GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP) — Manchester City is on the brink of a humiliating Champions League exit after a stunning loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, and Real Madrid is no longer at risk after routing Salzburg.
Man City blew a two-goal lead in a high-stakes clash of super-wealthy underachievers that PSG won 4-2 in Paris yet still could be eliminated alongside the English champion after the final round of games next week.
Only the top 24 in the 36-team standings will advance and Man City, the 2023 champion, will kick off in 25th place needing to beat Club Brugge to squeeze into the knockout playoffs round. PSG, now in 22nd, will play at 24th-place Stuttgart.
Title-holder Madrid is safe, rising from 22nd place at kickoff Wednesday into 16th place after swatting aside Salzburg 5-1.
Arsenal and Inter Milan got expected wins to rise to third and fourth, respectively, though not sure yet to join Liverpool and Barcelona advancing direct to the round of 16.
Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 and Inter won 1-0 at Sparta Prague.
Bayern Munich fell to a 3-0 defeat at Feyenoord and dropped to 15th in the mid-table morass of storied clubs — including Madrid and Juventus — who risk facing each other in the knockout playoff rounds in February.
Every qualification and elimination issue will be decided in a likely frenetic eighth and final round of games next Wednesday.
All 36 teams will be in action in 18 games kicking off at the same time with just the top 24 advancing to the knockout phase.
Man City looked to set to send PSG close to elimination by taking a two-goal lead early in the second half. Jack Grealish, a halftime substitute, scored in the 50th minute then set up Erling Haaland for a second four minutes later.
Within six remarkable minutes PSG was level, from goals by Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola, and a stunning turnaround was completed in the 78th when Joao Neves headed the decisive goal. Goncalo Ramos added a fourth in stoppage time.
AC Milan quietly rose to sixth place with a 1-0 win against Girona at San Siro, and Celtic advanced by winning 1-0 against Young Boys, which lost a seventh straight game.
Sporting Lisbon risks elimination next week after losing 2-1 at Leipzig, which ended a six-game losing run, and Shakhtar Donetsk stayed in contention — just — with a 2-0 win against Brest, which will be in the knockout phase.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Associated Press
