Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have reached the knockout phases of the Champions League by defeating Galatasaray and Olympiakos in their respective group clashes on Wednesday.
The Spanish giants secured a thumping 4-1 win at home to the Turkish side that put them through to the last 16 of the Champions League as Group B winners, with Gareth Bale putting the nine-time European champions ahead with a free kick in the 37th minute. Despite the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Real easily overcame a goal from Umut Bulut just a minute after Bale's goal, with Alvaro Arbeloa netting his second Champions League goal in 56 appearances six minutes after halftime, followed by Angel Di Maria and Isco's goals, which sealed a comfortable win.
Meanwhile, the French champions qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League as winners of Group C after beating the Greek side 2-1 at the Parc des Princes.
Despite a dream start from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in seven minutes, the hosts were down to ten men in the second half after the sending-off of Marco Verratti, following which Olympiakos drew level through Kostas Manolas with nine minutes remaining.
However, Edinson Cavani's 90th-minute strike handed PSG the win while Olympiakos is left to fight it out with Benfica for the second qualifying berth in the last round of games next month.
PSG was defending a record of 34 games unbeaten stretching back nearly nine months and Olympiakos had lost only once this season, the report added.
