UEFA Champions League 2024-25: Arsenal, PSG sails into knockouts with comfortable wins

UEFA Champions League 2024-25: Arsenal, PSG sails into knockouts with comfortable wins

Arsenal secured a spot in the Champions League round of 16 as it rallied from a goal down to win 2-1 at Girona on Wednesday thanks to goals from Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri.

The north London side picked up its sixth win in eight games to finish third in the league phase with 19 points and avoid a two-legged playoff in the next round.

Arsenal looked dominant from the outset but it was the hosts who opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Arnaut Danjuma capitalised on a poor run by goalkeeper Neto to strike into the far corner.

Jorginho equalised with a clinical spot kick 10 minutes later following an Arnau Martinez foul on Thomas Partey before Nwaneri put the visitors ahead with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box in the 42nd minute.

Girona pushed for an equaliser late in the game and Cristhian Stuani thought he had pulled the score level but saw his 76th-minute strike disallowed for offside.

Raheem Sterling squandered a golden chance to add a third goal for Arsenal in stoppage time when he saw his penalty kick saved by goalkeeper Pau Lopez after a clear handball by Alejandro Frances.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) secured a playoff spot in the Champions League as Ousmane Dembele played chief tormentor in a 4-1 away demolition of VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday.

Dembele netted a hat-trick and fellow France forward Bradley Barcola added another as PSG qualified for the playoffs as one of the eight seeded teams for Friday’s draw after finishing 15th in the 36-team league.

The result eliminated Stuttgart, which had a woeful first half and could only reduce the arrears through Chris Fuehrich.

Luis Enrique’s PSG was in danger of also missing the cut in November before it completed a remarkable turnaround, winning its last three games and scoring 11 goals.

The visitors, who will face either Stade Brestois or Monaco, both Ligue 1 rivals, went ahead after six minutes when Barcola ghosted his markers to head home from Achraf Hakimi’s overhead flick.

Stuttgart came close when Fuehrich’s brutal strike was parried away by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but on the resulting counter attack, Dembele slid the ball past Fabian Bredlow after being set up by Barcola.

Dembele bagged goal of the season with a missile of a cross shot that went into the opposite side of the net to put PSG in a very comfortable spot before halftime.

The France forward was at it again after the break, curling a splendid shot into the top corner from Hakimi’s pass in the box for his 17th goal of the season.

Fuehrich pulled one back with a clinical finish in the 77th minute but Stuttgart never threatened a comeback and finished 26th in the league.

PSG, instead, wrapped up its league phase in style a week after beating Manchester City 4-2 from being 2-0 down.