Benzema fires Madrid to UCL knockout; Ajax drop to Europa, Inter crash out

A brace by Kareem Benzema on Wednesday night was enough to take Real Madrid through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Benzema’s headers helped the Spanish side beat Monchengladbach 2-0 to seal top spot in group B with 10 points, followed by the Bundesliga side on eight.

Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk drew goalless in the other game of the group. Both sides needed a win to qualify but they go out with the San Siro draw.

The draw was enough for Shakhtar to drop to the Europa League, while Serie A giants Inter are out of continental competitions this season.

This is the third consecutive season that the Serie A giants are crashing out of the Champions League group stage.

Read Also: Neymar, Mbappe score five in rescheduled Basaksehir tie as PSG win UCL group

Elsewhere, Ajax were beaten 1-0 at home by Atalanta, with the Dutch side demoted to the Europa League after finishing third in group D.

Atalanta through to the Champions League knockout alongside group winners Liverpool, who played a 1-1 draw with FC Midtjylland.

The goal by Mohammed Salah for the Reds made the Egypt forward Liverpool’s record Champions League goalscorer, being his 22nd goal in the competition, surpassing club legend Steven Gerrard.

In group A, Atletico Madrid defeated RB Salzburg 2-0 to finish second and seal a spot in the round of 16. Champions Bayern Munich clinched a 2-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow to finish the group stage unbeaten.

In group C, Manchester City thrashed Marseille 3-0, with Sergio Aguero scoring on his return from injury. In the other game of the group, Porto defeated Olympiakos 2-0, but the Greeks dropped to Europa League while Marseille crashed out.

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