UCL: Palmer and Pedro knock out Napoli & send Chelsea top 8; City past Galata for the final spot

It was a hugely thrilling night in the Champions League, with everything on the line. From the matches we followed, Chelsea showed they are in fine form, delivering a statement win in Naples by stunning Antonio Conte’s side, knocking them out of the Champions League and climbing to sixth place.

On the other hand, Manchester City had a more straightforward task and proved it by beating Galatasaray, but they still had to wait on other results to secure direct qualification — which they eventually did. A key role in that was played by Benfica, who defeated Real Madrid in a rare and eye-catching encounter, which you can also read about on our portal.

In Italy, the hosts threatened early on, creating a huge chance in the 7th minute when Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez nearly made a costly mistake. Attempting to clear his lines, he struck the ball straight into Scott McTominay’s face, with the ricochet narrowly missing the target.

Chelsea responded four minutes later through a set piece, as a quickly taken corner found Andrey Santos, whose header lacked power and was comfortably gathered by Alex Meret.

The opening goal arrived in the 17th minute, and it went Chelsea’s way. Reece James’ free-kick from around 20 yards struck Juan Jesus’ arm inside the wall, leaving referee Clement Turpin with little choice but to point to the spot. Enzo Fernandez took his time before calmly converting the penalty, drilling the ball low into the right corner to give the visitors a 1–0 lead.

Napoli immediately raised the tempo in search of an equaliser. Sustained pressure followed, and in the 23rd minute Mathias Olivera found space inside the box, shaping up for a powerful volley, only to see his effort blocked at the last moment. Chelsea remained dangerous on the break, and in the 27th minute Pedro Neto burst down the right flank before being closed down. The loose ball fell to Joao Pedro, who attempted an acrobatic overhead kick, but his effort drifted wide.

The stadium erupted in the 33rd minute as Napoli drew level in spectacular fashion. Local talent Vergara produced a moment of brilliance, driving through the Chelsea defence, turning the centre-backs with ease and finishing confidently past Sanchez to make it 1–1 — his first-ever Champions League goal at just 23 years of age.

Napoli completed the turnaround shortly before the interval. In the 43rd minute, Olivera once again caused problems down the left, cutting the ball back into the penalty area where Rasmus Hojlund was perfectly positioned to side-foot home from close range and put the hosts 2–1 up.

Chelsea almost had the final say before half-time when Joao Pedro found himself unmarked inside the six-yard box in the 45th minute, but his header sailed over the bar, allowing Napoli to take a narrow lead into the break.

Chelsea completed a dramatic turnaround in the second half, overturning Napoli’s lead with a composed and clinical display after the break.

The opening stages of the half passed with little incident, as both sides struggled to create clear chances and the tempo dipped compared to an explosive first period. However, the deadlock was broken in the 61st minute through a moment of pure quality from Chelsea.

Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro combined brilliantly on the edge of the box, with the Brazilian forward showcasing exquisite close control to glide past his marker before unleashing a stunning strike from around 20 yards. The ball flew into the top corner, leaving Alex Meret helpless and levelling the score at 2–2 in Naples.

As Napoli pushed forward in search of a response, spaces began to open up, and Chelsea took full advantage late on. In the 82nd minute, the visitors struck again on the counter-attack, with Palmer once more pulling the strings. The midfielder threaded a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Joao Pedro, who kept his composure and finished confidently past Meret to complete the comeback.

The goal not only sealed a 3–2 victory for Chelsea but also sent them into the Champions League top eight, with Joao Pedro emerging as the decisive figure after scoring twice in a dominant second-half performance.

Manchester City - Galatasaray 2-0 (2-0)

Manchester City took firm control in the first half against Galatasaray, heading into the break with a comfortable advantage after an action-packed opening 45 minutes played in a hostile atmosphere.

The game burst into life early, with City going close in the 4th minute. Ait-Nouri provided excellent width and whipped in a perfect cross, finding Erling Haaland arriving with power from around 10 yards. However, the Norwegian’s header drifted wide, extending his brief goal drought and missing a chance he would usually convert. All the while, Galatasaray’s supporters created a ferocious backdrop, generating an intimidating and passionate atmosphere that at times drowned out the away end.

City quickly settled and made their pressure count in the 10th minute. Jeremy Doku produced a sublime through ball to release Haaland behind the defence. Bearing down on goal, the striker showed ice-cold composure, clipping a classy finish past the goalkeeper to make it 1–0 and register his seventh goal of the season.

The Premier League champions continued to dominate possession and chances. In the 24th minute, O’Reilly tested Cekir with a fierce strike from 22 yards that looked destined for the corner, only for the Galatasaray keeper to produce a strong save and tip the ball over the bar.

