The group stage of the Champions League concluded with some commanding performances and stunning setbacks.
Karim Benzema sent Real Madrid through to the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday alongside their rivals Atletico.
Real needed to beat Borussia Moenchengladbach to be sure of making it through the group stage. Benzema rose to the challenge, easing the pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane with two fine back-post headers in the first half securing a 2-0 win.
There was plenty of controversy as Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir concluded their match on Wednesday, 24 hours after it had been suspended. Neymar scored a hat-trick before saying both teams had felt compelled to make a stand against racism in what was an unprecedented protest over an alleged comment by an official.
PSG won the game 5-1 after it restarted where it had stopped the previous day, in the 14th minute, following a touchline argument over accusations the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had used a racist term when identifying Basaksehir's black assistant coach Pierre Webo.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice from the penalty spot to win his battle with rival Lionel Messi and guide Juventus to a 3-0 win over Barcelona on Tuesday, earning the Italians top spot in Champions League Group G.
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City made it five wins and a draw in Group D as they eased to a 3-0 victory against Marseille with Ferran Torres and Sergio Aguero getting second-half goals before an Alvaro Gonzalez own goal.
Also already qualified, Porto beat Olympiakos 2-0 in Piraeus courtesy of Otavio's early penalty and a Matheus Uribe goal. The Greeks, who ended with 10 men, finish third in the section.
Meanwhile, pressure increased on Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following their Champions League exit at the hands of RB Leipzig.
United paid for a sloppy start against last season's semi-finalists and exited Europe's elite club competition after a 3-2 defeat that piled the pressure on Solskjaer, with some angry fans calling for Mauricio Pochettino to replace him.
