Full Results (Quarter Finals 1st leg) Real Madrid 1—2 Bayern Sporting CP 0—1 Arsenal Barcelona 0—2 Atletico Madrid PSG 2—0 Liverpool Game of the Matchday Real Madrid 1 –2 Bayern Since the final whistle at the Bernabeu, fans have hailed this tie as a "refreshing" exception from the recent norm. In an era where modern football, particularly in England, is often criticized for being too robotic and over-coached, this match felt like a throwback to the "classic" era, defined by a relentless, end-to-end rhythm. While Bayern appeared to be in the driver's seat, the numbers suggests a much tighter contest. The Bavarians were certainly guilty of wastefulness, with Luis Diaz and Dayot Upamecano spurning massive opportunities, but Real Madrid ensured Manuel Neuer remained the busiest man on the pitch. Bayern finally broke the deadlock and silenced the Madridistas in the 41st minute via Diaz, before Harry Kane doubled the lead just seconds...
Full Results (Play-offs 2nd leg)
- Atletico Madrid 4—1 Club Brugge
- Leverkusen 0—0 Olympiacos
- Inter 1—2 Bodø/Glimt
- Newcastle 3—2 Qarabag
- Atalanta 4—1 Dortmund
- Juventus 3—2 Galatasaray
- PSG 2—2 Monaco
- Real Madrid 2—1 Benfica
Game of the Matchday
The Play-offs 2nd leg almost included one of the most unbelievable comebacks of all time. Almost. After the 5-2 humiliation in the 1st leg in Turkiye, Juventus headed into the game, trailing by 3 goals. And given the recent history of Juventus, you would have been excused to think they were just going to play for pride. Well, you can't count out a team playing for pride. Juve came out like they were possessed, with Manuel Locatelli reducing the deficit in the 37th minute. Even after Lloyd Kelly got a straight red card in the 48th minute, which he loudly called a 'disgrace' on his way off, the 10-man Bianconeri just refused to give up. Goals from Federico Gatti and Weston McKennie levelled the tie 5-5 on aggregate, sending the stadium into a frenzy. However, another goal proved too steep a mountain to climb for Juve. It took a grueling extra-time period for the dream to die as Galatasaray finally capitalized on Juve's exhausted outnumbered legs.
Biggest Surprise
Inter 1–2 Bodø/Glimt
For the fourth time running, the biggest surprise of a UCL Matchday is Bodø/Glimt. The fairytale story continued at the historical San Siro as Bodo silenced the Italians. Inter dominated the possession as expected (71%), and kept trying to put the ball in the net, while Bodo absorbed the pressure. In the 2nd half, they committed more men forward, which led to goals from Jens Petter Hauge — the former AC Milan man — and Hakon Evjen. Even though Alessandro Bastoni eventually grabbed one back for Inter in the 76th minute, the result was already decided in all honesty. With this huge victory, Bodø/Glimt became the first Norwegian side ever to win a knockout tie in the modern Champions League. Who would've thought they would achieve this feat by beating the Italian champions over both legs!
Best Team Performance
Juventus 3–2 Galatasaray
Even though the performance couldn't get them fully over the line, Juventus' statistical dominance in a 'losing' aggregate effort was simply remarkable. They produced a whopping 5.06 xG and bombarded the Galatasaray goal with 28 shots. Juve played over 70 minutes with 10 men and still managed to outshoot and out-create their opponents in every department. If Edon Zhegrova hadn’t missed his golden chance in extra time, we’d be talking about one of the greatest comeback in the history of the competition. Juventus got eliminated, but they can hold their heads high.
Player of the Matchday
Alexander Sorloth (Atletico Madrid)
While Julian Alvarez makes most of the headlines for his side since joining them in 2024 after leaving Erling Haaland's company, he joined another Norwegian in Alexander Sorloth, who also does his business, quietly. Alvarez's partner in crime Alexander Sorloth was left out of the starting 11 in the 1st leg against Club Brugge, but started the 2nd leg and he made it count. He bagged a historic hat-trick in Atleti’s 4-1 win, including an opening goal from a rare assist from Jan Oblak. Clinical and highly effective, as he scored 3 goals from his 5 shots. Becoming only the second Atletico Madrid player ever to score a UCL hat-trick, after Mario Mandzukic in 2014, is a big achievement.
Honorable mentions - Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Jens Petter Hauge (Bodø/Glimt) & Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid)
Moment of the Matchday
Lazar Samardzic scores the penalty to eliminate Borussia Dortmund
Watch the late penalty here
The Moment of the Matchday happened in Bergamo with the match heading for a nervous extra time. In the 95th minute, Ramy Bensebaini was sent off for a high boot on Nikola Krstovic, and after an anxious VAR review, the penalty was finally awarded. Lazar Samardzic stepped up in the 98th minute with the weight of the entire city — and even the whole Italian league in the wider context — on his back and absolutely lashed it into the top corner to complete a wild comeback with last kick of the game. His goal meant Atalanta became the first side to overturn a two-goal first leg deficit in a UCL knockout tie since Liverpool completed that iconic Anfield turnaround against Barcelona in 2019. Not many would have predicted Atalanta to come back from two goals down against a Dortmund side challenging Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, but Palladino's men battled their way to the next round. Serie A's big boys are out, but they are represented in the last 16 by Atalanta!
Late-Night Thoughts
Coming into the 2nd leg, much of the talk was about Italian football's downfall. Napoli went out in the league stage, and the other three teams from Italy did not finish top 8. They all lost by +2 goal margin in the 1st leg too. Well this 2nd leg showed there is still a little fight left in them, thanks to inspiring displays from Juventus and Atalanta. Moreover, Bodø/Glimt have done it again. And who am I to say they won't do it again against Sporting in the round of 16. Speaking of round of 16, we have some huge matches in the round, including the bi-annual Madrid-City clash.
Looking Ahead – Round of 16 1st leg Fixtures (IST Kick-offs)
Tuesday, 10 March (IST)
- Galatasaray vs Liverpool — 11:15 pm IST
Wednesday, 11 March (IST)
- Atalanta vs Bayern — 1:30 am IST
- Atletico Madrid vs Tottenham — 1:30 am IST
- Newcastle vs Barcelona — 1:30 am IST
- Leverkusen vs Arsenal — 11:15 pm IST
Thursday, 12 March (IST)
- Bodø/Glimt vs Sporting CP— 1:30 am IST
- PSG vs Chelsea — 1:30 am IST
- Real Madrid vs Manchester City — 1:30 am IST
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