[Source: Reuters]

Nico O’Reilly’s opportunistic strike and Erling Haaland’s penalty helped Manchester City to fight back to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in a tense Champions League contest at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday.

Rodrygo opened the scoring with a low shot from a counter in the 28th minute, with City looking exposed almost every time Madrid ventured forward for the first half an hour.

Juventus registered their first home win of this season’s Champions League but were made to battle before overcoming Pafos 2-0 at home thanks to second-half goals from Weston McKennie and Jonathan David.

The sides were level on points going into the game and Pafos proved more than a match for their more illustrious Italian opponents for long periods, but Juventus earned a second successive win to boost their European hopes.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Alex Grimaldo bagged an 88th-minute goal to rescue a 2-2 draw for the hosts against Newcastle United.

Newcastle, who also hit the woodwork twice, thought they had done enough to get back into the top eight after coming from a goal down to lead 2-1 with a strong second-half performance and goals from Anthony Gordon and Lewis Miley, before Spain international Grimaldo charged into the box to level with two minutes left.

Noni Madueke scored two goals and Gabriel Martinelli netted another as Arsenal kept up their 100% run in the Champions League to stay top of the standings with a comfortable 3-0 triumph at Belgium’s Club Brugge.

Arsenal’s sixth win in as many games all but confirms a top-eight finish, meaning they will skip the knockout phase playoffs in February and move straight into the round of 16 in March.

Brugge remain on four points and in stark danger of missing out on the knockouts.

Paris St Germain played out their first goalless draw of the season at Athletic Bilbao but stayed in the driving seat for direct qualification for the Champions League last-16 after a string of fine saves by home goalkeeper Unai Simon denied the defending champions.

Luis Enrique’s side had the clearest chances after being under pressure in the first half, but Simon produced several superb saves and Ousmane Dembele’s absence was once again felt up front by the visitors.

Benfica’s Richard Rios scored one goal and set up another to seal a vital 2-0 victory over Napoli, boosting the Portuguese side’s hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stage.

The result reignited Benfica’s European campaign, clinching a second consecutive win after a poor start and lifting them to six points and up to 25th place, just one point outside the playoff spots. Napoli slipped to 23rd on seven points.

Julian Brandt scored two goals for Borussia Dortmund but they had to settle for a point as visitors Bodo/Glimt twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw.

The draw leaves Dortmund 10th in the table with 11 points from their six games, while Bodo/Glimt remain winless and in 32nd place with three draws from their six fixtures.

[Source: Reuters]

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