotiv Moscow to earn a 2-0 win over Galatasaray in Group D, ending Galatasary’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages and sending both Porto and Schalke through to the last 16 before the two sides met in Portugal. In the event, the hosts prevailed 2-1 with goals from Éder Militão, Jesús Manuel Corona and Moussa Marega making the win safe despite Nabil Bentaleb’s last-minute penalty.
