LONDON: Manchester City are on the brink of a humiliating Champions League exit after a stunning loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, and Real Madrid are no longer at risk after routing Salzburg.

Man City blew a two-goal lead in a high-stakes clash of super-wealthy underachievers that PSG won 4-2 in Paris yet still could be eliminated alongside the English champions after the final round of games next week.

Only the top 24 in the 36-team standings will advance and Man City, the 2023 champion, will kick off in 25th place but will squeeze into the knockout playoffs round by beating Club Brugge.

“We will do everything there and if we don’t do it we don’t deserve it,” manager Pep Guardiola said of the game in Manchester in one week’s time. Brugge needs just a draw to advance.

PSG rose to 22nd place to set up another tense challenge, at 24th-place Stuttgart which likely needs to win.

Early in the second half in Paris, it was Man City looking set to send PSG close to elimination by taking a two-goal lead. Jack Grealish, a halftime substitute, scored in the 50th minute then his pass across the goalmouth was deflected toward Erling Haaland for a second four minutes later.

Within six remarkable minutes PSG were level, from goals by Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola, and a stunning turnaround was completed in the 78th when Joao Neves headed the decisive goal. Gonçalo Ramos added a fourth in stoppage time.

Madrid advance to knockout phase

After winning a record 15th European title last season, then signing France star Kylian Mbappe in the offseason, it probably should not have been such a drama for Real Madrid to reach the knockout stages in the new Champions League format.

But three losses in six games — to Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool — left Madrid in 22nd place at kickoff Wednesday, before swatting aside Salzburg 5-1 to rise into 16th.

Brazil stars Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior each scored twice, either side of a goal for Kylian Mbappé, in a mismatch ahead of the teams meeting again in the FIFA Club World Cup, in Philadelphia on June 26.

Arsenal, Inter and Milan secure wins

Arsenal and Inter got expected wins to rise to third and fourth, respectively, though not sure yet to join Liverpool and Barcelona among the top-eight teams advancing direct to the round of 16.

Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 and Inter won 1-0 at Sparta Prague that lifted both to 16 points, three clear of ninth-place Aston Villa.

AC Milan quietly went about its business rising to sixth place with a 1-0 win against Girona at San Siro, on a powerful strike in the first half by Rafael Leão.

Bayern slump , risk tough path ahead

Bayern Munich fell to a 3-0 defeat at Feyenoord and dropped to 15th in the mid-table morass of storied clubs — currently including Madrid and Juventus — who risk facing each other in the knockout playoff rounds in February.

The teams that finish Nos. 15-18 in the standings next week will be drawn against each other in the playoffs — for the right to face Liverpool and, likely, Barcelona in the round of 16.

Bayern are fortunate to have one of the easier-seeming final games, at home to Slovan Bratislava, which have lost seven straight.

Celtic secured their place in the knockout rounds by winning 1-0 against last-place Young Boys, the other team to lose seven times.

Leipzig ended their six-game losing run with a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon, though the champion of Portugal still is favored to advance. Shakhtar Donetsk stayed in contention — just — with a 2-0 win against Brest, who will be in the knockout phase.

Final round

All 36 teams will be in action at the same time next Wednesday in 18 games kicking off at the same time — 9 p.m. Central European Time (2000 GMT).

The top eight in the final standings get a break until March, waiting for the round of 16. Teams that finish from ninth to 24th enter the knockout playoffs. Those two-leg pairings are drawn Jan. 31 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

MELBOURNE: Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are clear favorites to win their respective semifinals on Thursday and set up a blockbuster Australian Open title decider.

The men’s finalists at Melbourne Park will be decided on Friday, leaving the women in the spotlight in a night-time double-header at Rod Laver Arena.

First up at 7:30 p.m. (0830 GMT) will be the world No. 1 and defending champion Sabalenka against Spain’s 11th seed Paula Badosa, followed on to the center court by five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek against Madison Keys.

Sabalenka can become the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1999 to win the Australian Open three years in a row.

If she does, she will join a select group of five women who have completed the Melbourne three-peat. The others are Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.

“I’m really happy that I put myself in this situation where I have the opportunity to become one of them,” said the 26-year-old Belarusian.

“To be next to those names, wow, that’s just a dream.”

Badosa stunned world No. 3 Coco Gauff in straight sets to reach her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the age of 27.

“She’s a great player and she has been through a lot. Now she’s back on her best game. I’m really happy to see that,” said Sabalenka.

The Spaniard almost quit tennis last year because of a chronic back condition and she plunged outside the top 100.

“A year ago I didn’t know if I had to retire from this sport,” said Badosa, who reached a career-high two in the world in 2022.

She is projected to get back in the top 10 after Melbourne.

Poland’s Swiatek has been the dominant force in the women’s draw so far, matching her previous best Australian Open run from 2022, when she lost to Danielle Collins in the last four.

The world No. 2 has dropped only 14 games so far in her five matches — seven of those in her first-round clash.

She has exuded an air of calmness and confidence as she aims not only to win a maiden Australian Open title but also retake the number one ranking from Sabalenka.

If the Belarusian fails to make the final, Swiatek will again rise to the top.

Should Swiatek and Sabalenka meet in the final, the winner would leave Australia with the No. 1 ranking.

Swiatek must first get past 19th seed Keys.

The American is into the Melbourne semifinals for the third time, 10 years after her first, and on a career-best 10-match win streak after clinching the Adelaide title this month.

“Madison is a great player and experienced so you never know,” Swiatek said.

“It will be tricky, I will just be focused on myself. She has already played a good tournament here and we are well aware of how she can play.”

The 29-year-old Keys says she is a “smarter” player than the one who lost the semifinal in 2015 to eventual champion Serena Williams.

She added: “Probably a little bit less fearless though, but to be here 10 years later in the semifinals again, I’m really proud of myself.”