Spurs hold Barca to go through to last-16, Salah Liverpool’s lifesaver

Barcelona, December 12

Tottenham Hotspur produced a bold and spirited performance, coming from behind to grab a 1-1 draw at Barcelona which saw them finish second in Champions League Group B and reach the last-16 at the expense of Inter Milan on Tuesday.

Spurs were facing a much-changed Barca side that had already qualified in first place and started without talisman Lionel Messi but they fell behind to an astonishing run and strike from Ousmane Dembele in the seventh minute. Tottenham dominated much of the game but were repeatedly denied by outstanding saves from Barca’s reserve goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen before pulling level when Lucas Moura turned in a Harry Kane cross from close range in the 85th minute.

Spurs squeezed through to the knockout stages thanks to Inter Milan drawing 1-1 at home to already-eliminated PSV Eindhoven.

To guarantee a knockout place, Tottenham needed to become the first team since Bayern Munich in 2013 to win at the Nou Camp in the Champions League and were encouraged by Barca coach Ernesto Valverde making seven changes from Saturday’s 4-0 win at Espanyol.

Messi was the most prominent of the absentees although he came on in the second half, while first-choice keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, crucial left back Jordi Alba and key defender Gerard Pique were left out along with injured striker Luis Suarez.

Liverpool through

Liverpool: Mohamed Salah continued his prolific form to fire Liverpool into the last-16 of the Champions League but coach Juergen Klopp was just as thankful for his “lifesaver” of a goalkeeper after the 1-0 win over Napoli.

The slender victory was enough for Liverpool to progress at the expense of Napoli, who started the day top of Group C but crashed out on goals scored after the clubs finished tied on nine points with the same head-to-head record.

Klopp, along with a nervous Anfield crowd, watched Liverpool hang on at the death, with relief palpable all around as Brazilian Alisson rushed from his line to deny Arkadiusz Milik in almost the last act of the match.

“The goal Mo scored, what a goal, unbelievable,” Klopp said.

PSG rout Red Star

Belgrade: Paris Saint Germain reached the last-16 to an inspired performance by their three-pronged attack of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe in a 4-1 win at Red Star Belgrade.

All three forwards scored in an intimidating atmosphere at Red Star’s Rajko Mitic Stadium, and midfielder Marquinhos was also on target to cancel out a sumptuous volley by Red Star defender Marko Gobeljic.

The result lifted the French champions to the top of Group C on 11 points from six games, two ahead of Liverpool who also qualified thanks to a 1-0 home win over Napoli that left them ahead of the Italian side on goals scored. — Reuters