City book last 16 spot; Newcastle hopes dented
As Manchester City and Leipzig reached the knockout stage of the Champions League with two matches to spare on Tuesday, two emblematic players of Europe's old guard grabbed the spotlight. Manchester City kept their perfect record to advance from Group G with a 3-0 win against Young Boys. Erling Haaland scored two goals as City also extended their unbeaten home run in European football’s elite club tournament to 28 games. Phil Foden also netted. German team Leipzig advanced with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Red Star Belgrade. Goals in either half from Xavi Simons and Loïs Openda ensured back-to-back victories for Leipzig over the Serbian champions, giving them nine points, three behind City. Both Red Star and Young Boys have one point and can no longer finish among the top two. Already the oldest Champions League outfield player, veteran Porto defender Pepe became the oldest scorer in Champions League history when he rose in the box and headed home his side's second goal in a 2-0 win over Antwerp. Pepe, who is 40 years, 254 days old, scored in stoppage time after Brazilian striker Evanilson put the hosts in front with a first-half goal. “Today is a special day for me. It’s my mother’s birthday and I told her that I would do everything I could to score a goal," Pepe said. “This feeling is incredible, because anyone who reaches this age playing at this level – representing a big club like Porto – knows it takes a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice, a tremendous passion for this sport. I’ll try to enjoy it as much as possible.” The previous record was held by Roma’s Francesco Totti, who scored in Europe’s top club competition at age 38 years, 59 days in 2014. Porto have nine points and moved level with leaders Barcelona, who lost 1-0 to Shakthar Donetsk in Group H's other match. Last-placed Antwerp can no longer finish as one of the top two teams. At the San Siro, it was another veteran – Olivier Giroud – who was cheered by his teammates after AC Milan recorded their first win and first goals in this season’s Champions League to beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1. Aged 37 years, 38 days, Giroud became the oldest French goalscorer in the competition, overtaking Laurent Blanc. Rafael Leao scored Milan's other goal and the result left Group F wide open.  Borussia Dortmund beat Newcastle 2-0 in the other match and now lead the group. The German team are a point above PSG, two above Milan and three above Newcastle. And in Group E, another experienced player was also on top of his game: 33-year-old Ciro Immobile scored his 200th goal with Lazio as the Roman club revived their hopes of advancing with a 1-0 win over Feyenoord. The Lazio captain scored from a sharp angle after getting around the goalkeeper late in the first half at the Stadio Olimpico. Lazio moved into second place in Group E with seven points. Atletico Madrid top the group with eight points after routing Celtic 6-0. Dutch champions Feyenoord still has a chance in third with six points, while Celtic trail with one point. (AP)