Champions League: Manchester City crisis deepens with loss to Juventus as Barcelona and Arsenal win | Football News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Manchester City‘s 0-2 loss to Juventus on Wednesday further exacerbated their Champions League woes, marking the most recent in a string of unconscionable awful performances for the struggling English champions.
Only the top 24 teams advanced, and City fell to 22nd in the 36-team standings. Before the season began, advancing to the next stage of the new format seemed inevitable for a side that had won the last four Premier League titles and was the 2023 European champion. However, that is no longer the case as City manager Pep Guardiola struggles with injuries and his players’ seeming lack of faith.
With goals from Dušan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie causing the most recent loss and igniting Juventus’ hopes of qualifying, City has only won one of its last ten games across all competitions.
Barcelona‘s 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund propelled them into second position in the league rankings, behind Liverpool, and ensured their advancement. Ferran Torres and Raphinha each scored two goals for Barcelona.

Bukayo Saka‘s two goals helped Arsenal defeat Monaco 3-0, putting them in third position and ahead of six other clubs with 13 points.
The clubs ranked No. 9-24 enter a two-leg playoff, while the top eight advance straight to the round of 16.
The first of City’s two remaining Champions League games comes against Paris Saint-Germain, another struggling powerhouse in 25th place, one point outside of the qualifying spots.
With a powerful header aimed directly at City goalkeeper Ederson, who was only able to divert the ball over his own line, Vlahovic gave Juventus the lead in the 53rd minute. Juve won thanks to two American substitutes, including McKennie, who volleyed home from a cross from Timothy Weah.
Juventus rose to 14th position.
Last season’s runner-up Dortmund was forced out of the top eight after Ferran Torres came off the bench to lead Barcelona to their fifth victory in six games.
Robert Lewandowski, who had a quiet game against his old team, was replaced by Torres in the 71st minute. Torres scored on the rebound of Dani Olmo’s shot just four minutes later.
The score was tied at 2-2 after Serhou Guirassy’s second goal of the match, but Torres scored again in the 85th minute after Lamine Yamal’s counterattack.
Barcelona took the lead thanks to Raphinha, and Guirassy equalized from the penalty spot. Lewandowski leads the league with seven goals, while Raphinha and Guirassy are tied for second place with six goals each.

Saka scored goals in the 34th and 78th minutes and put in a shot that was converted into the net by substitute Kai Havertz in the 88th, giving Arsenal their third consecutive league-stage home victory without giving up.
On goal differential, Arsenal leads Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Inter Milan, Brest, and Lille. On Wednesday, Lille defeated Sturm Graz 3-2 at home.
AC Milan defeated Red Star Belgrade 2-1, with Tammy Abraham scoring the game-winning goal in the 87th minute to pull one point out of the top eight. In the first half, Milan lost Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Alvaro Morata to muscular ailments.
Feyenoord defeated Sparta Prague 4-2, while Benfica drew 0-0 at home against Bologna to stop their five-game winning streak.