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Champions League: Chelsea book knockout berth after big win

“We should have scored more. It is easy to play with these good players,” Blues winger Eden Hazard said.

Champions League: Chelsea book knockout berth after big win

Chelsea winger Willian celebrates after scoring (Photo: AFP)

Premier League champions Chelsea progressed to the UEFA Champions League last 16 after a big win over Qarabag FK.

Blues winger Willian scored twice and won a pair of penalties as Chelsea thrashed 10-man Qarabag 4-0 in Baku to guarantee Antonio Conte’s side a top-two finish in Group C.

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First-half goals from Eden Hazard and Willian put Chelsea in control, with Cesc Fabregas adding a third before Willian netted again to cap the rout and knock Qarabag out of the competition.

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“We did everything well. We should have scored more. It is easy to play with these good players,” Hazard said.

Atletico Madrid, runners-up twice in the past four years, retained an outside chance of pipping Roma to a place in the knockout stage as Antoine Griezmann snapped an eight-match goal drought in a 2-0 win in Spain.

The French striker broke the deadlock with a spectacular acrobatic effort on 69 minutes, before compatriot Kevin Gameiro added a late second to seal a first win of the campaign for Atletico.

However, they must beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their final game and hope Roma drop points at home to Qarabag to avoid parachuting into the Europa League.

Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev recorded a first clean sheet in the group stage since 2006 — ending a staggering run of 43 matches conceding a goal — as CSKA condemned Benfica to a fifth straight loss in Group A.

Georgi Schennikov’s cool finish steered CSKA into a 13th-minute lead in Moscow before the hosts grabbed a second through an own goal from Brazilian defender Jardel.

Paris Saint-Germain dismantled Celtic 7-1 as the French giants registered their biggest win in the competition, despite falling behind when Moussa Dembele scored inside the first minute at the Parc des Princes.

A brace from Neymar soon turned the game around, before Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe added goals of their own before the interval.

Marco Verratti made it five with quarter of an hour left, before Cavani got his second and a sensational Dani Alves hit wrapped up a record-breaking night as PSG shattered the previous mark of 21 group-stage goals set last year by Borussia Dortmund.

Unai Emery’s team have now scored 24 times in five matches and conceded just once, although they must avoid a heavy reverse at Bayern Munich next month to ensure they finish top of Group B.

Robert Lewandowski and Corentin Tolisso scored in Brussels as Bayern overcame Anderlecht 2-1 to retain their 100 percent record since 72-year-old Jupp Heynckes returned for a fourth spell at the club.

 

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