Barcelona’s backs were up against the wall in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League match vs. Inter Milan, but Robert Lewandowski kept the Spanish club’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive.
Lewandowski scored twice in the final 12 minutes at the Camp Now to help Barcelona earn a 3-3 draw against its Serie A visitors. Inter Milan stayed three points in front of Barcelona for second place with two matches remaining.
Ousmane Dembele and Nicolo Barella cancelled each other out as the teams sat level at 1-1 through the opening 50 minutes of the match. Sergi Roberto’s low cross was hammered home by Dembele in the 40th minute before Barella’s top-shelf finish allowed Inter Milan to tie things up.
Lautaro Martinez propelled Inter Milan ahead in the 63rd minute, picking up a pass from Hakan Calhanoglu and sliding a low shot into the bottom corner.
Lewandowski tied things up for Barcelona in the 82nd minute, watching as his deflected shot left Andre Onana scrambling to make the save. Robin Gosens’ sprung Inter Milan back in front with only five minutes left to play, but Lewandowski called his own number to equalize once again for Barcelona.
Eric Garcia’s chipped pass was headed home by the Polish international, giving Barcelona’s knockout hopes a lifeline.
Barcelona will host Bayern Munich on Matchday 5 while Inter Milan faces Viktoria Plzen.
Here is a closer look at the top results from Champions League action:
AC Milan 0, Chelsea 2
(Jorginho 21′ pk’, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 34′)
Chelsea’s second-consecutive victory over AC Milan helped the Blues jump into top spot in Group E.
Jorginho and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both scored in the first half as Graham Potter’s squad left the San Siro with a 2-0 victory. Former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori was sent off in the opening 20 minutes, allowing Chelsea to have plenty of the possession and offensive chances in the match.
Tomori was sent off in the 18th minute after hauling down Mason Mount on a goalscoring opportunity. It was a straight-red offense for Tomori, and an early penalty-kick chance for Chelsea away from home.
Jorginho stepped up to the penalty spot in the 21st minute and scored the opening goal for Chelsea.
Aubameyang punished AC Milan for the second goal of the half, tucking away a pass from Mount at the near post. It was Aubameyang’s second goal of the current tournament for Chelsea and his third overall in the past four matches.
Chelsea continued to own majority of the possession, watching goalkeeper Kept Arrizabalaga make only one save to earn his clean sheet.
Atlético Madrid 0, Club Brugge 0
Club Brugge clinched its first-ever spot in the UCL Round of 16 after holding La Liga hosts Atlético Madrid to a goal-less draw at home.
Veteran goalkeeper Simon Mignolet made nine saves for the Belgian side, helping them continue to frustrate Atlético Madrid in this season’s competition. Jan Oblak was only called into action once for Diego Simeone’s squad, posting a clean sheet as well.
Mignolet denied Antoine Griezmann in the 13th minute of the match, repelling the French international’s low shot before watching as the rebound attempt went into the side netting. Club Brugge continued to play well defensively, keeping Atlético Madrid from finding any point-blank chances as the first half continued.
Club Brugge was later reduced to 10 men in the 82nd minute following Kamal Sowah’s second yellow card offense. Yannick Carrasco’s late effort was denied by Mignolet’s head-save, capping off a Man of the Match performance for the former Liverpool and Sunderland man.
Atlético Madrid sits third after failing to score for the third-straight UCL match.
Maccabi Haifa 2, Juventus 0
(Omer Atzili 7′, 42′)
Maccabi Haifa’s biggest Champions League victory kept its knockout stage hopes alive after earning a 2-0 win over Serie A visitors Juventus.
Omer Atzili needed only seven minutes to break the deadlock, flicking home a cross from Pierre Cornud past Wojciech Szczesny. Maccabi Haifa continued to pile on the early pressure, coming close to doubling its lead in the 11th minute.
Szczesny received huge help from the crossbar, watching as Tjaronn Chery’s shot deflected off the bar in the 12th minute.
Atzili doubled his tally and Maccabi Haifa’s advantage in the 42nd minute, curling a shot into the top corner of Szczesny’s goal. Frantzdy Pierrot played the pass into the box for Atzili, who did the rest with a wonderful finish.
American goalkeeper Josh Cohen posted a five-save shutout for the hosts, making several key stops in the second half to preserve the victory.
Both teams are level on three points apiece with two matches left to play.
Here are all the remaining UCL results from Matchday 4:
Dinamo Zagreb 1 – Red Bull Salzburg 1
Celtic 0 – RB Leipzig 2
Shakhtar Donetsk 1- Real Madrid 1
FC Kobenhaven 0 – Manchester City 0
Borussia Dortmund 1 – Sevilla 1
PSG 1 – Benfica 1
Napoli 4 – Ajax 2
Rangers 1 – Liverpool 7
Bayer Leverkusen 0 – FC Porto 3
Viktoria Plzeň 2 – Bayern Munich 4
Sporting Lisbon 0 – Marseille 2
Tottenham 3 – Eintracht Frankfurt 2