Real Madrid progress, Sevilla crash out of Champions League

Madrid, Nov 4: There were mixed fortunes for Spanish sides in the Champions League as Real Madrid rode their luck to beat Paris Saint Germain 1-0 to seal their place in the knockout phase while Sevilla's 1-3 defeat at home against Manchester City ended their participation in the competition.

Real Madrid were able to welcome Keylor Navas back in goal while James Rodriguez was on the bench after finally recovering from his thigh injury on Tuesday, reports Xinhua.

However, it was PSG who looked sharpest in the opening minutes as Real Madrid were slow off the mark, before both sides suffered injury setbacks with Real Madrid midfielder Isco needing treatment after a clash of heads and PSG's Marco Veratti suffering a twisted ankle.

However, while Isco was able to continue, Veratti had to leave the pitch to be replaced by Adrien Raibot.

The French side dominated the first half, while Real Madrid suffered a setback when Marcelo was forced off after half hour to be replaced by Nacho Fernandez, whose first touch saw him open the scoring as he sidefooted the ball into an empty net after Tony Kroos' deflected shot fooled PSG keeper Kevin Trapp.

Esteban Cavanni hit the post as the French side looked to bounce right back and he could have scored again as a Maxwell cross evaded everyone in the Madrid six yard box.

The second half action was similar, although some poor final passes saw PSG fail to turn their possession into clear cut chances against a defensive-minded Madrid.

Former Real Madrid winger, Angel Di Maria hit the post twice with a corner and a free kick, but this Tuesday luck was on Real Madrid's side.

In the other game played in Spain, English Premier League leaders Manchester City raced into a 2-0 lead away to Sevilla with goals from Raheem Sterling, who scored from a tight angle, and Fernandinho who followed in after Wilfred Bony had a shot partially saved.

Benoit Tremoulinas got Sevilla back into things with a close range header after 25 minutes, but former Sevilla winger, Jesus Navas' mazy run nine minutes from the break allowed Bony to put City 3-1 ahead.