Arsenal moved a step closer to securing their place in the Champions League last 16 with a commanding 3-0 victory over Monaco at the Emirates Stadium. The win leaves the Gunners needing just one more positive result to seal progression from their group.

Despite an early scare when Aleksandr Golovin’s curling effort narrowly missed David Raya’s post, Arsenal asserted their dominance from the outset. The hosts created a flurry of chances but struggled to make their early pressure count. Gabriel Jesus, who had managed just one goal in his previous 32 matches, found himself twice denied by Monaco goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki when through on goal. However, Arsenal eventually broke the deadlock in the 34th minute. Myles Lewis-Skelly, making his first Champions League start, played a key role with a clever pass to Jesus, who set up Bukayo Saka to fire the Gunners ahead.

Arsenal could have extended their lead before halftime but lacked precision in front of goal. Martin Ødegaard and Gabriel Martinelli both squandered opportunities, firing wide of the far post and keeping Monaco within touching distance.

The visitors almost stunned Arsenal again early in the second half. Lamine Camara’s pinpoint free kick found Thilo Kehrer unmarked in the box, but the defender, formerly of West Ham, headed wide. Monaco continued to threaten, and midway through the second half, they had their best chance of the game. William Saliba’s rare mistake gifted possession to Takumi Minamino, who teed up Breel Embolo. The Swiss forward twisted past Jakub Kiwior but dragged his shot narrowly wide of the target.

Monaco’s missed opportunities proved costly as Arsenal took advantage of a defensive error to secure victory. Goalkeeper Majecki, under pressure from Ødegaard, played a loose pass directly to Saka, who coolly slotted home his second goal of the night.

Substitute Kai Havertz added a late third to cap off the evening, giving the scoreline a more comfortable look than the performance might have deserved. With the win, Arsenal climbed to third in the group standings. A victory in their next fixture at home to Dinamo Zagreb on January 22 would almost certainly guarantee their place in the knockout stages.

Bayern Munich moved closer to securing qualification for the Champions League knockout stages with a dominant 5-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday. Despite missing key players like Manuel Neuer, Alphonso Davies, and Harry Kane due to injury, Bayern made the short trip to Gelsenkirchen, with Shakhtar unable to play at home due to the war in Ukraine.

The match got off to a surprising start when Shakhtar took the lead after just five minutes, with Kevin finishing off a well-executed counter-attack. However, Bayern quickly responded, leveling the score in the 11th minute through Konrad Laimer.

While Bayern created several opportunities, they struggled with their final touch in the first half. Just before the break, Shakhtar had a chance to regain the lead, but Georgiy Sudakov shot wide. Instead, Bayern went ahead in stoppage time, with Thomas Müller finishing off a high-press move set up by Jamal Musiala.

The second half saw Shakhtar threaten with some corner kicks, but Bayern soon regained control. Although Jamal Musiala thought he had scored in the 65th minute, his header was ruled out for a controversial foul on the goalkeeper.

Bayern extended their lead with a penalty, also surrounded by controversy, after Alaa Ghram fouled Sacha Boey. Michael Olise stepped up in Harry Kane’s absence and converted coolly. Two late goals from Musiala and Olise sealed the 5-1 victory.

The win brings Bayern to 12 points from six games, with matches against Feyenoord and Slovan Bratislava remaining.

Doué played a pivotal role in PSG’s 3-0 victory over Salzburg on matchday six of the Champions League, scoring a brilliant goal that highlighted the team’s exceptional quality and attacking prowess. The goal, the result of a world-class move by the French side, exemplified the full force and potential of Paris Saint-Germain.

This match also symbolized the dawn of a new era under manager Luis Enrique, who took charge in the summer of 2023. PSG has always been a club driven by ambition and the desire to win European glory. With a squad full of world-class talent and a record of domestic success, the Champions League has long been their ultimate objective. Luis Enrique’s appointment marked a shift in strategy and mindset as he looks to lead PSG to the top of European football and fulfill the club’s long-held aspirations.

Luis Enrique, known for his tactical acumen and his success with FC Barcelona, brought a wealth of experience and a clear vision to PSG. His tenure at Barcelona from 2014 to 2017 was highlighted by a historic treble in the 2014-2015 season, including a Champions League title. That pedigree made him a natural choice for PSG, a club desperate to turn their domestic dominance into European glory.

Upon taking charge, Luis Enrique emphasized creating a balanced, cohesive team capable of competing against Europe’s elite.

