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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Reuters and Guardian sport

Champions League roundup: PSV’s dramatic late comeback stuns Shakhtar

Ricardo Pepi wheels away after scoring in the 95th minute to complete PSV’s comeback win.
Ricardo Pepi wheels away after scoring in the 95th minute to complete PSV’s comeback win. Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters

PSV staged a dramatic Champions League comeback against 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk in Eindhoven, winning 3-2 from being two goals down in the 87th minute.

The visitors went in front after eight minutes from a quick breakaway, with Yukhym Konoplia setting up Danylo Sikan, whose shot squeezed beyond the PSV keeper Walter Benítez. Oleksandr Zubkov doubled Shakhtar’s lead with a superb curling finish in the 37th minute, putting the Ukrainian side in control of the match.

Despite PSV having plenty of efforts on goal, Shakhtar looked largely untroubled until Pedro Henrique was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Johan Bakayoko in the 69th minute. That allowed the hosts to pile on the pressure, but they were kept out until Malik Tillman’s free-kick squeezed past Dmytro Riznyk at the near post.

Tillman brought Peter Bosz’s side level on 90 minutes with a thumping strike from outside the area. With Shakhtar’s defence all at sea, Ricardo Pepi finished off a passing move with a shot that went in off the post, his 95th-minute winner sparking delirium among the home supporters.

Benfica came from behind twice to end 10-man Monaco’s unbeaten Champions League start, scoring two late headers to grab a thrilling 3-2 away win.

Monaco’s Eliesse Ben Seghir got his side off to the perfect start, breaking the deadlock in the 13th minute by rifling home from Aleksandr Golovin’s cut-back. Ángel Di María and Nicolás Otamendi both went close for Benfica before half-time, with Monaco’s Breel Embolo smacking a shot off the post soon after the restart.

That miss that proved costly when Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis made the most of Caio Henrique’s weak header to steal the ball and equalise. Both sides then had goals ruled out for offside by VAR, before the Monaco defender Wilfried Singo picked up his second yellow card just before the hour.

Despite that setback, Monaco retook the lead as the substitute Soungoutou Magassa charged on to Christian Mawissa’s angled pass and drilled home for his first goal for the club. But Di María had the final say, crossing for Arthur Cabral to level in the 84th minute, then picking out Zeki Amdouni to head home the winner four minutes later.

Borussia Dortmund eased past Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 to stay firmly on course for a top-eight finish and an automatic place in the last 16. Jamie Gittens fired last year’s finalists into a deserved lead in the 41st minute in the Croatian capital, finishing well after Danijel Zagorac had spectacularly kept out Donyell Malen’s point-blank header.

Ramy Bensebaini headed in Dortmund’s second goal from a corner early in the second half. The forward Serhou Guirassy, back after a short illness, got on the scoresheet late in the game. The substitute broke clear of the Zagreb defence and ran on to a deflected pass before slotting the ball through the keeper’s legs.

Lille boosted their hopes of a top-eight finish with a 2-1 away win at Bologna, whose hopes of reaching the knockout rounds look slim. Ngal’ayel Mukau opened the scoring for the visitors just before the break and, while Jhon Lucumi got Bologna’s first Champions League goal in the 63rd minute, Mukau struck again three minutes later to earn victory.

Earlier on Wednesday, Red Star Belgrade came from a goal down to thrash the visitors Stuttgart 5-1 and earn their first league-phase points in emphatic fashion.

Ermedin Demirovic volleyed in from close range to give the visitors a fifth-minute lead but Silas, on loan from Stuttgart, levelled for the hosts seven minutes later. With Red Star’s fans growing louder, their team took the lead in the 31st minute with a fierce volley from Rade Krunic.

Red Star were able to break through Stuttgart’s high line at will, wasting chances with two consecutive counters before Silas fired over the bar from close range. Mirko Ivanic then headed in at the far post in the 65th minute to make it 3-1 before Nemanja Radonjic added gloss to the scoreline with two goals off the bench.

Girona’s struggles in the competition continued as they lost 1-0 at Sturm Graz in Wednesday’s other early kick-off. Mika Biereth’s second-half goal, scored on the rebound after Paulo Gazzaniga’s save, secured the hosts’ first points of the league phrase and their first win over a Spanish side in Europe.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Liverpool 5 11 15
2 Inter Milan 5 7 13
3 Barcelona 5 13 12
4 Borussia Dortmund 5 10 12
5 Atalanta 5 10 11
6 Bayer Leverkusen 5 6 10
7 Arsenal 5 6 10
8 Monaco 5 5 10
9 Aston Villa 5 5 10
10 Sporting 5 3 10
11 Brest 5 3 10
12 Lille 5 2 10
13 Bayern Munich 5 5 9
14 Benfica 5 3 9
15 Atletico Madrid 5 2 9
16 AC Milan 5 2 9
17 Man City 5 6 8
18 PSV 5 3 8
19 Juventus 5 2 8
20 Celtic 5 0 8
21 Feyenoord 5 -3 7
22 Club Brugge 5 -3 7
23 Dinamo Zagreb 5 -5 7
24 Real Madrid 5 0 6
25 PSG 5 -3 4
26 Shakhtar Donetsk 5 -4 4
27 Stuttgart 5 -7 4
28 Sparta Prague 5 -9 4
29 Sturm Graz 5 -4 3
30 Girona 5 -5 3
31 Red Star Belgrade 5 -8 3
32 Red Bull Salzburg 5 -12 3
33 Bologna 5 -6 1
34 RB Leipzig 5 -6 0
35 Slovan Bratislava 5 -14 0
36 Young Boys 5 -15 0
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