Rodrigo and Vinicius Jr both scored twice as Real Madrid crushed Salzburg 5-1 to ease any lingering fears of elimination from the Champions League.

The defending champions lost three of their first six games in the revamped competition and started the night in 22nd place. But they flexed their muscles emphatically with two first-half goals from Rodrigo, both assisted by Jude Bellingham, settling their nerves.

Kylian Mbappe added a third three minutes into the second half and two goals from Vinicius Junior put Madrid in full control before Mads Bidstrup grabbed a late consolation.

Man City slipped into the Champions League elimination zone after losing to PSG 📉 pic.twitter.com/sgLURkV5rB

– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 22, 2025

There were similar levels of relief in Paris as PSG staged a stunning comeback to beat Manchester City and put themselves back in the playoff spots.

The hosts were 2-0 down thanks to goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland but Ousmane Dembele inspired a turnaround.

The former Barcelona winger reduced the arrears and then Bradley Barcola scored all four goals in 10 frantic minutes to make it 2-2.

PSG weren’t done though and Gonzalo Ramos made it 4-2 with the last kick of the game before Joao Neves put them ahead.

PSG have moved up to 22nd but City must now beat Club Brugge at the Etihad next week to stand any chance of finishing in the top 24.

Bayern faced in Rotterdam

Bayern Munich are likely to have to settle for the playoffs after a shock 3-0 defeat at Feyenoord.

Santiago Jimenez scored twice, the second from the penalty spot, and Ayase Ueda scored a late third for the Rotterdammers.

Celtic also ran out winners at home after Loris Benito’s late own goal earned the Glasgow side a 1-0 win over Young Boys.

Brendan Rodgers’ men dominated but it looked like it might not be their night when Marvin Keller saved Arne Engels’ penalty. However, Benito’s late mistake means Celtic are guaranteed a place in the play-offs despite the sending off of Daizen Maeda.

The big guns are virtually guaranteed top-eight spots

Arsenal and Inter are safe to finish in the top eight after wins tonight.

Lautaro Martinez’s goal was enough to earn Inter victory over Sparta Prague while Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard were on target for Arsenal as they beat Dinamo Zagreb.

AC Milan are also sixth after a 1-0 win over Girona courtesy of a superb goal from Rafael Leo.

Benjamin Cesko was on target as RB Leipzig earned their first win with a 2-1 defeat of Sporting CP while a 2-0 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk ended Brest’s hopes of a top-eight finish.