PARIS — Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe both scored twice, with Neymar also on target, as the French club’s fearsome attack tore apart Maccabi Haifa in a 7-2 win to send them into the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.

The irrepressible trio were simply too much for Maccabi to handle although the Israeli side showed plenty of spirit in the Group H clash, with Abdoulaye Seck scoring twice.

PSG’s romp means with one game remaining against already-eliminated Juventus they top the standings on goal difference from Benfica with 11 points.

Despite their heavy defeat, Maccabi remain level on three points with Juve and will go into their last game at home against Benfica still hopeful of sealing a Europa League spot.

Christophe Galtier’s side took a while to find their attacking rhythm but once they clicked they were devastating as they threatened to surpass their 7-1 rout of Celtic in 2017.

“The 4-3-3 system meant the front three could be a little higher up the pitch and they had a little more freedom in their movements thanks to the work of the midfield,” Mr. Galtier said. “It’s a privilege to have those players and to see them play like that, for each other”.

Mr. Messi started things off in the 19^th minute with a sumptuous opening goal scored with the outside of his left foot after being played in by Mr. Mbappe on the left side of the area.

Mr. Mbappe’s opener was just as silky, the French forward bending a right-footer in the 32^nd minute past Maccabi goalkeeper Joshua Cohen who could not be faulted for any of PSG’s goals.

It began to turn ugly for Maccabi three minutes later when Mr. Mbappe and Mr. Messi combined to play in Neymar and the Brazilian’s shot went in on off the post.

PSG switched off defensively to allow an unmarked Seck to head in from Omer Atzili’s free kick but Messi then swapped passes with Neymar before dropping his shoulder and belting a left-footed shot low into the corner to make it 4-1 at halftime.

It took Mr. Messi’s Champions League total to 129, 12 behind the record of Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

Maccabi actually bossed the opening 10 minutes of the second half and when PSG made a hash of clearing a corner, Seck looped a header over Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net.

The visiting fans celebrated joyously but PSG then moved through the gears to run riot.

In the 64^th minute Mr. Mbappe was picked out by a diagonal pass from Achraf Hakimi and he took a deft touch before picking out the far corner. As Maccabi finally lost heart Neymar’s dribble and low cross ended with Sean Goldberg netting an own goal.

Mr. Messi, who was denied a record ninth Champions League hat-trick by the crossbar, then set up Carlos Soler to wrap up the scoring with a low shot. — Reuters

LISBON — Benfica’s Rafa Silva scored two superb goals as they edged Juventus (Juve) 4-3 in a thriller at Estadio da Luz on Tuesday to seal a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League and end the Italian club’s chances in this year’s competition.

Benfica have 11 points from five games, the same as Group H leaders Paris St Germain (PSG), while Juve’s three points leaves them to focus on winning a place in the Europe League, something they can secure on the final matchday when they host PSG.

The home side are now unbeaten in 20 games in all competitions this season and it is easy to see why as they were inventive with the ball and might have been out of sight at halftime before a late Juve rally meant a nervous finish.

As it was, it is the first time in Juve’s history they have conceded three first half goals in the Champions League and the first time since 2013-14 they have failed to get out of their group.

“It was a typical Champions League match, we knew we were playing against a great team,” Benfica goalscorer Joao Mario told Mediaset.

“Our game was beautiful until the 70^th minute, then Juve have a lot of quality and put us in difficulty.

“We know that there is a long way to go, the season has just begun. We must continue like this, keep the right mindset and always work hard.”

Teenager Antonio Silva scored his first Benfica goal to give the home side the lead after 17 minutes, but Juventus drew level when Moise Kean bundled the ball home four minutes later.

Benfica were back in front thanks to a controversial penalty that was converted by Joao Mario before Rafa Silva appeared to make the points safe with two sublime finishes, either side of the break, that perfectly illustrated his technique and guile.

But the visitors pulled a goal back late on through Arkadiusz Milik after he was set up by young English winger Samuel Iling, and the latter was key again in creating a chance for Weston McKennie to score Juve’s third.

That saw a tense finish on a night when Benfica looked as though they would humiliate their visitors but had to hold on as Rafa Silva missed out on a hat-trick by hitting the post.

“It’s really a pity and difficult to find the words,” Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli said. “There is even more regret, the last minutes (of the game) are from a team that has the balls to play. Let’s start again (in the next match) from those last minutes.

“Football is made up of episodes, the whole team made the wrong approach (in the first half), not a single player.” — Reuters