Rossoneri celebrate a knockout night

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AC Milan's Olivier Giroud (R, bottom) celebrates his second goal with teammate Fikayo Tomori during a UEFA Champions League Group E football match between AC Milan and RB Salzburg in Milan, Italy, on Nov. 2, 2022. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

AC Milan reached the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in nine years on Wednesday with a 4-0 victory over Red Bull Salzburg, while RB Leipzig also qualified by thrashing Shakhtar Donetsk.

Paris Saint-Germain will be the team that group winners want to avoid in Monday's last-16 draw after missing out on top spot in Group H despite a 2-1 win at Juventus, as Benfica hammered Maccabi Haifa 6-1 to snatch first place on total away goals.

Seven-time European champion Milan knew a point would be enough to send it into the last 16 for the first time since the 2013-14 season after a group-stage exit last term.

"These kinds of nights are what we wish for," Milan coach Stefano Pioli told Sky Sports.

"We wanted to show we improved compared to last season in the Champions League. We're ambitious now, so let's see what happens next."

Pioli's side eased any nerves at the San Siro inside 14 minutes as Olivier Giroud headed home.

The Rossoneri's return to the knockout stage was all but confirmed less than a minute after halftime when Giroud headed across goal for Rade Krunic to nod past Philipp Kohn in the Salzburg goal.

Giroud added his second before the hour mark, allowing the home fans the opportunity to celebrate for the remainder of the match and Junior Messias added further gloss to the scoreline in added time.

Milan qualified from Group E in second place behind Chelsea, who came from behind to beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 at Stamford Bridge with goals from Raheem Sterling and debutant Denis Zakaria.

Leipzig also only needed to avoid defeat to go through against Ukrainian side Shakhtar in Warsaw.

Shakhtar, playing its home matches in Poland due to Russia's conflict with Ukraine, had stunned Leipzig 4-1 in its Group F opener.

But the Bundesliga side was too strong after Christopher Nkunku's early strike left Shakhtar with a mountain to climb.

Andre Silva and Dominik Szoboszlai netted in the second period and Dani Olmo's shot was deflected into his own net by Valeriy Bondar to wrap up a 4-0 win.

"I'm really proud of the team. We didn't start well in this Champions League campaign, but we put in a solid performance today and are really happy to be through," Leipzig forward Emil Forsberg told DAZN.

Holder Real Madrid secured first place in the group by hammering Scottish champion Celtic 5-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Luka Modric and Rodrygo both scored penalties awarded for handball in the opening stages, before Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved Josip Juranovic's spot-kick.

Second-half goals from Marco Asensio, Vinicius Jr and Federico Valverde completed the rout despite Jota's late consolation for Celtic who finished bottom.

PSG pipped

PSG lost top spot in Group H despite Nuno Mendes' 69th-minute winner in Turin as Benfica scored five goals in the second half at Maccabi.

Kylian Mbappe's brilliant individual effort put PSG in front, before Leonardo Bonucci dragged already-eliminated Juventus level.

Mendes scored only a minute after coming off the bench, but late drama in Israel saw PSG slip to second.

Possible last-16 opponents for the Qatari-owned club include 14-time champion Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and in-form Napoli.

"We wanted to win the group but that's what happens in football," Mbappe said. "We were a bit shaky, a bit uncertain but it's the Champions League and winning is always the most important thing. I'm pleased that I scored and I'm pleased that we won. We'll have to see what the draw brings."

It was Mbappe's seventh goal in the six-game group stage and 40th in 59 career Champions League matches. At age 23, he eclipsed teammate Lionel Messi to become the youngest to score 40 goals in Europe's top club competition.

Mbappe already scored four goals when he helped France win the last World Cup in 2018. If France makes another run in this year's tournament, which starts Nov 20, he could score even more.

Three goals in 14 minutes gave Benfica hope of matching PSG's goal difference and pipping the French giant on away goals.

It looked as if the Portuguese club would come up two short, but Henrique Araujo scored in the 88th minute and Joao Mario struck in injury time to complete the job.

"As the game progressed, we saw that it was within our reach," Goncalo Ramos, who scored Benfica's third goal, told Eleven Sports.

Manchester City came from behind to round off its Group G campaign with a 3-1 home win over Sevilla.

Rafa Mir gave the Spaniards the lead, but 17-year-old fullback Rico Lewis fired City level.

Julian Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez sealed all three points for Pep Guardiola's Premier League champion, who was still without the injured Erling Haaland.

Lewis, aged 17 years and 346 days, became the youngest player to score on his first Champions League start, breaking the record held by Karim Benzema who was 17 years and 352 days when he scored for Lyon.

"What a goal. He's a fantastic player, so intelligent. He understands everything. He made a fantastic goal and played really well," Guardiola said.

"In the first half the guys tried. Second half was better, really good goals. I'm happy for everyone."

Borussia Dortmund was held to a 1-1 draw by FC Copenhagen.

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