What a denouement in this season’s Champions League ‘group of death’! Paris Saint-Germain’s action-packed 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund proved enough for them to join Group F leaders in the Champions League knockout stages, with Les Parisiens progressing through the groups for the 12th consecutive season. Meanwhile, Newcastle went from cheers to tears after allowing AC Milan to turn it around at St.James’ Park.Even though Die Schwarzgelben’s place in the knockout stages was already confirmed before this final group match, there was plenty at stake as they looked to win the group. Both teams still fearlessly flew forward at every opportunity, although Marius Wolf and Kang-in Lee missed the target from clear chances at either end. Niklas Süle then made a miraculous recovery to deny Kylian Mbappé after PSG’s talisman rounded Gregor Kobel.UCL: Pep’s ‘new wave’ takes all three points from BelgradeThe disbelief continued despite Les Parisiens beginning to get on top, as Bradley Barcola curled an effort that struck the post and Randal Kolo Muani raced through before taking a shot that trickled wide. Dortmund were still creating chances, although Marco Reus and Salih Özcan both had venomous strikes denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma, while Karim Adeyemi failed to get his rebound from the latter of those saves on target. Each team had another golden chance apiece before the break, but the half somehow ended goalless as Kolo Muani was denied by Kobel and Mats Hummels headed wide with the final touch.##EDITORS_CHOICE##There were no signs of the action slowing down in the second period, and the opener finally arrived in the 51st minute. Niclas Füllkrug capitalised on PSG’s sloppy play at the back by teeing up Adeyemi, who slid his effort in off the inside of the post for his second goal of the season – both of which have come in the Champions League. Warren Zaïre-Emery revived Les Parisiens’ hopes just five minutes later, fizzing a strike past Kobel with the help of a slight deflection off Adeyemi. With the match refusing to slow down at all, Mbappé thought he had sent PSG into the lead and top of the group, but was caught offside by the finest of margins.Barcola had the best opportunity for a late winner but fired straight at Kobel from a tight angle, as Dortmund ended a run of three consecutive defeats across all competitions to secure top spot in Champions League Group F. PSG, meanwhile, extended their unbeaten run to six competitive matches.Elsewhere, Newcastle United and AC Milan both exited the Champions League at the group stage, despite the Rossoneri’s 2-1 victory at St James’ Park that ended a five-match winless run away from home in Europe’s premier cup competition. It was a cruel ending to the first Champions League campaign in 20 years for the Magpies, who finished bottom of the group after the defeat, while Milan came third behind second-place Paris Saint Germain on the head-to-head rule. The Magpies were greeted by a cauldron of noise inside St James’ Park with the Geordie faithful playing their part on a potentially pivotal night in Newcastle’s season. Their fate partly relied on events in Dortmund, but the hosts were doing all they could to force an early opening goal. Kieran Trippier had an early strike from a free-kick that flew over the bar, before Rossoneri defender Fikayo Tomori made a sensational tackle to deny Miguel Almirón a tap-in from Joelinton’s cut-back.It was the Brazilian that delivered the breakthrough in some style with 33 minutes on the clock, taking a touch and rifling a ferocious finish past Mike Maignan. That propelled the Magpies into second spot over Paris Saint-Germain thanks to the head-to-head rule, with the French side still contesting a goalless stalemate in Germany heading into halftime.The feel-good factor was raised even more on Tyneside after the break with news of Karim Adeyemi’s opener against PSG, which moved Newcastle a point clear of the French champions. Warren Zaïre-Emery’s equaliser shrunk the Magpies’ advantage back to the head-to-head rule, in the first part of a double blow for Howe’s side. Christian Pulisic leveled the scores just shy of the hour mark from close range, after the American was expertly teed up in the box by Olivier Giroud. It would be a huge dampener on the atmosphere, as Newcastle dropped back down to the third spot they occupied before kick-off.Bruno Guimarães thought he had restored the hosts’ advantage from distance, but was denied when Maignan superbly managed to tip his long-range strike onto the bar. The anguish on Howe’s face was clear to see when Callum Wilson miscued his attempt from Tino Livramento’s cross, but it could have been so much worse moments later, as Rafael Leão could only hit the post in a one-on-one with Martin Dúbravka. But Milan always looked a threat on the break, and the Rossoneri turned the match on its head through Samuel Chukwueze’s excellent finish at the end of a blistering counter-attack. Stefano Pioli’s side had moved into third, but sat behind PSG on the head-to-head rule.There would be no further drama on a night packed full of drama on Tyneside, as the Magpies succumbed to a third consecutive defeat across all competitions. This will sting much more, given their European adventure ends before Christmas. Meanwhile, Milan showed impressive resilience and now have Europa League football as a consolation prize heading into the New Year.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – ROUND 6TuesdayPSV – Arsenal 1-1 (0-1)/Vertessen 50 – Nketiah 42/Lens – Sevilla 2-1 (0-0)/Frankowski 63 pen, Fulgini 90+6 – Ramos 79 pen/Salzburg – Benfica 1-3 (0-2)/Sucic 57 – Di Maria 32, Rafa Silva 45+1, Cabral 90+1/Inter – Sociedad 0-0Man.Utd. – Bayern 0-1 (0-0)/Coman 71/Copenhagen – Galatasaray 1-0 (0-0)/Lerager 58/Napoli – Braga 2-0 (2-0)/Saatci 9 og, Osimhen 34/Union Berlin – Real Madrid 2-3 (0-0)/Volland 45+1, Kral 85 – Joselu 61, 73, Ceballos 89/WednesdayCrvena Zvezda – Man.City 2-3 (0-1)/Hwang 76, Katai 90+1 – Hamilton 19, Bobb 62, Phillips 85 pen/RB Leipzig – Young Boys 2-1 (0-0)/Sesko 51, Forsberg 56 – Colley 53/Atl.Madrid – Lazio 2-0 (1-0)/Griezmann 6, Lino 51/Celtic – Feyenoord 1-1 (1-0)/Palma 33 pen – Minteh 82/Dortmund – PSG 1-1 (0-0)/Adeyemi 51 – Zaire-Emery 56/Newcastle – Milan 1-2 (1-0)/Joelinton 33 – Pulisic 59, Chukwueze 84/Porto – Shakhtar 5-3 (2-1)/Galeno 9, 43, Taremi 62, Pepe 76, Conceicao 82 – Sikan 30, Eustaquio 73 og, Eguinaldo 88/Antwerp – Barcelona 3-2 (1-1)/Vermeeren 2, Janssen 56, Ilenikhena 90+2 – Torres 36, Guiu 90+1/
