Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr scored twice as Real Madrid thrashed Salzburg 5-1 to ease their Champions League hopes.
The defending champions began the night in 22nd place, losing three of their first six games in the revamped competition. But they seriously flexed their muscles with two first-half goals from Rodrigo and a brace from Judy Bellingham to settle the nerves.
Kylian Mbappe scored three minutes into the second half before Vinicius Jr scored twice and Mads Bidstrup took full control of the Madrid defense before scoring a late consolation.
📉 Manchester City lost to PSG and entered the Champions League relegation zone. pic.twitter.com/sgLURkV5rB
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt). January 22 2025
There were similar levels of relief in Paris as PSG beat Manchester City and moved back into the play-off places.
Goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland put the hosts 2-0 behind, but Ousmane Dembele converted.
The former Barcelona winger scored all four goals in 10 minutes to make it 2-2 after Bradley Bekola reduced the arrears.
PSG weren't done yet and Joachim Neves took the lead before Gonzalo Ramos scored with a last-gasp finish to make it 4-2.
PSG have moved up to 22nd, but Manchester City have a chance to reach the top 24 if they beat Club Brugge at the Etihad this weekend.
Bayern Munich lost in Rotterdam.
Bayern Munich look set to advance to the semi-finals after a stunning 3-0 defeat of Fiennes.
Santiago Jimenez scored twice in the second from the penalty spot, while Ayase Ueda added a late third for the Rotterdammers.
A late own goal from Loris Benito gave Celtic a 1-0 win over Young Boys at home.
Brendan Rodgers' men dominated but it looked like it wasn't the night when Marvin Keller saved Arne Engels' penalty. Benito's late miss was sent off by Daizen Maeda, but Celtic were guaranteed a place in the playoffs.
The big guns are almost guaranteed a top eight spot.
Arsenal and Inter Milan are in the top 8 after tonight's wins.
Lautaro Martinez's goal gave Inter Milan a victory over Sparta Prague, while Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard were on target for Arsenal against Dinamo Zagreb.
AC Milan remain in sixth place after beating Girona 1-0 thanks to a brilliant goal from Raffaele Leo.
Benjamin Sesko scored in RB Leipzig's 2-1 first-leg defeat to Sporting CP, while Bres' hopes of a top-eight finish were targeted as they lost 2-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk.