Man City clinch Champions League last 16 place

DARREN STAPLES/ AFP

Erling Haaland scored twice as holders Manchester City cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League with two group games remaining after a 3-0 victory over Swiss side Young Boys on Tuesday.

Pep Guardiola's side maintained their 100 per cent record and lead Group G with 12 points from four games. Young Boys, who were reduced to 10 men when Sandro Lauper was shown a red card in the 53rd minute, are fourth in the group with one point.

Haaland now has 39 Champions League goals from 34 appearances, and is on course to smash the record for fewest appearances to reach 40 goals, which is 45 games by Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The 23-year-old injured his ankle in Saturday's 6-1 trouncing of Bournemouth in the Premier League, raising questions about whether he would even play on Tuesday.

The one negative on the night was the loss of John Stones, who recently returned from a hip injury but was replaced at halftime after suffering what Guardiola said was a muscle issue.

Also in Group G, goals from Xavi Simons and Lois Openda gave RB Leipzig a 2-1 win against Red Star Belgrade to also secure a place in the knockout stages.

Elsewhere, Danylo Sikan's towering header gave Shakhtar Donetsk a 1-0 win against LaLiga champions Barcelona in Group H.

It was a disappointing display from the Spanish side who won their first three games in the competition and needed one point to book a place in the last 16 with two games remaining.

In the same group, FC Porto stayed on course to go through with a 2-0 home victory over 10-man Royal Antwerp.

A dominant Borussia Dortmund scored once in each half to beat Newcastle United 2-0 and take over the lead in Group F.

Germany forward Niclas Fuellkrug drilled in from close range in the 26th minute for his first goal in the competition and Julian Brandt added another on the break in the 79th to kill off the game and dent Newcastle's chances of a top-two finish.

Also in Group F, AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud's powerful header early in the second half secured a 2-1 home victory over Paris St Germain in a pulsating match for the first win in this season's competition by the Italian side.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata both struck twice to help thrash 10-man Celtic 6-0 sending the Spaniards top in Group E.

A first-half goal by Ciro Immobile handed Lazio a 1-0 home win over Feyenoord to move Maurizio Sarri's side up to second.

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