Champions League Update

(Reuters) – Inter Milan crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday after 17-year-old Ansu Fati became the youngest scorer in the competition’s history by firing in a late winner to seal Barcelona’s 2-1 victory at San Siro.Barca coach Ernesto Valverde rested Lionel Messi and several other key players for the trip to Milan, having already secured top spot in Group F, but Carles Perez put the Spaniards in front on his Champions League debut after just 23 minutes before Romelu Lukaku levelled on the stroke of halftime.Inter striker Lautaro Martinez had the ball in the net twice after the break, only for both goals to be disallowed for offside, before Fati smashed in a sublime finish inside the final five minutes.The Italian side needed to at least match Borussia Dortmund’s result against Slavia Prague to maintain second place, but the Germans won 2-1 to move into the runner-up spot and consign Inter to a Europa League place.Barcelona top the group with 14 points ahead of Dortmund on 10, while Inter finish third on seven ahead of rock-bottom Slavia Prague on two.Valverde left Messi, Sergi Roberto and Gerard Pique at home and the likes of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong on the bench as he fielded a youthful side in an experimental 3-5-2 formation that mirrored Inter’s tactical set-up.Manchester City  Victory    Gabriel Jesus broke a record held by PSG star Neymar as he also reached 100 career goals with a Champions League hat-trick against Dinamo Zagreb.City fell behind at the Croatian side on Wednesday thanks to Dani Olmo’s 10th minute strike but Pep Guardiola’s side came back strong, with Jesus netting before half-time to level the score. © Getty Images And Jesus completed a treble with goals in the 50th and 54th minutes, before Phil Foden scored late to complete a 4-1 victory for the visitors. City completed the Champions League group stage with four wins and two draws in six games, having already clinched first place in Group C before the game in Zagreb.For Jesus, his second goal on the night was the 100th of his career, with his third goal meaning he has now netted 101 times.Jesus has scored 28 times for Palmeiras, 18 times for Brazil and 55 times for Man City in a career that is still in its early stages.But reaching 100 goals wasn’t the only milestone that Jesus achieved in Zagreb on Wednesday, as the City striker also became the fastest Brazilian to reach 10 goals in the Champions League.Neymar accomplished the feat at 23 years and 75 days, but Jesus overtook him by scoring his 10th goal in the Champions League at 22 years and 252 days.Tottenham  Out                Ryan Sessegnon marked his first Tottenham start with a goal but could not prevent Spurs from losing 3-1 to Bayern Munich in their final Champions League group game.Both sides had already qualified for the last 16, with Bayern progressing as Group B winners and Tottenham going through as runners-up, and consequently they made numerous changes for Wednesday’s encounter at the Allianz Arena.Bayern beat Spurs 7-2 in their first meeting in this season’s competition at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and took an early lead through Kingsley Coman.Spurs hit back soon after when Sessegnon showed great composure to bring a pass under control inside the area and rifle a powerful finish beyond Manuel Neuer.Thomas Muller, on as a first-half substitute after Coman picked up an injury, then struck just before the break when he tapped in after Alphonso Davies had hit the post.Philippe Coutinho went close to scoring a spectacular third for the hosts but his fierce drive from distance bounced off the underside of the crossbar before being cleared.The former Liverpool forward got on the scoresheet in the second half when he curled into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.Spurs will face one of Barcelona, Juventus, Paris St-Germain, Valencia or RB Leipzig in the last 16, with the draw on Monday.After the game, Bayern said France forward Coman would be out for “some time”Atalanta In         Champions League debutants Atalanta reached the knockout stages with victory at Shakhtar Donetsk after recovering from losing their first three games.The Serie A side only had one point after four games – including a 4-0 and 5-1 defeat – but wins over Dinamo Zagreb and Shakhtar have taken them through behind Manchester City.Timothy Castagne, Mario Pasalic and Robin Gosens scored in the second half, as Shakhtar ended with 10 men following Dodo’s red card for violent conduct.Castagne’s goal was initially ruled out for offside against Alejandro Gomez, who crossed the ball, but was allowed after a long video assistant referee delay.What have we learned in Champions League?Which teams are into Champions League last 16?The hosts – who would have gone through with a point – had Dodo harshly sent off for violent contact after brushing his hand against the face of Remo Freuler.Pasalic poked in Ruslan Malinovskiy’s free-kick from close range and Gosens hooked home in the final minute after a defensive error.Atalanta – who would have been eliminated had Dinamo Zagreb beaten Manchester City – are the first debutants to reach the last 16 since Leicester City in 2016-17.They are the first side to qualify for the next round after losing their opening three games since Newcastle United in 2002-03. 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News Source: ZNBC