Bayer Leverkusen secured a dramatic 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League thanks to Nordi Mukiele’s 90th-minute strike, moving the German side closer to qualification for the knockout stages. Leverkusen dominated possession, holding over 60%, and were the better team throughout, but they had to wait until the dying moments to break Inter’s defensive resilience.

Leverkusen started strongly, with Nathan Tella rattling the crossbar just three minutes into the match. Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Tah came close with powerful efforts, but Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer stood firm to keep the Italians in the game. Despite their defensive solidity, Inter failed to offer much going forward, content to absorb pressure and hope for a counterattack.

Leverkusen continued to press in the second half, with Jeremie Frimpong narrowly missing after being set up by Wirtz. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi made substitutions after the hour mark to spark some creativity, but his side remained toothless in attack, failing to register any meaningful threat.

The breakthrough finally came in the 90th minute during a chaotic goalmouth scramble. Mukiele pounced on a loose ball in the box and fired it into the net, ending Inter’s run of five consecutive clean sheets in the competition. The win propelled Leverkusen to second place in the group standings, level on 13 points with Inter, who slipped to fourth after suffering their first defeat of the campaign.

With two games remaining, Leverkusen are in a strong position to qualify for the round of 16, while Inter face mounting pressure to secure their place. Xabi Alonso’s side showed determination and quality throughout, earning a deserved victory in a high-stakes clash.

Aston Villa snatched a dramatic 3-2 victory over RB Leipzig thanks to a late deflected strike from substitute Ross Barkley. The win lifted Villa to third in the standings, while Leipzig, still without a point in the competition, saw their hopes of reaching the knockout stages come to an end.

Villa started strong, with John McGinn opening the scoring just three minutes in, calmly guiding the ball past Peter Gulacsi after an assist from Ollie Watkins. Villa looked in control until a rare error from Emiliano Martinez gifted Leipzig an equalizer. The Villa goalkeeper misjudged a bouncing ball in the box, allowing Lois Openda to round him and slot into an empty net.

Watkins thought he had restored Villa’s lead when he scored shortly after, but the goal was ruled out for offside. His involvement ended there as he was replaced by Jhon Duran at halftime. The Colombian quickly made an impact, curling a stunning long-range effort over Gulacsi to put Villa back in front.

Leipzig fought back with Christoph Baumgartner’s superb equalizer, which seemed destined to secure their first point of the campaign. However, Barkley’s introduction in the final stages proved decisive. His speculative shot from distance took a wicked deflection, wrong-footing Gulacsi and trickling into the net for the 85th-minute winner.

The crucial goal capped off a vital win for Villa, who have climbed from mid-table obscurity to third place in their group, firmly in contention for progression.

Real Madrid took the lead with just the second goal Atalanta have conceded in this season’s Champions League. Kylian Mbappé collected Brahim Diaz’s pass at the edge of the box, controlled it past Marten de Roon, and drilled into the bottom corner. Moments later, Mbappé tested Marco Carnesecchi, while Antonio Rudiger’s crucial block denied Charles De Ketelaere a tap-in.

Real suffered a setback when Mbappé went off injured after 36 minutes, and just before halftime, Aurelien Tchouameni clipped Sead Kolasinac in the box, allowing De Ketelaere to equalize from the penalty spot with a confident strike into the top corner.

After the break, Ederson and Ademola Lookman threatened, but Real regained the lead when a lucky ricochet sent Vinicius Junior through to score. Minutes later, Jude Bellingham added a third with a brilliant solo effort, cutting inside and curling into the far corner.

Atalanta kept fighting, with Lookman firing between Lucas Vazquez’s legs to make it 3-2. Despite late pressure, including a near miss by Mateo Retegui in stoppage time, Real held on for the win.

Celtic edged closer to the Champions League knockout stages but extended their long wait for an away win after a 0-0 draw with Dinamo Zagreb. Brendan Rodgers’ side, without an away victory in Europe since 2017, knew a win would have all but secured progression but had to settle for a point despite controlling large portions of the game.

Celtic dominated possession in the first half but struggled to create clear opportunities, with Nicolas Kuhn testing Danijel Zagorac just before the break. Dinamo Zagreb posed more of a threat in the second half, with Kasper Schmeichel producing crucial saves to deny Martin Baturina and Marko Pjaca, while Kevin Theophile-Catherine’s last-ditch tackle stopped Adam Idah from converting a promising chance.

Despite the result, Celtic remain unbeaten in four Champions League matches and sit on nine points with two games left. Captain Callum McGregor celebrated his 100th European appearance, and Rodgers brought back key players including Cameron Carter-Vickers, Paulo Bernardo, and Kyogo Furuhashi.

