Brazilian winger, Willian Borges, was the starman as English champions, Chelsea and Spanish side, Barcelona, became the latest teams to book their places in the round of 16 with a game to go.
Willian scored a brace on the occasion of Antonio Conte’s 67th game as Chelsea’s manager, with further goals from Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas.
The win was Conte’s 50th as Chelsea’s boss, and it was a rather comfortable one as the Blues defeated 10-man Qarabag 4-0 in Baku to qualify for the knockout phase.
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According to one of Chelsea’s scorers, Willian, who celebrated his 200th game for the club by scoring two goals, it was nothing short of a ‘deserved win’ for the Blues.
“I’m happy to score two goals,” Willian told uefa.com. “We deserved to win tonight because we played well from the beginning. There was a little bit of contact, and for me it was a penalty. We need all the players to be ready for all the games. We play every three days and so we have to rest to try to win more games. That’s what we want to do.”
While the win guaranteed Chelsea a place in the next phase of the competition, Atletico Madrid are back in contention for a top two finish following their 2-0 win over Roma in the other group C game.
Barcelona joined Chelsea to confirm their place in the round of 16 after they held Juventus to a goalless draw in Turin.
While Juventus preserved their unbeaten home run in Europe, it was Barca that got the important point that ensured they cemented their position as group D winners.
In the other group D game, Sporting CP are breathing down Juventus’ neck now after a 3-1 home win against Olympiacos sees them within a point of the Italians, who sit second behind the already qualified Barcelona.
Elsewhere in Europe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani scored a brace as Paris Saint-Germain came from a goal down to record the biggest result of match day five, thrashing Celtic 7-1.
Kylian Mbappe, Dani Alves and Marco Verratti were the other scorers for the French giants who made it five wins in five games. But Bayern Munich ensured that there is still all to play for in the group, after a 2-1 win at Anderlecht.
After that incredible performance, PSG have now set a record, as their 24goals scored so far is a CL record in the group phase.
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Meanwhile, for Manchester United, they will have to wait to book their place in the next round after a shock late defeat at Basel, courtesy of Michael Lang’s 89th minute goal.
The Jose Mourinho led side needed just a point to qualify as group A winners, but will now have to do so in the next game when they host Russian side, CSKA Moskva, who are back in contention for a top two finish following their 2-0 win against Benfica.
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