Manchester Utd, PSG Go to Next Round

Manchester United are on the verge of booking their place in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages after beating Benfica 2-0 in Group A on Tuesday, while Chelsea were dethroned from the Group C summit following a 3-0 loss to AS Roma.

Elsewhere, the Spanish titans got a Halloween fright as Barcelona played out a boring draw in their trip to Olympiakos (in Group D), while Atletico Madrid and Qarabag each finished with 10 men in a 1-1 draw in Group C.

According to bleacherreport.com, in Group B, Paris Saint-Germain secured their place in the round of 16 after drubbing Anderlecht 5-0 at home, while Bayern Munich are one result away from joining them after they edged Celtic 2-1 in Glasgow.

Juventus, in Group D, came away from Lisbon with a point from their 1-1 draw at Sporting CP thanks to Gonzalo Higuain’s late leveler, while Basel let a one-goal lead slip as they fell 2-1 at home to CSKA Moscow.

  First Record

Stephan El Shaarawy scored the fastest goal of the Champions League this season and broke the deadlock against Chelsea after only 39 seconds to set Roma on the path to victory and the Group C perch in the process.

The Italy winger was the man of the moment at the Stadio Olimpico and scorched in a quick-snap opener before snatching a second before half-time to record a career first: two goals in a single Champions League game.

Chelsea weren’t without their own threat in Rome but failed to replicate the comeback made by the Giallorossi a fortnight ago, when Roma hit back from two goals down to lead and eventually settle for a 3-3 draw.

Elsewhere, United made it four wins from four in Group A and bagged a second win against Benfica in as many meetings. The Red Devils did not score from open play, but Daley Blind’s second-half penalty on top of a Benfica own goal in the first period meant it did not matter.

Douglas Pereira committed a foul in the box to gift United a penalty early on, but Anthony Martial could not convert, with Mile Svilar pulling off a superb save to his left after being largely responsible for their 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

  Youngest Goalkeeper

But the 18-year-old, the youngest goalkeeper in Champions League history, was the villain once again as an own goal seconds before the interval left him with one record he will not want to his name: the youngest player to score an own goal in Champions League history.

Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and their teammates endeavored to find a winner in Athens but could only hit the woodwork despite out-shooting Olympiakos 19 to six, and were made to settle for a stalemate.

Atletico’s sharing of the spoils was far more eventful. A nightmarish European campaign reached a new low after Michel put the Azerbaijani league champions ahead, only for Thomas Partey to equalize after 56 minutes.

Qarabag’s hopes then seemed doomed when Pedro Henrique was deservedly sent off for a high boot.

Juventus’ 1-1 draw at Sporting was not as disappointing as Atleti’s equivalent result against Qarabag, but Higuain’s 79th-minute equalizer after a Bruno Cesar first-half strike may have felt like slim reward for their troubles.

Fortunately for them, Group D leaders Barcelona were also stumped in their trip to face Olympiakos and Juve remain second, three points off the Blaugrana.

PSG were in their pomp against Anderlecht and Neymar was once again on the scoresheet as he edged closer to a remarkable European accolade after he built on Marco Verratti’s opener; he has scored his 25th Champions League (CL) goal (in his 44th appearances). Kaka (30) and Rivaldo (27) are the only Brazilians to have scored more goals in the competition.

He ghosted in off the left flank and hammered his shot inside the right post to establish a 2-0 lead at the break.

Left-back Layvin Kurzawa clearly spotted a gap against the Belgian guests and scored three times in 26 minutes.

Basel led for more than half an hour after Luca Zuffi angled in a delicate chip, but CSKA stalwarts Alan Dzagoev and Pontus Wernbloom came to the Russians’ rescue to salvage some hope of qualifying for the round of 16.