Rodrigo scored the winner as Valencia beat Ajax 1-0 away Tuesday to advance in the Champions League while knocking out last season’s semi-finalists.
The Spanish forward scored against the run of play in the 24th minute when Ferran Torres played the ball in for him to rifle into the roof of the net.
Valencia defender Gabriel Paulista was sent off in injury time for reacting angrily to provocation from Dusan Tadic with a push and a slight headbutt.
They join Chelsea, who beat Lille 2-1 to finish second.
Dortmund through, Fati makes history for Barca
Inter Milan crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday after 17-year-old Ansu Fati became the youngest scorer in the competition’s history by firing in a late winner to give Barcelona a 2-1 victory at the San Siro.
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde rested Lionel Messi and several other key players for the trip to Milan, having already secured top spot in Group F, but Carles Perez put the Spaniards in front on his Champions League debut after just 23 minutes before Romelu Lukaku’s strike levelled the scores on the stroke of halftime.
Inter striker Lautaro Martinez had the ball in the net twice after the break, only for both goals to be correctly disallowed for offside, before Fati smashed in a sublime finish inside the final five minutes.
The Italian side needed to at least match Borussia Dortmund’s result against Slavia Prague to maintain second place, but the Germans won 2-1 to move into the runner-up spot and consign Inter to a Europa League place.
Napoli join Liverpool in last 16
Napoli ended a nine-match winless run in all competitions to reach the last sixteen after a first-half hat-trick from Arkadiusz Milik inspired a 4-0 win over Genk.
But it wasn’t enough to save Carlo Ancelotti’s job; the Italian was sacked just after the game amid links with managerless Everton.
Genk’s Maarten Vandevoordt, who at 17 years and 287 days became the youngest goalkeeper to play in the Champions League, had a nightmare start as he gave the ball away under pressure, allowing Milik to score in the third minute.
The Pole fired the second in the 26th minute and converted a penalty in the 38th before Dries Mertens, on his 300th appearance for Napoli, completed the scoring with another penalty 15 minutes from time.
The result means Napoli finish runners-up in Group E with 12 points, one behind Liverpool, while Genk finished bottom of the group with one point. Red Bull Salzburg’s campaign ended with a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, meaning they finish third to qualify for the last 32 of the Europa League.
Lyon pip Benfica to second
Elsewhere, Lyon had to come from behind against group-winners Leipzig to earn the point they needed to progress.
Dutch striker Memphis Depay found the back of the net eight minutes from full-time after Houssem Aouar’s superb second-half goal had reduced the deficit. The Ligue 1 conceded two first-half penalties in a catastrophic start at the Groupama Stadium.
It was a bad night for Zenit St Petersburg, who were heading for the last-16 of the Champions League until Lyon scored their equaliser in the last ten minutes.
