Champions League Last 16: Madrid, Bayern, Inter, Sociedad qualify

They join defending champion Manchester City and RB Leipzig, who also locked up their spots in the knockout stage on Tuesday.

With two group games remaining on Wednesday, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Real Sociedad are all through to the round of 16 of the Champions League.

They join defending champion Manchester City and RB Leipzig, who also locked up their spots in the knockout stage on Tuesday.

Real Madrid, the record 14-time winners, easily defeated Braga 3-0 on Wednesday to keep their perfect record intact and cruise into the Champions League last 16.

Despite Jude Bellingham, their leading scorer, being rested, the Spanish powerhouses advanced from Group C thanks to goals from Brahim Diaz, Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo Goes.

After Diaz opened the score, Vinicius and Rodrygo, two Brazilian wingers who have been lambasted for their lack of goals this season, reacted with elegant finishes to help their team advance.

After a 1-1 tie with bottom-place team Union Berlin, Madrid has won four of their last four games to top the group with 12 points, ahead of Napoli in second place with seven.

Andriy Lunin replaced Los Blancos custodian Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was injured during the warm-up.

In the sixth minute, the Ukrainian was called upon right away and dove to his right to palm away Alvaro Djalo’s penalty.

Cristian Borja was brought down by Lucas Vazquez in the vicinity, but the Portuguese team was unable to capitalise on the opportunity.

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On the opposite side, Diaz’s goal was disallowed due to a foul by Vinicius; nonetheless, the former midfield player for Manchester City did not have to wait long for another, legitimate, goal.

Rodrygo broke the deadlock by sending the ball through on the left side of the area and cutting it back to Diaz, who blasted close range into the net’s roof.

With a mocking grin, the 24-year-old drew a VAR screen, seemingly challenging the referees to attempt and stop this goal.

In Bellingham’s customary attacking midfield spot, Diaz performed admirably during a rare start and contributed to the majority of Madrid’s offensive plays.

After making the summer transition, Bellingham has scored 13 goals in 14 appearances. He waited from the sidelines while Ancelotti allowed him to heal from a shoulder injury he sustained in the Rayo tie.

Early in the second half, Benfica custodian Matheus made a fantastic double stop to deny Diaz another opportunity to score.

Vinicius scored the second goal just before the hour had passed, using deft agility and movement inside the area to finish low and smoothly.

Although it was only his fourth goal of the season in 12 games across all competitions—low by his own standards—Ancelotti has projected that he and Rodrygo will score more goals than Bellingham at the end of the season.

After being sent in by his countryman Vinicius, Rodrygo scored Madrid’s third goal with a beautiful chipped finish, and Ancelotti celebrated from the sidelines.

The coach encouraged his dynamic combination to be patient up front, and they both rewarded him with goals that thrilled the Santiago Bernabeu.

In stoppage time, Lunin made a fantastic save to block header from former Barcelona scorer Abel Ruiz to maintain Madrid’s clean sheet.

AAFP