💫 Barça's CL hopes in the balance; Chelsea thrash Juve; Man Utd through | OneFootball

The Champions League is back and we’re at the business end as knockout spots are claimed or fall out of reach.

This is what went down.

Exciting stalemate leaves Barça in big trouble

Barcelona look to be in danger of exiting the Champions League at the group stage after being held to a scoreless draw at home to Benfica.

The visitors thought they’d taken a huge lead on 34 minutes when Nicolás Otamendi thumped a fantastic strike in off the underside of the bar, only for the goal to be ruled out for the ball going out of play in the build-up at a rain-soaked Camp Nou.

Although Xavi’s side had some decent openings of their own, Haris Seferović should have won it for Benfica in injury time, only to make a massive mess of a chance when played through on goal with only Marc-André ter Stegen to beat for a goal which could have eliminated their opposition from contention.

Barcelona go into the final game two points clear of Benfica, who play bottom side Dynamo Kyiv in the final game, while the Blaugrana face a tough trip to Bayern Munich, meaning they may have to leave Bavaria with a win to have a chance of progression.

Holders thrash Juve to take grip of top spot

Scorers: Chalobah 25′, James 55′, Hudson Odoi 58′, Werner 90′

Chelsea took a big step towards qualifying as group winners by ruthlessly seeing off an out-of-sorts Juventus side at Stamford Bridge.

Trevoh Chalobah justified Thomas Tuchel’s decision to keep faith in him by volleying in a volley after Antonio Rüdiger knocked down to him with his arm and although VAR checked it, the goal was allowed to stand.

That lead was almost relinquished instantly by Álvaro Morata against his former club when he lobbed Édouard Mendy, only for Thiago Silva to pull off a fantastic last-ditch tackle to keep his side in front and from there, it was one-way traffic.

Chelsea scored again after half-time through another excellent volley from a defender, Reece James this time drilling in from an even tougher angle to add to his tally as the Blues’ top scorer this season before Callum Hudson-Odoi added a third moments later with a simple finish.

Timo Werner added a fourth in injury time to ensure a comfortable night’s work for his side.

Super sub saves Atalanta again in a classic

Scorers: Pefok 39′, Sierro 80′, Hefti 84′; Zapata 10′, Palomino 51′, Muriel 87′

Atalanta remain in the hunt for qualification after Luis Muriel came off the bench to rescue a potentially crucial point following a six-goal thriller in Switzerland.

Duván Zapata gave them a huge early lead when he controlled in the area and swivelled before finding the net to keep up his recent hot streak.

But poor set-piece defending shortly before half-time saw them surrender the advantage when Jordan Pefok headed in off the bar at the near post, only for an unlikely source in José Palomino to put them in front with an excellent curling effort from the edge of the area.

Again, Atalanta were pegged back though when a mishit cross found its way into the path of Vincent Sierro and he drilled into the far corner before Silvan Hefti curled into the top corner with a glorious strike that looked to have won it for Young Boys.

An incredible affair had one last twist though as Luis Muriel snuck a free-kick in at the near post to ensure his side remain in the hunt for qualification before hosting Villarreal in their final game.

Lille in pole position in tightrope group

Scorers: David 31′

Lille go into the final game as qualification favourites as a narrow win over Salzburg keeps them top of the group.

Shortly after the half-hour mark, Jonathan David put his side ahead when a persistent Burak Yilmaz run saw the ball eventually fall the way of the Canadian who was perfectly placed to capitalise from close range for the only goal of the game.

Sevilla pick up first win of the season

Scorers: Jordán 12, Mir 90+7′

Sevilla picked up a huge win to give themselves a shot at a top two finish by overcoming Wolfsburg at home on Tuesday night.

After a period of sustained early pressure, Sevilla got the opener they deserved when Joan Jordán headed past stand-in goalkeeper Pavao Pervan from close range but didn’t wrap things up until deep into injury time when Rafa Mir was found unmarked in the area to score and wrap it up.

Zenit book Europa League ticket

Scorers: Rieks 28′; Rakitskyi pen 90+1

Zenit scored an injury time penalty to break Malmö’s hearts and secure European football after Christmas.

After a delightful one-two on the edge of the Zenit box, Søren Rieks collected the return and found the bottom corner with a composed finish and held on to that lead after Artem Dzyuba had a weak second half penalty saved.

When another penalty was won in injury time, it was left up to Yaroslav Rakitskyi to take over spot kick duties and he calmly found the corner to send his side to the Europa League.

Ronaldo and Sancho send Man United through

Scorers: Ronaldo 78′, Sancho 90′

Cristiano Ronaldo came to Manchester United’s rescue in the Champions League once again as the Portuguese’s opening goal helped booked their place in the last-16.

The visitors also had their goalkeeper to thank during Michael Carrick’s first game in caretaker charge of the club, with David De Gea producing a number of important saves throughout the 90 minutes.

Manu Trigueros thought he had given Villarreal the lead with a low drive from the edge of box but De Gea produced a stunning one-handed save to tip the ball wide.

With 12 minutes left United took their chance with Fred nipping in to take possession from Étienne Capoue before Ronaldo lifted the ball over Gerónimo Rulli.

Jadon Sancho then sealed the win in the last minute, smashing the ball in off the crossbar from close range for his first goal for the club after United executed a fine counter attack.

Lewandowski stunner earns top spot for Bayern

Scorers: Harmash 70′; Lewandowski 16′, Coman 42′

Bayern Munich secured top spot in Group E thanks to a stunning goal from Robert Lewandowski.

The Pole improvised after Leon Goretzka’s shot ricocheted into his path, producing a bicycle kick to beat the goalkeeper and score his ninth Champions League goal of the season.

Kingsley Coman doubled Bayern’s lead just three minutes before half time with a shot which struck the post before hitting the back of the net from a tight angle.

Denys Harmash dragged Dynamo back into the game with a goal in the 70th minute, being found unmarked in the penalty area before driving a shot through the legs of Manuel Neuer but Julian Nagelsmann’s side hung on to make it five wins out of five.