Cristiano Ronaldo scores, Neymar on song and Atalanta go through: The Champions League stories to know

Here are five key Champions League stories you may have missed from last night’s action

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The Champions League 2019/20 group stage is now over, with Serie A side Atalanta among those clubs securing progression to the lucrative knockout stages.

The Italian club beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 to come second in a difficult group topped by reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

Elsewhere Bayern Munich beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 to preserve their 100 per cent record in this season’s tournament, while PSG hammered Galatasaray 5-0.

And Juventus beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 to maintain their impressive run of form.

Here are five stories you may have missed from Wednesday night’s round of fixtures.

Atalanta secure progression

Atalanta completed an astounding turnaround in their Champions League fortunes with a 3-0 victory at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday that sent the Italians through to the knockout stages despite having lost their first three Group C games.

Timothy Castagne bundled home a finish midway through the second half before Dodo was sent off for the hosts, and goals inside the final 10 minutes from Mario Pasalic and Robin Gosens wrapped up the three points.

The victory lifted Atalanta from the bottom of Group C to second place on seven points, one ahead of Shakhtar, who finished third after Dinamo Zagreb (five points) lost 4-1 at home to group winners Manchester City (14) in the other fixture.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s side, playing in the competition for the first time in Atalanta’s history, started at a frantic pace and had the better early chances.

Atalanta went through (Getty)

Yet Pasalic could only muster a weak finish from a tight angle when the visitors failed to take advantage of a loose pass from the home defence, before Luis Muriel pulled a volley wide.

Shakhtar were left frustrated after 15 minutes when Viktor Kovalenko smashed home a finish, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside in the build-up.

Then Junior Moraes’ point-blank header was denied by a fingertip save from Atalanta’s Pierluigi Gollini seven minutes before the break.

Atalanta were denied by the offside flag when Castagne bundled in Gomez’s cross on 66 minutes, but a lengthy check from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) saw the decision overturned and left the Italians with one foot in the knockout stages.

Things went from bad to worse for the home side when Dodo was sent off in the 77th minute after catching Remo Freuler in the face with a flailing arm.

Pasalic then nudged in a low free kick with 10 minutes remaining, before Gosens made it three deep in stoppage time when he pounced on a slack defensive header to volley in from close range.

Ronaldo helps secure Juve win

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain scored late goals as already-qualified Juventus beat hosts Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in the Champions League Group D finale on Wednesday to eliminate the Germans from the competition.

Ronaldo tapped in from close range in the 75th minute after having missed an almost identical chance in the first half and Higuain scored in stoppage time to put Juve top of the group on 16 points.

Leverkusen started strongly and looked for an early goal but it was the Italians who came agonisingly close when Higuain cut into the box and Ronaldo was a fraction too late.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Juventus (Getty)

Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby then let fly from 20 metres and seemed set to beat 41-year-old keeper Gianluigi Buffon, who was making his first Champions League appearance this season, but the ball bounced off the post.

After the break, Juve controlled the pace with the hosts growing more desperate.

Ronaldo, who ended his goal drought earlier this month and also scored in the league at the weekend, struck with 15 minutes left, tapping in substitute Paulo Dybala’s cross to end any lingering hopes of qualifying for the Germans.

Dybala then set up Higuain for their second goal with the Argentine scoring with a low drive

Neymar back in form

Neymar scored one goal and helped create three more as Paris Saint-Germain completed their Champions League group stage with a 5-0 rout of Galatasaray on Wednesday.

Kylian Mbappe timed his run well in the 33rd minute when he latched on to Neymar’s defence-splitting pass and squared the ball to Mauro Icardi, giving the Argentine poacher an easy tap-in from close range.

Two minutes later, Neymar broke through from midfield and fed winger Pablo Sarabia, who beat his marker with a quick step-over move and angled a low shot from the right of the penalty area into the bottom left corner.

Neymar even started the move which led to his goal just after halftime, finding Mbappe with a pass and taking the France star’s back-heeled return before rifling the ball into the top corner from inside the area.

Another fine pass from the Brazil star released Mbappe in the 63rd and he confidently stroked the ball home from the left of the area. Mbappe and Neymar then consulted between them and allowed substitute Edinson Cavani, the club’s all-time leading scorer, to net the fifth goal from the penalty spot in the 84th.

Atletico win despite Trippier’s missed penalty

Atletico Madrid ended a barren run of four games without a win by comfortably beating Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 at home on Wednesday to advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League for the sixth time in seven years.

Club record signing Joao Felix calmly converted a penalty to put Diego Simeone’s side ahead in the 17th minute after Kieran Trippier had squandered an opportunity from the spot, while defender Felipe made sure of the win with a volley in the 54th.

The victory meant Atletico finished second in Group D with 10 points behind Juventus who ended on 16 by winning 2-0 at Bayer Leverkusen. Atletico had a slender lead of one point over Leverkusen heading into their final match and only a win would guarantee they remained in Europe’s top competition, which they narrowly missed out on lifting in 2014 and 2016.

Mourinho unimpressed with fringe stars

Tottenham lost 3-1 to Bayern Munich after Jose Mourinho decided to rest a series of first-team players, including Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

And after the match, Mourinho insisted the loss gave him a greater understanding of some of the members of his new squad, telling BT Sport: “It’s important information. I’ll give you a positive example because the positive examples are easier.

“Today a learnt a lot about (Juan) Foyth, he didn’t play one minute with me before today and I learnt more in these 90 minutes than in two or three weeks of work without playing. So no conclusions, just information.”

Results

• Dinamo Zagreb 1-4 Manchester City
• Shakhtar Donestk 0-3 Atalanta
• Club Bruges 1-3 Real Madrid
• PSG 5-0 Galatasaray
• Bayern Munich 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur
• Olympiakos 1-0 Red Star Belgrade
• Atletico Madrid 2-0 Lokomotiv Moscow
• Leverkusen 0-2 Juventus