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Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Besiktas advance to Round of 16, Spartak held by Maribor

Sportsnet.ca
Besiktas advance to Round of 16, Spartak held by Maribor
Besiktas advance to Round of 16, Spartak held by Maribor

Besiktas 1 Porto 1

ISTANBUL — Besiktas came from behind to clinch a place in the Champions League last 16 by drawing with visiting Porto 1-1 on Tuesday.

Porto defender Felipe stunned the boisterous home fans when he scored inside the first half hour, but his Brazilian compatriot Talisca equalized before the break when Cenk Tosun lifted the ball over Felipe and eluded three defenders to set him up for an easy finish.

Ryan Babel went closest earlier on for Besiktas, forcing a save from Jose Sa, who was still preferred to Iker Casillas in the Porto goal. Babel also hit the crossbar in the second half as the home side pushed harder for the winner.

Besiktas won 3-1 in the reverse fixture in Portugal on Sept. 13.

The point is enough for the Istanbul-based side to top Group G, four points more than Porto with one round of group games remaining.

Contesting Porto for second place in the group, Monaco was hosting German debutant Leipzig later Tuesday.

Spartak Moscow 1 Maribor 1

MOSCOW — Spartak Moscow was held by Maribor to 1-1, missing a chance to put pressure on Liverpool and Sevilla in Champions League Group E on Tuesday.

The Russian champion kept Maribor under heavy pressure, but couldn’t find a goal until the 82nd minute when Ze Luis scored from close range.

Maribor hit back in stoppage time when substitute Jasmin Mesanovic prodded the ball into an unguarded net off a cross from Marcos Tavares as Spartak’s defence seemed rooted to the spot.

The result kept Spartak third in Group E, behind Liverpool and Sevilla, who played in Spain later Tuesday.

Fourth-placed Maribor needed a win to keep alive its faint hope of qualifying.

Spartak has shown flashes of brilliance during its first Champions League campaign in five years — notably demolishing Sevilla 5-1 in Moscow — but looks set for the Europa League after giving up late equalizers in both of its games against Slovenian outsider Maribor.

Spartak had plenty of missed chances, with Ze Luis, Fernando, and Luis Adriano all going close.

Maribor could have taken the lead early in the second half when Marko Suler hit the post on a rare attack for the Slovenian side.

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