Aston Villa fought back from 2-0 down to beat Red Bull Salzburg and finish second in the Europa League league phase, but Ollie Watkins was forced off to compound their injury issues. Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba’s first Villa goal earned a late victory for the hosts, who had already qualified for the last 16, at Villa Park.
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Two sublime strikes from Joao Pedro fired Chelsea into the Champions League round of 16 as they finished sixth in the league phase table after a 3-2 win at Napoli. The Blues found themselves behind in Italy but responded well in the second half to dump Napoli out of the competition while avoiding two additional games in the knockout play-offs.
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Liverpool coasted past Marseille and put themselves in a strong position to finish in the Champions League top eight on a night where Mohamed Salah returned to the starting XI for Arne Slot’s side. A moment of genius from Dominik Szoboszlai gave Liverpool the lead in the first half, an own goal from goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli doubled their advantage and Cody Gakpo added a third in the 92nd minute.
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Norwegian debutants Bodo/Glimt claimed one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history by stunning Premier League Manchester City 3-1 in the cold of the Arctic Circle. Played on an artificial surface, Pep Guardiola’s youngsters froze in the -9C temperatures as City suffered another embarrassing loss following Saturday’s derby defeat by Manchester United. Glimt thoroughly deserved their victory, having taken a shock lead in the 22nd minute as Ole Didrik Blomberg’s looping cross to the back post was headed in by Kasper Hogh.
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Arsenal will take a narrow advantage into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final after a frantic 3-2 first-leg win at Chelsea. Goals from Ben White, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi saw the Gunners take victory at Stamford Bridge, but Alejandro Garnacho struck on two occasions after coming off the bench. But Arsenal will have belief they are on track to reach Wembley, and end Mikel Arteta’s record of losing their last four two-legged semi-final ties on the spin.
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