Santiago Giménez scored twice in the first half as Feyenoord stunned Bayern Munich 3-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday to boost their chances of a top-eight finish.
Giménez fired them into the lead in the 21st minute with a deft shot before the Mexico international added a second with a penalty in the ninth minute of first-half stoppage time. Ayase Ueda, on as a substitute, killed off the game in the 89th minute after the Feyenoord keeper Justin Bijlow had denied Bayern with a string of strong saves.
Feyenoord climb above Bayern, who had 32 efforts on goal and also hit the woodwork, into 11th place on 13 points. The Bavarian club drop to 15th on 12 points with their third defeat in seven matches.
A first-half goal from Rafael Leão helped Milan to secure a 1-0 home win against Girona, leaving the Italian club well placed to book a spot in the last 16. Leão broke the deadlock in the 37th minute with a stunning shot into the roof of the net from a low cross by Ismaël Bennacer, who won the ball around the halfway line and dribbled past Girona’s midfield to set up the Portugal winger. Girona’s Spain forward Bryan Gil thought he had equalised before the hour with a lovely curled shot inside the far post, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Milan are sixth in the standings on 15 points. Girona, who have a single league-phase win, are 31st with three points and have no chance of securing a spot in the playoffs.
Milan’s Rafael Leão is congratulated by Theo Hernandez after his first-half strike. Photograph: Daniele Mascolo/Reuters
Lautaro Martinez scored a superb first-half volley as Inter claimed a 1-0 victory at Sparta Prague to match their city rivals and all but secure an automatic place in the round of 16.
Shakhtar Donetsk kept their hopes alive as they secured a 2-0 home win against the Champions League’s surprise package Brest thanks to a brilliant strike from Kevin and a penalty from Georgiy Sudakov. The Ukrainian champions broke the deadlock in the 18th minute when the Brazilian winger Kevin pounced on a costly slip by the Brest captain, Brendan Chardonnet, before racing into the area and slotting home.
The Brest keeper Marco Bizot conceded a penalty for a poor challenge on Irakli Azarov, and Sudakov scored with a chip down the middle of the goal. Brest are 13th in the standings with 13 points, while Shakhtar are 27th on seven points and outside the playoff places with one match remaining.
RB Leipzig battled past the visitors Sporting 2-1 to secure their first victory in seven Champions League matches and dent their opponents’ hopes of going through. Leipzig, who had lost their previous six matches in the newly created league phase and are already eliminated, took a deserved lead when Benjamin Sesko slid in to connect with a perfectly timed David Raum cutback in the 19th minute.
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The Portuguese, with Rui Borges – the second coach at Sporting since Ruben Amorim’s departure for Manchester United – making his Champions League debut, levelled through Viktor Gyökeres, who beat the defender Willi Orbán in a one-on-one before drilling in with 15 minutes left. But the visitors’ joy lasted only three minutes before Yussuf Poulsen scrambled the ball over the line for the winner. Sporting are left in 23rd place on 10 points.
The top eight finishers qualify for the last 16, while the next 16 teams, in places nine to 24, qualify into the playoffs.
