Bukayo Saka’s double fired Arsenal a step closer to the Champions League last 16 as the England forward inspired a 3-0 win against Monaco on Wednesday.
Saka netted late in each half and Kai Havertz struck in the closing minutes at the Emirates Stadium to lift Arsenal into third place in the revamped league phase.
The Gunners have won four of their six European games this term and, with two matches remaining, they control their destiny in the race for the top-eight finish that guarantees automatic progress to the last 16.
Clubs that finish ninth to 24th in the 36-team first phase face a play-off to determine if they will advance.
With games against Dinamo Zagreb and Girona to come in January, the north Londoners will be confident of avoiding that unwanted obstacle.
After a damaging 1-1 draw against Fulham in the Premier League last weekend, Arsenal’s fifth win in their last six games in all competitions was a welcome tonic.
Meanwhile, Manchester City were plunged further into crisis on Wednesday after falling to a 2-0 defeat at Juventus which threatens their chances of reaching the last 16.
Second-half goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie were enough for Juve to inflict a seventh defeat in 10 matches on Pep Guardiola’s struggling City.
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English champions City languish in 22nd place in Europe’s top club competition after having collected just eight points from their six matches in the revamped league phase.
That leaves City just one point above the bottom 12 places and elimination, with matches against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Club Brugge remaining, a position that would have been unthinkable at the start of the season.
But City have unravelled in less than six weeks and are way off the pace both in the Premier League and Champions League thanks to just one win, over Nottingham Forest, since the end of October.
City now have the Manchester derby at the weekend, hardly the sort of fixture they need in the midst of this dismal run from.
Juve had drawn 11 of their 20 matches in all competitions coming into Wednesday’s match, but a rugged display moved them up to 11 points and ended with fans roaring with joy and colouring the stands of the Allianz Stadium with flag waving.
Substitute Ferran Torres struck twice in 10 minutes to earn Barcelona a 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund and seal their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League.
Raphinha opened the scoring for Barcelona on 53 minutes in Germany, latching onto a Dani Olmo pass on the counter, but Serhou Guirassy equalised seven minutes later from the penalty spot.
Torres, who replaced the ineffective former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski, tapped in a rebound with 15 minutes to play only for Guirassy to again haul Dortmund level.
With the hosts pushing for a first ever victory over Barcelona on their fifth attempt, Lamine Yamal fed Torres on a fast break and the winger drilled the ball past Gregor Kobel.
The win ensured Barcelona will reach at least the playoffs while putting them in pole position for a top-eight berth and direct qualification for the last 16.
Dortmund suffered their first loss at home in all competitions this season, sliding down to ninth in the Champions League table.
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