Man City survived! The 2023 UEFA Champions League winners were on the verge of elimination, being 1-0 down at the break against Club Brugge, but Mateo Kovacic and Savinho, with the additional help of the Belgian side’s defender Joel Ordonez and his own goal, annulled Raphael Onyedika’s shocking opener – 3-1.On the other hand, Arsenal and Liverpool rewarded the crowd with first-half fireworks and the totally opposite second periods, as all of their goals were netted during the opening period. The Gunners made a first-half comeback, beating Girona 2-1, while the Reds blew the lead twice, allowing PSV to turn the tables and note a 3-2 win, handing Liverpool their first defeat in the competition.FULL-TIME | Into the play-offs 💪🩵 3-1 ⚫️ #ManCity | #UCL pic.twitter.com/BKLzywA04K— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 29, 2025 The Cityzens struggled during the entire first half, managed to net a disallowed offside goal over Ilkay Gundogan and ultimately awaited the break with a goal down, thanks to Raphael Onyedika and his 45th-minute opener! At that point, Man City were out of the TOP 24 and thus out of the UEFA Champions League.KOVACIC GOAL !!!! THE COMEBACK IS ON MAN CITY 1-1 pic.twitter.com/fdLswXG7cZ— ⚡️🇧🇼 (@Priceless_MCI) January 29, 2025 SAVINHO GOALLLL JOHN STONES ASSIST SAVINHO HAS SAVED US AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARW GOING THROUGH pic.twitter.com/8mNUvEQ5a8— 17 (@DxBruyne17) January 29, 2025 Yet, as soon as the second period started, the Cityzens started pressing the rivals, which resulted in a 53rd-minute leveller, as Mateo Kovacic found the net after a skillful solo effort, while the visitors’ Joel Ordonez gave City the lead with an own goal only nine minutes later. Thirteen minutes before the end, Pep Guardiola’s golden sub, Savinho, made it 3-1, allowing the Cityzens to take a deep sigh of relief, as they barely reached the Round of 32, taking the 22nd spot (out of 24).From the muds of Sierra Leone to City in a matter of monthsAlthough Mikel Arteta mixed things up regarding the XI, Arsenal managed to come from behind already in the first half and grab a 2-1 lead at the break. Girona opened the scoring through Arnaut Danjuma, but Jorginho’s penalty and Ethan Nwaneri’s goal turned the table in the last ten minutes of the first half.🚨🇪🇺 GOAL | Girona 1-2 Arsenal | NwaneriNWANERI HAS GIVEN ARSENAL THE LEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!pic.twitter.com/xRgJI4dM76— Tekkers Foot (@tekkersfoot) January 29, 2025 The second period was pretty dull. Girona managed to level in the 77th minute, but the goal was disallowed, so the Gunners managed to defend the lead and record their sixth UCL triumph this season. By the end of the match, Raheem Sterling failed to break his curse at Arsenal, missing a penalty in the stoppage time. Still, Arsenal finished the first UCL stage third behind Liverpool and Barcelona.##NAJAVA_MECA_8666894##If Arteta mixed things up, Arne Slot made a complete turnaround, leaving only a few starters in the lineup. Still, that did not stop the Reds from providing the fans with the craziest five-goal first half of the night!Liverpool were in front twice behind Cody Gakpo’s spot kick and Harvey Elliott’s effort, but PSV awaited the break with a 3-2 lead, netting in the 45th minute and the sixth minute of added time through Ismael Saibari and Ricardo Pepi, while Johan Bakayoko was their first scorer.Elliot scored the second goal for LIVERPOOL #UCL pic.twitter.com/laS3bIpDxb— AZ (fan) (@MUFAN_3) January 29, 2025 🇺🇸 Ricardo Pepi *barely* gets a touch on it to score against Liverpool! Pepi has a goal and assist in the first half and is up to 20 goal contributions on the season 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/FC898zj5lC— American Ultras Talk (@ameriultrastalk) January 29, 2025 Although everyone expected the continuation of the fireworks, the second 45 minutes were nowhere near the first half, as it did not bring a single goal. The only notable and memorable moment was the 18-year-old Amara Nallo’s dismissal, only four minutes after Slot gave him a chance to debut in the Champions League. Regardless of tonight’s defeat, Liverpool kept the Champions League top spot and can peacefully await the Round of 16.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 8Wednesday Aston Villa – Celtic 4-2 (2-2)/Rogers 3, 5, 90+1, Watkins 61 – Idah 36, 38/Barcelona – Atalanta 2-2 (0-0)/Yamal 47, Araujo 73 – Ederson 67, Pasalic 80/Bayern – Slovan B. 3-1 (1-0)/Muller 8, Kane 63, Coman 84 – Tolic 90/Brest – Real Madrid 0-3 (0-1)/Rodrygo 27, 78, Bellingham 57/Dinamo Zagreb – Milan 2-1 (1-0)/Baturina 19, Pjaca 60 – Pulisic 53/Dortmund – Shakhtar 3-1 (2-0)/Guirassy 17, 44, Bensebaini 79 – Gomes 50/Girona – Arsenal 1-2 (1-2)/Danjuma 28 – Jorginho 38 pen, Nwaneri 42/Inter – Monaco 3-0 (2-0)/Martinez 3 pen, 16, 67/Juventus – Benfica 0-2 (0-1)/Pavlidis 17, Kokcu 81/Leverkusen – Sparta Praha 2-0 (1-0)/Wirtz 32, Tella 64/Lille – Feyenoord 6-1 (2-1)/Sahraoui 5, Trauner 39 og, Gomes 57, David 74, Haraldsson 76, Cabella 80 – Gimenez 14/Man.City – Club Brugge 3-1 (0-1)/Kovacic 53, Ordonez 62 og, Savinho 77 – Onyedika 45/PSV – Liverpool 3-2 (3-2)/Bakayoko 35, Saibari 45, Pepi 45+6 – Gakpo 27 pen, Elliott 40/Salzburg – Atl.Madrid 1-4 (0-3)/Daghim 90+1 – Simeone 5, Griezmann 13, 45+1, Llorente 64/Sporting – Bologna 1-1 (0-1)/Harder 77 – Pobega 21/Sturm – RB Leipzig 1-0 (1-0)/Malic 42/Stuttgart – PSG 1-4 (0-3)/Fuhrich 78 – Barcola 6, Dembele 19, 35, 54/Young Boys – Crvena zvezda 0-1 (0-0)/Kanga 69/
