Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior each scored twice as Real Madrid thrashed Salzburg 5-1, allaying any lingering fears of Champions League elimination.
The defending champions lost three of their first six matches in the new competition and started the night in 22nd place. But they flexed their muscles in style and Rodrigo scored twice in the first half, both assisted by Jude Bellingham, calming their nerves.
Kylian Mbappe added the third goal three minutes into the second half, and two goals from Vinicius Junior gave Real Madrid full control long before Mads Bidstrup scored a late goal.
Manchester City slips into the Champions League elimination zone after losing to Paris Saint-Germain 📉 pic.twitter.com/sgLURKV5rB
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 22, 2025
There were similar levels of relief in Paris as Paris Saint-Germain staged a stunning comeback to beat Manchester City and put themselves back in the play-off places.
The hosts were 2-0 down thanks to goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland but Ousmane Dembélé inspired the conversion.
The former Barcelona winger pulled a goal back and Bradley Barkola then made it 2-2 after all four goals came in the space of 10 frenetic minutes.
PSG were not finished with that and Joao Neves headed in front before Gonzalo Ramos made it 4-2 with the final kick of the match.
Paris Saint-Germain moved to 22nd place, but City must now beat Club Brugge at the Etihad Stadium next week to have any chance of reaching the top 24.
Bayern strikes in Rotterdam
Bayern Munich will likely have to make do with the qualifiers after their shock 3-0 defeat to Feyenoord.
Santiago Jimenez scored two goals, the second from a penalty kick, and Ayasi Ueda added the third goal late for Rotterdammers.
Celtic also won at home after a late Loris Benito goal gave the Glasgow club a 1-0 win over Young Boys.
Brendan Rodgers' men dominated but it looked like tonight might not be their night when Marvin Keller saved Arne Engels' penalty. However, Benito's late blunder meant Celtic secured a place in the play-offs despite Daizen Maeda's sending off.
The big guns are almost guaranteed a top eight finish
Arsenal and Inter secured a place in the top eight after tonight's wins.
Lautaro Martinez's goal was enough to give Inter victory over Sparta Prague, while Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard scored Arsenal's goals in their victory over Dinamo Zagreb.
Milan also occupies sixth place after a 1-0 win over Girona thanks to Rafael Leao's wonderful goal.
Benjamin Sisko scored as Leipzig recorded their first win with a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon, while Brest's hopes of finishing in eighth place were dampened by a 2-0 defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk.
