Manchester City plunged deeper into trouble in the Champions League by losing 2-0 at Juventus, the latest setback in a scarcely believable run of poor results for the ailing English champions.
City, who lifted the 2023 Champions League trophy, continued a poor run of form which has brought only one victory in their last 10 games across all competitions.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland looks dejected as manager Pep Guardiola applauds after the match. (Reuters)
City dropped to 22nd place in the 36-team standings, with only the top 24 advancing.
"(Confidence) is a big part of it, obviously it's a mental issue as well. You can see that. You can see that sometimes one action we miss the ball or lose a duel and you can see that we drop immediately," City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan told Amazon Prime.
"It has such a big effect on us right now. At the crucial moment right now we are doing the wrong things."
Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic celebrates scoring their first goal with Kenan Yildiz. (Reuters)
Vlahovic scored by the narrowest of margins in the 53rd minute when Kenan Yildiz swung the ball in and City keeper Ederson fumbled the Serb's header from close range and the ball sneaked just across the line, according to the goalline technology.
"The whole team played an excellent match, we prepared well and did everything what we had to do," Vlahovic told Amazon.
Juventus' Weston McKennie scores their second goal. (Reuters)
Two American substitutes sealed the win for Juve, with McKennie volleying home from Timothy Weah's cross.
City has two games to save its faltering Champions League campaign and the first is against Paris Saint-Germain, another giant in trouble in 25th place — one spot out of the qualifying positions.
FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres scores their third goal. (Reuters)
Super-sub Ferran Torres wins it for Barcelona
Substitute Ferran Torres scored twice including an 85th-minute winner as Barcelona earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday to move to the brink of qualification.
FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres scores their second goal. (Reuters)
Torres came on in the 71st to replace Robert Lewandowski, who had a quiet game against his former club. Just four minutes later, Torres scored a goal on the rebound from Dani Olmo's shot.
Dortmund twice came from a goal down with Serhou Guirassy scoring both goals but they could not do it a third time after Torres grabbed his second after being teed up by Lamine Yamal.
FC Barcelona's Ferran Torres and Raphinha celebrate after the match. (Reuters)
Raphinha gave Barcelona the lead before Guirassy equalized from the penalty spot. Raphinha and Guirassy are tied for second place in the scoring chart on six goals, behind Lewandowski's competition-high seven.
The Germans dropped to ninth in the standings on 12 points, with the top eight earning automatic qualification to the round of 16.
"We can be very happy with what we have done," Barca coach Hansi Flick told reporters. "The first half was wonderful and in the second half, when they scored, we remained calm and solid.
"Dortmund played very well with players who have a high pace but we did it well. We conceded goals because of mistakes we made. We can always improve, but today I have to say congratulations to the team because they did it really well," he said.
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka scores their second goal. (Reuters)
Saka brace eases Arsenal past Monaco
Arsenal beat Monaco 3-0 mainly thanks to two goals by Bukayo Saka to move into third place and be the highest of six teams on 13 points.
Mikel Arteta's side began the fixture outside the top eight in the expanded league stage and with plenty of work to do to avoid being dragged into the playoffs.
It was not all plain sailing for the hosts who were guilty of some profligate finishing but England forward Saka took his season tally to nine goals in all competitions as Arsenal moved into third place in the table.
Arsenal's Kai Havertz, William Saliba, David Raya and Thomas Partey celebrate after the match. (Reuters)
Arsenal, who have Dinamo Zagreb and Girona still to play, have 13 points while Monaco, who began the evening level with them, are 16th with 10 points.
Saka swept in a Gabriel Jesus cross in the 34th minute and just when it looked as though a succession of misses by his teammates could prove costly, Monaco presented him with a gift-wrapped second in the 78th minute.
Substitute Kai Havertz rubber-stamped Arsenal's fourth win from six games in this year's competition in the 88th minute.
"In the first half we should have put the game to bed but we didn't," Arteta said. "In the Champions League you will have difficult moments and we suffered.
Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Alvarez’s top corner curler extends Atletico's winning run
With a brilliant curling finish to open the scoring, the Argentina striker helped Atletico Madrid beat Slovan Bratislava 3-1 and provide a timely reminder of what City is missing after selling him for more than USD 100 million in August. Alvarez has 12 goals for the season, with four coming in the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid hope their excellent recent form can help them to a top-eight place in the Champions League and an automatic berth in the last 16, but coach Diego Simeone is wary of the challenges ahead.
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann misses a chance to score. (Reuters)
Antoine Griezmann scored Atletico's other two goals at Metropolitano stadium as the Spanish team climbed to 11th place after a 10th straight win in all competitions.
"There are two games left and they are very good teams," Simeone said. "We face Leverkusen, one of the best in the competition, and we will see how far we can go. We will give our maximum and see what the sum of our points brings us."
AC Milan's Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring their second goal. (Reuters)
Abraham late show steals victory
Tammy Abraham scored an 87th-minute winner as AC Milan beat Red Star Belgrade 2-1 to move one point off the top eight. Milan lost Alvaro Morata and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to muscle injuries in the first half.
With the top eight teams qualifying automatically for the round of 16, Milan were looking to keep in touch with the leading pack but Red Star went close to drawing first blood with an Andrija Maksimovic volley that hit the crossbar in the 18th minute.
AC Milan's Tammy Abraham celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
That jarred the home side into action but they were forced to re-jig their plans when Ruben Loftus-Cheek had to be replaced by Samuel Chukuwueze due to injury and they were forced into another change when Alvaro Morata was hurt, with Abraham coming on in his place.
Rafael Leao got the opener for the home side in the 42nd minute, superbly controlling a long ball from Youssouf Fofana before using his second touch to clip the ball into the top corner.
Red Star almost went ahead when Mirko Ivanic dragged a shot wide before Abraham snatched the winner in the 87th minute, the striker making the most of chaos in the penalty box after a set piece to lash the ball into the net.
RELATED TOPICS
Juventus Dusan Vlahovic Weston McKennie Manchester City Pep Guardiola Erling Haaland FC Barcelona Ferran Torres Raphinha Borussia Dortmund Bukayo Saka Arsenal FC Kai Havertz Atletico Madrid Julian Alvarez Antoine Griezmann AC Milan Rafael Leao Tammy Abraham
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