The hosts responded immediately with a warning of their own, as Victor Osimhen broke free down the channel a minute later. The striker fired in a powerful effort from a tight angle, but Gianluigi Donnarumma was well positioned to keep City in front.

City doubled their lead in the 29th minute, once again through Doku’s influence. The winger stretched the defence before slipping a precise pass into the box for Cherki, who kept his composure and guided a low finish into the corner to put City firmly in control at 2–0.

Galatasaray nearly pulled one back in the 39th minute after a City corner was cleared, sparking a dangerous two-on-one counter-attack. Osimhen looked set to race through on goal, but Matheus Nunes showed remarkable recovery pace to track back and execute a perfectly timed challenge to halt the threat.

City could have extended their lead before half-time. In the 43rd minute, Ait-Nouri again found space down the left and cut the ball back for Phil Foden, who was well placed 15 yards out. Surprisingly, the midfielder blazed his effort over the crossbar, leaving Guardiola’s side with just the two-goal cushion at the interval.

Galatasaray showed more intent after the restart and nearly pulled one back in the 55th minute. Poor marking from City at a corner allowed Victor Osimhen to find space around 12 yards out, but although the striker made clean contact, his effort was directed straight at Gianluigi Donnarumma, who saved comfortably.

City had a golden opportunity to put the game to bed in the 62nd minute. Breaking forward in numbers during a four-on-four situation, the ball eventually fell to Omar Marmoush inside the box. From close range, however, his effort was denied by a sharp block from goalkeeper Cakir.

Just two minutes later, City went close again as Cherki and Ait-Nouri combined superbly down the left. The full-back worked himself into a tight shooting angle near the by-line, only to see his goal-bound strike blocked at the last second.

Galatasaray continued to threaten on the counter and came agonisingly close in the 74th minute. A swift move down the left resulted in an inviting cross toward Osimhen, but Nathan Ake slid in to intercept, diverting the ball toward his own goal where it trickled just wide of the post.

Haaland almost added his name to the scoresheet late on. In the 79th minute, Ait-Nouri and Phil Foden linked up neatly before Foden delivered toward the back post. Haaland slid in, but the cross had slightly too much on it and slipped past him.

City kept probing until the final moments, and in the 89th minute Ait-Nouri once again burst into the box with Foden waiting for a simple finish, only for Galatasaray to cut out the decisive pass.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 8

Wednesday

Ajax - Olympiacos 1-2 (0-0)

/Dolberg 69 pen - Martins 52, Hezze 79/

Arsenal - Kairat Almaty 3-2 (3-1)

/Gyokeres 2, Havertz 15, Martinelli 36 - Jorginho 7 pen, Ricardinho 90+4/

Athletic Bilbao - Sporting Lisbon 2-3 (2-1)

/Sancet 3, Guruzeta 28 - Diomande 12, Trincao 62, Santos 90+4/

Atletico Madrid - Bodo/Glimt 1-2 (1-1)

/Sorloth 15 - Sjovold 34, Hogh 59/

Barcelona - Copenhagen 4-1 (0-1)

/Lewandowski 48, Yamal 60, Raphinha 69 pen, Rashford 85 - Dadason 4/

Benfica - Real Madrid 4-2 (2-1)

/Schjelderup 36, 54 Pavlidis 45+5 pen, Trubin 90+8 - Mbappe 30, 58/

Cub Brugge - Olympique Marseille 3-0 (2-0)

/Diakhon 4, Vermant 11, Stankovic 79/

Borussia Dortmund - Inter Milan 0-2 (0-0)

/Dimarco 80, Diouf 90+4/

Eintracht Frankfurt - Tottenham 0-2 (0-0)

/Kolo Muani 47, Solanke 77/

Bayer Leverkusen - Villareal 3-0 (2-0)

/Tillman 12, 35, Grimaldo 57/

Liverpool - Qarabag 6-0 (2-0)

/Mac Allister 15, 61, Wirtz 21, Salah 50, Ekitike 57, Chiesa 90/

Manchester City - Galatasaray 2-0 (2-0)

/Haaland 10, Cherki 29/

Monaco - Juventus 0-0

Napoli - Chelsea 2-3 (2-1)

/Vergara 33, Hojlund 43 - Fernandez 19 pen, Pedro 61, 82/

PSG - Newcastle 1-1 (1-1)

/Vitinha 8 - Willock 45+2/

PSV - Bayern Munich 1-2 (0-0)

/Saibari 78 - Musiala 58, Kane 84/

Pafos - Slavia Prague 4-1 (1-1)

/Dragomir 17, Bruno 53, Silva 84, Orsic 87 - Chaloupek 44/

St. Gilloise - Atalanta 1-0 (0-0)

/Khalaili 70/