Chelsea have qualified for the Champions League knockout stage with two games to spare as Olivier Giroud’s late header secured victory at Rennes.
Substitute Giroud rose highest to head home a minute into added time to seal a place in the last 16 for the Blues.
Callum Hudson-Odoi gave Chelsea the lead in the 22nd minute but Rennes hit back with five minutes left through Sehrou Guirassy.
The home side thought a second point of the campaign had been secured but Giroud ensured the visitors claimed all three points to move to an unassailable 10 points mark in Group E.
Sevilla also scored a late goal at Krasnodar to seal qualification to the knockout round in the group’s other game.
Wanderson’s second half strike cancelled out Ivan Rakitic’s 4th minute opener for Sevilla, but Munir El Haddadi scored in the fifth minute of added time to secure the victory for the visitors.
Chelsea and Sevilla are both on 10 points but the Blues have a superior goals difference. Krasnodar are level on one point with Rennes but are ahead of the French side on goals difference.
Elsewhere, Barcelona temporarily put their poor start to the domestic season behind them as they clinched a place in the last 16 with four second half goals against Dynamo Kiev despite talisman Lionel Messi being left out of the trip to Ukraine.
After a poor start, Barca got going after the interval to easily beat the Ukrainians with a goal from Sergino Dest, a double from Martin Braithwaite and a late strike from substitute Antoine Griezmann in a 4-0 victory.
The Catalans will be joined in the last 16 by Juventus who also progressed Group B after a Cristiano Ronaldo goal and a late header from substitute Alvaro Morata gave them a comeback 2-1 home win over Hungarians Ferencvaros.
With two games remaining, the result left Juve second in Group G on nine points from four matches, three behind leaders Barcelona while Ferencvaros and Dynamo are level on one point and will vie for the consolation prize of joining the Europa League round of 32 after the winter break.
A double from Bruno Fernandes helped Manchester United to a 4-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir at Old Trafford keeping them top of Group H.
After losing away to the Turkish side in the previous round of fixtures, the victory keeps United, with nine points from four games, on track to progress to the knockout stage, which they can reach with a win at home to Paris St Germain next week.
Fernandes blasted United into a seventh-minute lead in spectacular fashion when a corner from Alex Telles was half-cleared to him on the edge of the area and his first-time drive whistled past Mert Gunok in the Basaksehir goal.
He doubled the home side’s lead minutes later, tapping home after Gunok fumbled another Telles cross before Marcus Rashford made it 3-0 from the spot with Fernandes giving up a chance to bag a first hat-trick for United.
The Turkish side pulled a goal back in the 75th minute with a well-struck, left-footed free kick from Deniz Turuc which David De Gea did well to reach – but from behind the goal-line.
Basaksehir suddenly had some belief and United had a scare when Edin Visca struck the bar from distance, but the game was put beyond doubt in stoppage time from a counter-attack, when Greenwood slipped the ball across to Dan James to slot home.
PSG, who beat RB Leipzig 1-0 at the Parc des Princes courtesy of a first half Neymar penalty, are second, level on six points with German side, while Basaksehir have three.
Fresh from bagging four goals at the weekend, Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland scored twice as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Club Brugge on Tuesday to top Group F and take a big step towards securing their knockout-stage spot with two games remaining.
The Norwegian has now netted 16 times in his 12 Champions League games, more than anyone in the competition’s history for that number of matches.
Dortmund, who next play Lazio, are on nine points from four games with the Italians on eight and Brugge in third on four. Zenit St Petersburg are in last place.
Lazio remain unbeaten in Group F after a Ciro Immobile double and 35-year-old Marco Parolo’s first-ever Champions League helped them see off Zenit St Petersburg 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico.
The win took Lazio, who are in the group stage for the first time since 2007-08, within touching distance of the last 16.
