MATCHDAY: PSG-Basaksehir to complete Champions League game

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This article was published 08/12/2020 (2096 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A look at what’s happening in the Champions League on Wednesday:

GROUP H

Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir will return to the Parc des Princes to complete a game that was postponed on Tuesday after the players walked off the field when a match official was accused of using insulting language about a Black coach. The game will resume with a new set of match officials, with the score at 0-0 and 14 minutes having elapsed. That was when the game was stopped because fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of Romania was alleged to have used a racial term when identifying Basaksehir’s assistant coach, Pierre Webo, who is Black. The players left the field and didn’t return. PSG’s players know they have already qualified for the knockout stage as a result of Manchester United’s loss to Leipzig. That left United tied for points with PSG, regardless of its result against Basaksehir, but in third place behind the French team because of an inferior head-to-head record.

GROUP A

Atlético Madrid visits Salzburg needing at least a draw to advance to the knockout stage for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. Atlético coach Diego Simeone will be able to count on Luis Suárez, who made his return from a positive COVID-19 test in a Spanish league match last weekend. Striker Diego Costa remains sidelined because of a blood clot. Defending champion Bayern Munich, which has already secured first place, hosts already eliminated Lokomotiv Moscow in the other group match.

GROUP B

Real Madrid needs a win when it hosts group leader Borussia Mönchengladbach to guarantee a place in the knockout stage for a 24th straight season. A draw will be enough for Zinedine Zidane’s team if Shakhtar Donetsk loses at Inter Milan. The draw would also secure Mönchengladbach its first appearance in the knockout phase in the Champions League era. Only victory will be enough for Inter, while draws in both matches will allow Mönchengladbach and Shakhtar to advance.

GROUP C

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With Manchester City and Porto assured of advancing, the only thing still at stake is which of Marseille and Olympiakos finishes third and takes a spot in the Europa League. The teams are both on three points, with Olympiakos ahead on a superior head-to-head record. Olympiakos rounds off group play at home to Porto, while Marseille travels to Man City, which will advance as group winner.

GROUP D

Atalanta needs to just avoid defeat against Ajax in Amsterdam to qualify for the round of 16 for the second successive year. It was a surprise quarterfinalist last campaign in its first appearance in the competition. However, it has struggled for goals of late and has scored just four in its past six matches. Its league game at the weekend was postponed because of a flooded field at Udinese. Ajax could take second spot with a win. Atalanta rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Ajax in Bergamo. Liverpool is already through as group winner and visits Danish club Midtjylland.

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