26°C
Monaco's Wilfried Singo, right, celebrates after scoring during a Champions League opening phase football match against Aston Villa at the Louis II stadium in Monaco, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani).
Aston Villa’s hopes of automatic qualification for the Champions League round of 16 took a blow after a 1-0 loss to Monaco on Tuesday, while Atalanta won big to keep up their strong campaign.
Villa led the standings early in the league phase of the competition after winning their first three games. But defeat to Monaco left the Premier League club in danger of dropping out of the top eight.
Teams finishing between ninth and 24th in the 36-team table face a playoff, with the winners advancing to the round of 16.
Wilfried Singo’s goal at a corner in the eighth minute was enough to secure the win for ninth-place Monaco.
Atalanta beat Austria's Sturm Graz 5-0, strengthening the Italian club's push to qualify directly for the round of 16.
Mateo Retegui gave Atalanta an early lead with his third Champions League goal of the season, before Mario Pasalic and Charles de Ketelaere extended Atalanta's lead midway through the second half. Ademola Lookman and Marco Brescianini scored late on.
Standings leader Liverpool host Lille later Tuesday and Barcelona visit Benfica.
Europa League
In the only Europa League game of the night, Galatasaray missed a chance to go third in the table, giving up a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with last-place Dynamo Kyiv.
