With just one matchday remaining in Champions League group stage play, nine of the 16 knockout stage spots are now filled on the heels of Wednesday’s frenetic goal-friendly slate of matches.

Here’s a baker’s dozen of compelling numbers from a matchday that featured a total of 52 goals, with just Juventus and Barcelona playing to a scoreless stalemate:

3: Tottenham’s Harry Kane is just the third player to score eight goals in his first eight Champions League appearances, alongside Diego Costa and Didier Drogba.

4: Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas became the fourth Spaniard to notch 20 or more Champions League goals, joining Raul (71), Fernando Morientes (33), and Fernando Torres (20).

6: Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema is now the sixth player to score 40 Champions League goals in one club, alongside Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul, Alessandro Del Piero, and Thomas Muller.

7: Manchester United’s ponytailed purveyor of massive goals, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, became the first player to make a Champions League appearance for seven different clubs.

8: Eden Hazard now has eight Champions League goals after the opener Wednesday versus Qarabag, which is tops all time among Belgians in the competition.

14: Chelsea has now made the knockout stage 14 times in 15 tries, only failing to advance during the 2012-13 installment when the club would go on to win the Europa League.

18: Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a record 18 Champions League goals in the calendar year.

21: Real Madrid progressed to the knockout stage for a record 21st consecutive time.

43: CSKA Moscow shot-stopper Igor Akinfeev went 43 Champions League matches proper (November 2006 vs. Arsenal) without keeping a clean sheet prior to Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Benfica.

50: Real Madrid has now scored 50 away goals in the Champions League, a record that narrowly bests the 49 from rival Barcelona – which went scoreless in Wednesday’s visit to Juventus.

120: Lionel Messi’s substitute appearance Wednesday against Juventus was his 120th overall in the competition, level with Brazilian Roberto Carlos for most ever by a South American player.

126: Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has now made 126 Champions League appearances, surpassing Clarence Seedorf for sixth all time (Iker Casillas, 166; Xavi, 151; Cristiano Ronaldo, 145; Raul, 142; Ryan Giggs, 141).

361: Paris Saint-Germain had gone 361 minutes without conceding in the group stage before Moussa Dembele’s goal for Celtic on Wednesday found the back of the French club’s net.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.

Cooper suffered a concussion and sprained left ankle after being hit by Denver safety Darian Stewart in the first half of last week’s 21-14 win over the Broncos. Cooper had to be helped off the field and he limped out of the Raiders locker room after the game. He was eventually put into the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Oakland coach Jack Del Rio declined to say whether Cooper was still in the concussion protocol or if it was the sprained ankle that is the bigger issue. Cooper walked through the locker room Friday without a limp or his walking boot and was in good spirits but did not speak to reporters.

While the Raiders offense will be without one of its key players, the defensive secondary is hopeful of getting starting cornerback David Amerson back.

theScore looks at the best outings from the Champions League’s penultimate matchday.

Wissam Ben Yedder – Sevilla

Wissam Ben Yedder was Sevilla’s saviour in a match that Liverpool looked destined to win after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first half. The French forward, who struggled to make an impact in the opening 45 minutes, got the comeback bid started with a goal just six minutes into the second frame.

Less than 10 minutes later, Ben Yedder cut the deficit to one with his strike from the penalty spot. Sevilla eventually completed the comeback with a dramatic injury-time equaliser.

Lorenzo Insigne – Napoli

After playing an instrumental role in Napoli’s victory over AC Milan over the weekend, Lorenzo Insigne maintained his superb form against a Shakhtar Donetsk side that struggled to contain the Italian.

The first 45 minutes didn’t produce much to get excited about, but that quickly changed in the second half when Insigne pirouetted around a trio of defenders before unleashing an unstoppable strike into the top corner from 25 yards out.

Timo Werner – RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig’s first taste of Champions League football has been a mixed bag through five matches. But, thanks to Timo Werner, the Bundesliga side will enter the final matchday with a chance to progress after Tuesday’s decisive victory over AS Monaco, which also ended the French team’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage a year after progressing to the semi-finals.

Werner became the team’s leading scorer in the tournament after his brace early on in the first half. With the result in the bag, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl removed the young forward from the match early as RB Leipzig cruised to a 4-1 win. Leipzig will play group leaders Besiktas on the final matchday, while hoping Monaco can get a result against FC Porto, who leads the German side on goal differential.

Neymar – Paris Saint-Germain

For a period in the first half, it looked as though Neymar was toying with Celtic players following a series of dazzling dribbles and passes that seemed to bewilder the Scottish side.

Celtic grabbed a first-minute lead on Paris Saint-Germain, but it was never expected to last. Neymar made sure of that when he surged into the Celtic box and uncorked a left-footed shot into the far corner of goal. Minutes later, he completed a clever give-and-go to free himself up and once again rifle a left-footed strike into the same spot to give PSG its first lead en route to a 7-1 demolition.

Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid

Elimination beckoned for an Atletico Madrid outfit without a win after four matches in Group C. That all changed Wednesday at the Wanda Metropolitano, courtesy of Antoine Griezmann’s stunning strike to put Atletico up on AS Roma.

Atletico was just over 20 minutes away from bowing out the competition with a match to spare until the French star got on the end of Angel Correa’s cross and produced an incredible overhead kick that just about pierced the back of the net.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady expressed sympathy for New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning being removed from his starting spot as part of the team’s plan to evaluate other options.

“I have nothing but the most respect for him and everything he’s achieved and accomplished in his career,” Brady said in an interview with Westwood One Radio that will air before Thursday night’s game between the Cowboys and Redskins.

“Obviously, being on the other side of two of those Super Bowl losses to an Eli Manning-led team, I just have so much respect for his dependability, for his consistency, for his toughness. You know that’s really everything you want in an NFL player, and I think Eli has always provided that for the team. So I think it’s a pretty unfortunate situation.”

Asked how players across the NFL react when they hear news like this about Manning, Brady told host Jim Gray: “I think there’s always these types of situations. As a fan growing up, I mean, to see Joe Montana playing in another uniform, and again, to see Jerry Rice or Ronnie Lott [in another uniform], you know guys that I really looked up to and admired, there’s not many happy endings in sports, and you know that’s just the way it is.

“You always wish for everything to go like a fairy tale, but it doesn’t. Michael Jordan played for the Washington Wizards. I mean, who would have ever believed that? And that’s just pro sports.

The Giants (2-9) gave Manning the option to start the first half of their remaining games in order to keep his consecutive-games streak alive, but the QB didn’t want to go that route, in part because of the belief it would tarnish his 210-game streak.

In the interview with Westwood One, Brady was read a list of some of the quarterbacks now starting in the NFL and was asked if the league has a problem at the position.

“That’s a great question, and I would say not many people really knew who I was either when I started. A lot of these young players are trying to develop and grow. They may not be household names like myself or Aaron Rodgers or [Drew] Brees, but we’ve been around for a long time. So it takes time to develop at this position. I certainly wasn’t the player 17 years ago that I am today, but it’s taken a lot of practices and a lot of reps in order to develop. And that’s usually what it takes most quarterbacks: many years to master their craft.”