PSG beat Juventus , Benfica leading the group

Juventus 1-2 PSG

A second-half goal from defender Nuno Mendes gave Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 win over Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, but rivals Benfica top Group H after scoring more goals in all of their Champions League games.

Benfica defeated Maccabi Haifa 6-1 in the second leg of the group stage, and the Portuguese and French teams are separated by 14 points after a 1-1 draw with nine goals.

Mbappe opened the scoring in Turin in the 13th minute when he took the ball from Leo Messi and slipped past the Juve defense to hit the far post.

Juventus equalized just before half-time after Juan Cuadrado headed the ball into the box and defender Leonardo Bonucci equalised.

PSG sealed victory in the 69th minute when Mbappe Mendes scored from a brilliant cross from two Juve substitutes with less than a minute to go.

Juventus secured a place in the Europa League, finishing third with three points.

PSG coach Christophe Galtier said: “First of all, congratulations to Benfica. I have to congratulate my team and also my players. 

“We beat Juventus twice and we were very happy until the 92nd minute. But if you want to go far in this competition, you have to beat the big teams. Let’s wait for the draw and see who we get in the last 16 minutes.” 

After ending group Juventus qualified for the Europa League and Maccabi are out of competition.

Benfica beat Maccabi Haifa to take first place ahead of PSG.
A stoppage-time goal by Joao Mario ended Benfica’s impressive 6-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday and propelled the Portuguese team to the top spot in Group H of the Champions League, ahead of Paris Saint-Germain.
Goals from Gonzal Ramos, Petr Musa, Alex Grimaldo, Rafa Silva, Enrique Araujo and Joao Mario (five in the second half) gave Benfica 14 points to equal Paris Saint-Germain and beat the visiting French champions.

Maccabi finished last with three points against Juventus, who finished third on goal difference and qualified for the Europa League.

Mario’s excellent long-range shot drew applause as Benfica’s substitutes and coaching staff entered the pitch.

“We came here wanting to win the game at first, but as the minutes went by and we scored more and more goals, we felt the momentum was building in our favor and we were able to do it,” Ramos told Eleven Sports .

“Maccabi” showed a strong result, convincingly spent the first half.

Dean David created a great chance for the hosts before Ramos closed the game to give Benfica the lead.

Maccabi equalized with Taron Cherry’s penalty and Benfica manager Roger Schmidt made two substitutions in the 32nd minute, replacing Fredrik Orsnes and Ramos with Musa and Chikinha.

Benfica dominated the game and converted their only chance with Mousa’s beautiful header after a deep cross from Alexander Bach.

Grimaldo scored the third goal with an unstoppable free kick from a distance, Silva scored the fourth, and Araujo won offside in the 88th minute and scored the fifth from a cross.

Benfica continued to struggle with their relentless high-pressing play and Mario’s superb stoppage time goal saw them advance to the round of 16 as group winners.

UEFA Champions League Group H Table

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