Champions League highlights: debutants Atalanta celebrate reaching the last 16

Champions League debutants Atalanta and Spanish giants Atletico Madrid have secured the final two places in Monday’s round of 16 draw.

Despite losing their first three matches in group C, Italian outfit Atalanta found their form late on and a brilliant 3-0 win at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night earned them a runners-up spot behind Manchester City.

English champions City thrashed Dinamo Zagreb 4-1 in Croatia, a result that allowed Atalanta to finish second on seven points, one more than Shakhtar and two more than Zagreb.

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Joy for Atletico

Atletico Madrid and Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen were competing for the runners-up spot in group D behind Juventus, and it was the Spanish side who won the spoils thanks to a 2-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow.

Leverkusen lost by the same scoreline at home to Juve and finished third, thereby dropping into the knockout phase of the Europa League.

Fab Four

Of the clubs to reach the last 16 of the Champions League, England and Spain each have four representatives, Germany and Italy three and France two.

Man City had already wrapped up group C ahead of the trip to Zagreb, and a 4-1 win underlined their dominance of a group in which they finished seven points clear of their nearest rival.

Gabriel Jesus was the star of the show against Dinamo with a hat-trick while Phil Foden also got on the scoresheet.

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Bullish Mourinho

Tottenham lost their final group B match to Bayern Munich but the 3-1 scoreline was an improvement on the 7-2 thrashing they received in north London in October.

Ryan Sessegnon scored Spurs’s consolation and the Lilywhites will face one of Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Valencia or RB Leipzig in the next round.

Despite that daunting line-up, Spurs manager Jose Mourinho was upbeat about his side’s chances in the last 16.

“I think the teams that finished first will wish they don’t play against us,” he said. “We are one of the strongest teams from the second group. By the end of February I will understand my players better, they will understand me better. We have two more months of work together. I think we will be much more ready.”

Champions League last-16 draw: seeds, UK start time, TV and live stream

Who has qualified for the last 16?

• Group A: Paris St-Germain (winners), Real Madrid (runners-up)
• Group B: Bayern Munich (winners), Tottenham (runners-up)
• Group C: Manchester City (winners), Atalanta (runners-up)
• Group D: Juventus (winners), Atletico Madrid (runners-up)
• Group E: Liverpool (winners), Napoli (runners-up)
• Group F: Barcelona (winners), Borussia Dortmund (runners-up)
• Group G: RB Leipzig (winners), Lyon (runners-up)
• Group H: Valencia (winners), Chelsea (runners-up)

Today’s back pages

Man City boss Guardiola hails Jesus for his ‘goaly trinity’

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