The injury-hit hosts, starting just one point behind Celtic, showed resilience but created few clear chances. Sandro Kulenovic missed two good opportunities in the first half, while Schmeichel and his defense held firm during Zagreb’s late pressure. Celtic, for all their control, failed to turn dominance into goals and will hope to finally end their away drought in their remaining matches.

Liverpool moved to the brink of securing a place in the Champions League last 16 after Mohamed Salah’s VAR-awarded penalty clinched a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Girona at the Municipal de Montilivi.

The win marked only the second time in Liverpool’s history that they have started a European campaign with six consecutive victories, underscoring their dominance in the competition so far. The result also saw Liverpool maintain their perfect record in the group stage, solidifying their position as group leaders and ensuring they will likely enter the last-16 draw as a seeded team.

The decisive moment came in the 63rd minute when Donny van de Beek was penalized for a foul on Luis Diaz inside the penalty area following a VAR review. Salah stepped up and calmly converted from the spot, beating Paulo Gazzaniga with confidence. The goal not only secured the three points but also cemented Salah’s place in Champions League history as he became the 11th player to score 50 goals in the competition. In doing so, he surpassed Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kylian Mbappé, with Thierry Henry (51) and Thomas Müller (54) now within reach.

For Salah, the penalty was a moment of redemption after missing from the spot against Real Madrid two weeks earlier. This time, he made no mistake, extending his impressive record of scoring in 11 of his last 16 matches.

Despite the win, it was not a vintage Liverpool performance. Alisson Becker was called upon to make crucial saves, denying Bryan Gil and Arnaut Danjuma in a tightly contested game. While the Premier League leaders ultimately left with all three points, their performance showed room for improvement as they prepare for the knockout stages.

Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek helped West Ham secure a crucial 2-1 win over Wolves, providing much-needed relief for Julen Lopetegui in a match labeled as must-win. At the same time, the defeat increases the pressure on Wolves boss Gary O’Neil.

Bowen led the way during a frantic 18-minute second-half spell featuring three goals, two big VAR interventions, and several disallowed strikes. Wolves also had two penalty appeals waved away, adding to the drama of the night.

Amid the tension, the match included tributes to West Ham’s Michail Antonio, recovering from surgery after a car accident, underscoring the stakes beyond football. But on the pitch, Lopetegui’s side delivered an important win, moving nine points clear of the relegation zone.

For Wolves, the result is another blow, leaving them second-bottom and four points from safety. O’Neil’s frustrations with officiating continued as a questionable corner led to Soucek’s goal, and VAR overturned two potential Wolves penalties.

Wolves briefly leveled through Matt Doherty’s strike, but Bowen quickly restored West Ham’s lead with a brilliant solo finish, dedicating the goal to Antonio. Late controversies, including appeals for fouls on Santiago Bueno and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, left Wolves feeling hard done by, but defensive frailties again proved costly in a heated encounter that ended with clashes between players.

Jamie Vardy inspired a dramatic late comeback as Leicester City battled from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion at the King Power Stadium. The veteran striker played a pivotal role, scoring in the 86th minute and setting up Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s stoppage-time equalizer to rescue a vital point for the Foxes, who moved five points clear of the relegation zone.

Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy heaped praise on Vardy’s decisive contributions. “Brilliant moment so late in the game,” Van Nistelrooy said, preserving his unbeaten start at the helm. “To have the calmness and the composure to decide on these things, it’s absolutely top class.”

Brighton, however, will rue their missed opportunities, particularly in the first half. Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma both squandered golden chances to put the Seagulls ahead before Tariq Lamptey broke the deadlock just before halftime. The defender delivered a stunning solo effort, curling a left-footed strike into the top corner from outside the area, leaving Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen with no chance.

The visitors doubled their lead in the second half after substitute Yankuba Minteh made an immediate impact. Racing onto a through ball, Minteh fired a clinical low finish into the bottom corner, seemingly sealing the game for Brighton.

However, Leicester responded with resilience and determination. Vardy began the comeback in the 86th minute, sneaking in at the back post to score a tidy finish. Just minutes later, he turned provider, calmly laying the ball off to De Cordova-Reid, who tapped home the equalizer in the first minute of added time, completing an astonishing six-minute turnaround.

The result marks a frustrating week for Brighton, who also suffered a defeat to Fulham in midweek. With Crystal Palace looming in their next fixture, Roberto De Zerbi’s side will need to regroup quickly to avoid further setbacks.

For Leicester, the comeback highlighted their fighting spirit under Van Nistelrooy’s leadership, giving them hope as they seek to pull further away from the bottom three.