Football | Real Madrid, Besiktas advance in Champions League

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates

Daniella Matar

Defending champion Real Madrid advanced again to the Champions League knockout stages after beating APOEL 6-0 and Tottenham piled the misery on Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on Tuesday.

Besiktas also progressed, drawing with Porto 1-1 to reach the last 16 for the first time.

Also in Group G, last season’s semifinalist, Monaco, crashed out after losing to Leipzig 4-1.

Liverpool looked set to join the list of last 16 teams as it led Sevilla 3-0 at halftime but the Spanish side pulled off a remarkable comeback to draw 3-3.

Napoli beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 and both sides will have to wait until the final matchday to see which one joins Group F winner Manchester City in the next round.

Here is a look at what happened in yesterday’s [Macau time] games.

GROUP E

Guido Pizarro’s stoppage-time equalizer for Sevilla means Liverpool will have to wait two more weeks to see if it can return to the knockout stages after an eight-year absence.

Roberto Firmino scored twice for Liverpool and set up Sadio Mane’s goal in the first half-hour. But the hosts rallied with a pair by Wissam Ben Yedder in the second half, and Pizarro’s late equalizer off a corner kick.

Liverpool can’t afford to lose to Spartak Moscow at Anfield next month. Spartak, held by last-place Maribor to 1-1, leads Spartak by only three points.

Sevilla plays its final game at already eliminated Maribor.

GROUP F

Lorenzo Insigne showed again what Italy missed in its World Cup playoff as he scored a stunning goal to help Napoli keep alive its chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Insigne ran down the left before cutting inside and curling into the top right corner from 30 yards in the 56th minute.

Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura, who was fired last week, was roundly criticized after using Insigne for just 15 minutes of the two-leg playoff against Sweden — and out of position. Italy lost 1-0 and failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years.

Piotr Zielinski and Dries Mertens netted late as Napoli moved within three points of second-place Shakhtar.

Manchester City secured top spot by beating Feyenoord 1-0, thanks to Raheem Sterling’s late winner.

Napoli will qualify for the round of 16, courtesy of a better head-to-head record over Shakhtar, if it wins at Feyenoord in the final round and Shakhtar loses to City.

GROUP G

Leipzig capitalized on a comedy of errors in a first-half horror show to send Monaco crashing out of the Champions League.

The visiting German side led 2-0 after just nine minutes, with Monaco’s Jemerson at fault in both goals. The Brazilian defender beat his own ‘keeper with an own goal and set up Leipzig’s second with a feeble pass from the back that Kevin Kampl pounced on to set up Timo Werner.

Monaco captain Radamel Falcao conceded a penalty that Werner converted for 3-0 after 31 minutes.

Falcao made amends with a headed goal in the closing minutes of the half but Naby Keita restored Leipzig’s three-goal advantage moments later.

Leipzig and Porto are level on points, with the German side leading on head-to-head. Besiktas travels to Leipzig on Dec. 6, and Porto hosts Monaco.

Besiktas became the first Turkish team ever to top its group after Talisca’s 41st-minute equalizer cancelled out Felipe’s opener.

GROUP H

Karim Benzema scored twice in the first half and Cristiano Ronaldo added two goals in the second as Real Madrid thrashed Cypriot team APOEL.

Luka Modric and Nacho Fernandez also scored for the defending champions, who have made it past the group stage for 22 straight seasons.

The result eliminated Borussia Dortmund, which lost to Tottenham 2-1 in Germany.

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min cancelled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s strike for Dortmund to ensure already-qualified Tottenham wrapped up the group win. AP