Champions League: Shakhtar Donetsk achieve victory to leave Real Madrid on the brink; Liverpool advance

Shakhtar’s Dentinho celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal against Real Madrid. AP

Paris: Curtis Jones sent a depleted Liverpool to the Champions League knockout round on Tuesday, while Zinedine Zidane dismissed suggestions that he could walk away from Real Madrid after another Shakhtar Donetsk defeat left his European hopes in the balance.

Liverpool did not have a host of key players for Ajax’s visit to Anfield in Group D, with 22-year-old Irishman Caoimhin Kelleher starting in goal in the absence of Alisson.

Teenager Jones scored the only goal just before the hour, pocketing the ball after Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana thought he could afford to let a Neco Williams cross over his head.

The result was vital for the Premier League champions after their home loss to Atalanta a week ago, and allowed them to secure a place in the knockout phase.

“Honestly, since I’ve been in Liverpool, it feels like one of the most important nights in the Champions League. Without fans, it was the most important, the most difficult, the most exceptional,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. BT sport.

Liverpool’s Neco Williams celebrates with teammate Curtis Jones. AP

They will pass as group winners after Atalanta came back to draw 1-1 at home to Midtjylland, Cristian Romero led a late draw in response to Alexander Scholz’s starter for the Danes.

Atalanta is one point ahead in second place for Ajax, and the teams will meet in Amsterdam in their final match next week.

Two-time former European champions Porto also sealed a round of 16 spot after drawing 0-0 at home to Manchester City, which had already passed and is now guaranteed to top Group C.

Porto would have qualified anyway, as Olympiakos lost 2-1 to Marseille in France, with Dimitri Payet scoring two second-half penalties to turn the game around after Mohamed Mady Camara sacked the Greeks ahead.

The result ends Marseille’s record streak in the Champions League of 13 consecutive defeats and means they could still surpass Olympiakos to third place and the consolation of a Europa League spot.

Lukaku double, Athletic held

Real Madrid could still face a similar fate after losing 2-0 to Shakhtar in Kiev, their second loss this season to the Ukrainians.

Substitutes Dentinho and Manor Solomon scored second-half goals in Kiev and Shakhtar again surprised the 13-time European champions after winning 3-2 in Madrid in October.

Shakhtar had lost their last two Group B games to Borussia Moenchengladbach by a 10-0 aggregate score, but now overtake Real in second place with one match remaining.

Gladbach is up by one point, while Shakhtar has the advantage over Real thanks to his superior head-to-head record.

However, the damage was limited for Real after Inter Milan beat Gladbach 3-2 to keep their hopes alive.

Matteo Darmian put Inter ahead and Romelu Lukaku scored twice for Antonio Conte’s team. Alassane Plea scored a double for Gladbach, but was denied a hat-trick and a late draw due to an offside call.

It means Inter are last in the group, but could still qualify, while Real will definitely qualify as long as they beat Gladbach at home.

Madrid have dropped out of their group every year since 1997, so failure to qualify would be seen as a disaster, but Zidane is not considering resigning.

“I am not going to resign, not at all. We are always going to have difficult moments, and we are in a bad streak, but we have to continue,” said the Frenchman.

Real Madrid’s city rival Atlético de Madrid will also have it all to do in their final group stage game after drawing 1-1 at home to a weakened Bayern Munich.

Joao Félix gave Atlético the lead against a Bayern who had already won Group A. Thomas Mueller won and then converted a late penalty to bring the defending champions to level.

Salzburg can snatch a round of 16 spot from them if they beat Atlético at home next week, after the Austrians won 3-1 away from Lokomotiv Moscow.

Mergim Berisha scored twice in the first half for Salzburg, and Karim Adeyemi scored his third goal after Anton Miranchuk converted a penalty for the team on the train.