To know the future of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, it was not necessary to have eyes only in Turin. Bad news has arrived from Lisbon, where Benfica scored enough goals against Maccabi Haifa to take first place in Group H. We now know the capital club’s seven potential opponents.
⏰ RESULTS ⏰
Leipzig & Milan qualify, Benfica edge Paris to top spot in Group H ✅#UCL
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 2, 2022
Benfica corse the future of PSG
We thought that a victory in Turin would have been enough, but as often in the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain still experienced an evening with an irrational outcome. Christophe Galtier’s players could not even celebrate the first victory in the history of the capital club at Juventus. Blame it on the very large success, at the same time, of Benfica against Maccabi Haifa (6-1). The Portuguese club, which had twice forced PSG to a draw, gave their all at the end of the match, scoring four goals in the last 20 minutes of play. Enough to equal the goal difference of Paris and go ahead in the number of achievements registered outside (9 against 6).
The capital club will therefore face a group leader, which is bad news, insofar as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Manchester City could stand in its way from the round of 16. The other four potential opponents are Tottenham, Napoli, Porto and Chelsea.
Giroud in all the right moves
When the France team counts its certainties on the fingers of one hand and prays that none of its other players are injured, an attacker is still having so much fun in Milan. Olivier Giroud guided the Rossoneri by opening the scoring with a traditional goal: a header following a corner (14th). And after being frustrated by an intervention from the VAR, the tricolor international validated his double in the second half, concluding a long slalom from Rafael Leao (57th).
A few seconds earlier, it was he who made the pass on the 2-0 goal, signed Rade Krunic, thanks to a perfect header. An ideal evening for Giroud, directly involved in the three goals of his team, the evening when the latter quietly validates his ticket for the round of 16.
36 – Olivier Giroud (36 years and 33 days) is the oldest player to be involved in at least 3 goals in a Champions League match since Opta analyzed the competition (2003/04). Youth. #ACMRBS pic.twitter.com/4dE0LdSIHD
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 2, 2022
Real finish the job, Benzema back
Unsurprisingly, the title holder validated the first place in his group. Without Aurélien Tchouaméni, left to rest, Real Madrid strolled against Celtic (5-1) with five different scorers to participate in the celebration: Luka Modric, Rodrygo, Marco Asensio, Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde. Above all, Karim Benzema took the opportunity to return to the field, two weeks after the announcement of muscle fatigue in the thigh. The latter played a little less than thirty minutes.