Roundup of Round of 16 stage action in 2024-25 UEFA Champions League.
This round saw the eight teams who topped the league phase enter the knockout stages but seedings meant little as some teams discovered in a dramatic round which saw second-leg comebacks and a tense penalty shootout.
Liverpool 1-1 PSG (PSG win 4-1 on penalties)
Harvey Elliott’s late strike saw Liverpool clinch a first-leg away victory in Paris but Ousmane Dembele snatched a second-leg win for PSG at Anfield, which left the tie level on aggregate.
Darwin Nunez and Curtis Jones’ penalty misses ultimately cost Liverpool as the top seeds crashed out 4-1 on penalties.
Club Brugge 1-6 Aston Villa
Brandon Mechele’s own-goal and Marco Asensio’s penalty secured a 3-1 win for Aston Villa away in the first leg, after Leon Bailey’s initial half-volley strike for the Villains was cancelled out by Maxim de Cuyper’s low effort.
Kyriani Sabbe’s first-half red card however ruined Club Brugge’s second-leg chances of a comeback, as Villa were left to cruise to a 3-0 home win through Marco Asensio’s brace and Ian Maatsen’s strike which secured a 6-1 aggregate triumph.
PSV 3-9 Arsenal
Martin Odegaard’s brace helped Arsenal clinch a ruthless 7-1 first-leg win away at PSV with Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori also on the scoresheet, whilst Noa Lang netted a 43rd-minute penalty for the Dutch hosts.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Declan Rice twice put Arsenal in front in the return leg but Ivan Perisic and Couhaib Driouech rescued a 2-2 draw for PSV, as the Dutch side ultimately crashed out 9-3 on aggregate.
Real Madrid 2-2 Atletico Madrid (Real Madrid win 4-2 on penalties)
Brahim Diaz’s low strike saw Real Madrid snatch a 2-1 first-leg win at home after Rodrygo’s opening goal was cancelled out by Julian Alvarez’s curled equaliser.
Conor Gallagher’s first-minute strike in Atletico’s home leg however saw the tie finish 2-2 on aggregate, but Real advanced 4-2 on penalties after Alvarez’s spot-kick for Atletico was controversially disallowed due to a double-touch on the ball.
Benfica 1-4 Barcelona
Raphinha netted a 61st-minute winner as ten-men Barcelona scraped a narrow 1-0 first-leg victory despite Pau Cubarsi’s red card.
The Brazil international scored twice in the second leg to fire Barcelona to a 4-1 aggregate win with a 3-1 victory at home, with Lamine Yamal also on the scoresheet despite Nicolas Otamendi briefly having reduced Benfica’s deficit.
Bayern Munich 5-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Harry Kane’s brace plus Jamal Musiala’s effort saw Bayern cruise to a comfortable first-leg home win over Bayer Leverkusen, as the visitors were reduced to ten men following a 62nd-minute red card for Nordi Mukiele.
Second-half goals from Kane and Alphonso Davies in the second leg saw Bayern wrap up their comfortable aggregate victory.
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Lille
Karim Adeyemi’s 22nd-minute effort was cancelled out by Hakon Haraldsson’s equaliser as Borussia Dortmund were held at home by Lille in the first leg.
Emre Can’s penalty and Maximilian Beier’s strike saw Dortmund ultimately seal their Quarter-Final spot with a comeback 2-1 away win in the second leg, which wrapped up a 3-2 aggregate victory after Jonathan David had fired Lille into an early lead on their home turf.
Feyenoord 1-4 Inter Milan
Goals from Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez fired Inter Milan to a 2-0 away win in the first leg.
Thuram then opened the scoring in the second leg as Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty sealed their comfortable progression despite Jakub Moder’s consolatory goal for Feyenoord before half-time
Blockbuster Quarter-Finals
The eight winners have now progressed to the Quarter-Finals which will see some blockbuster ties, as Unai Emery’s Villa face his former employers – PSG for a place in the semi-finals.
Arsenal meanwhile will take on reigning champions, Real Madrid in a tricky tie for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.
Last season’s runners-up, Borussia Dortmund will face a tough test of their credentials against a strong Barcelona team.
Bayern Munich’s reward for beating Bayer Leverkusen sees them meet Inter Milan in a tasty matchup.
