Roundup of the knockout play-off action in 2025-26 UEFA Champions League.
Newcastle entered this round looking to continue their European adventure and avoid a cupset against Qarabag, whilst there were plenty of surprises and twists across the seven other rounds as the eight winners secured their places in the Round of 16.
Bodo/Glimt 5-2 Inter Milan
Second-half goals from Jens Petter Hauge and Kasper Høgh saw Bodo/Glimt complete a 3-1 first-leg win at home, after Sondre Fet’s 20th-minute opener was cancelled out by Pio Esposito’s equaliser for Inter.
Hauge and Hakon Evjen eventually wrapped up Bodo/Glimt’s shock aggregate victory with a 2-1 away win at the San Siro, despite Alessandro Bastoni’s consolatory finish for last season’s runners-up.
Benfica 1-3 Real Madrid
Vinicius Junior’s 50th-minute curled finish proved enough for Real Madrid to snatch a controversial 1-0 away win in the first leg, albeit marred by alleged racism after he accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of a racial remark.
Comeback goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Vinicius Junior saw Real Madrid ultimately seal their passage with a 2-1 second-leg victory at home, having initially conceded a 14th-minute opener through Benfica’s Rafa.
Monaco 5-4 PSG
Desire Doue’s brace and Achraf Hakimi’s half-volley effort saw PSG come from behind to secure a 3-2 aggregate lead in the first leg, after Folarin Balogun’s brace had initially put Monaco 2-0 up in the opening 18 minutes.
Quick-fire goals from Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia saw PSG ultimately prevail on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at home in the second leg, having initially conceded the opener to Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche before Jordan Teze snatched an injury-time leveller.
Qarabag 3-9 Newcastle
Anthony Gordon’s four goals plus Malick Thiaw’s header and Jacob Murphy’s effort saw Newcastle romp to a 6-1 first-leg victory away to Qarabag in Baku, despite Elvin Cafarguliyev’s consolatory second-half effort for the hosts.
Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Sven Botman completed Newcastle’s dominant aggregate victory with a 3-2 home win, despite Camilo Duran and Cafarguliyev’s fightback goals for the Azerbaijani club.
Galatasaray 7-5 Juventus
Noa Lang’s brace plus second-half goals from Davinson Sanchez and Sacha Boey saw them snatch a 5-2 first-leg victory at home over Juventus, after Teun Koopmeiners’ brace put the visitors ahead at half time following Gabriel Sara’s opener for the Turkish hosts.
Extra-time goals from Victor Osimhen and Baris Yilmaz eventually saw Galatasaray scrape through on aggregate in a 3-2 defeat in the second leg, after Manuel Locatelli, Federico Gatti and Weston McKennie had pulled Juventus level on aggregate at the end of normal time despite Lloyd Kelly’s red card.
Club Brugge 4-7 Atletico Madrid
Christos Tzolis rescued Club Brugge a 3-3 first-leg draw at home to Atletico Madrid after Joel Ordonez’s own-goal restored the Spanish club’s lead, having initially led through Julian Alvarez and Ademola Lookman before Raphael Onyedika and Nicolo Tresoldi pulled the hosts level.
Atletico however avoided a cupset in the second leg with a 4-1 victory through Alexander Sorloth’s hat-trick and Johnny Cardoso’s effort, despite Ordonez having levelled for Club Brugge in the first half.
Borussia Dortmund 3-4 Atalanta
Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier fired Borussia Dortmund to a 2-0 first-leg victory at home.
Lazar Samardzic’s 98th-minute penalty however sealed Atalanta’s comeback with a 4-1 second-leg win at home, in which Gianluca Scammaca, Davide Zappacosta and Mario Pasalic put the hosts in front on aggregate before Karim Adeyemi pulled Dortmund level.
Olympiacos 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Patrik Schick’s brace saw Bayer Leverkusen clinch a 2-0 first-leg victory which proved enough on aggregate, after the second leg at home finished goalless.
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