Barça, Inter, Bayern, and Liverpool take firm steps towards the Champions quarter-finals

The first leg matches of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 marked a clear negative trend for the teams that played the first match at home. On Wednesday, only Bayern Munich was able to take advantage of their home condition against Bayer Leverkusen (3-0), a thrashing that leaves the Bavarians very close to advancing to the next phase, where they are likely to face Inter Milan.

The 'nerazzurri' did their homework with a solid victory at Feyenoord's ground (0-2). Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martínez scored for Simone Inzaghi's side, securing a win that could have been even more substantial if Piotr Zieliński had not wasted a penalty in the second half. The Bavarians, on the other hand, practically sealed their tie against the reigning Europa League champions thanks to a penalty scored by Harry Kane.

The English international equaled Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha with 9 goals thanks to a brace, as the forward had opened the scoring precisely in the 9th minute. Jamal Musiala extended the lead in the 54th minute, and eight minutes later, Leverkusen gave up after the expulsion of Nordi Mukiele. The rematch will be next Tuesday at the 'rojinegro' ground, while Inter will also close their tie that same day in Milan.

Barça and Liverpool secured golden victories away from home

Meanwhile, FC Barcelona and Liverpool also managed to win away from home, although they faced much more trouble. The azulgrana team defeated Benfica by the narrowest of margins (0-1) thanks to a solitary goal from Raphinha in the 61st minute. The culés played with ten men from the 22nd minute due to Pau Cubarsí's expulsion, but managed to keep a clean sheet thanks to a superb performance by Wojciech Szczesny. In total, the Polish goalkeeper made eight saves during the night in Lisbon.

The same was done by Brazilian Alisson Becker at the Parc des Princes. The 'reds' goalkeeper was a true wall with up to nine saves to keep Paris Saint-Germain at bay (0-1). Luis Enrique's side dominated the match from start to finish but could only score one goal from Kvaratskhelia, which was ruled out for offside in the first half. PSG, in fact, made 27 shots (ten on target), but Liverpool took the victory with a goal from Harvey Elliot in the 87th minute in the only clear chance for the English throughout the match.

Thus, Barça and Liverpool, second and first in the league phase, take an important advantage ahead of the rematch next week. The culés will host Benfica in Montjuïc (18:45 CEST), a ground where the Portuguese have never managed to win. Meanwhile, the Merseyside team will host Paris at Anfield, with history against the French interests. PSG already came back from a one-goal deficit last season after losing the first match at home against Barça, but they continue to have their particular curse in the Champions League, a tournament where they have only managed to reach the final once (they lost to Bayern in 2020, 0-1).

⚽Results from Tuesday:

1. Bruges 1-3 Aston Villa
2. Real Madrid 2-1 Atlético de Madrid
3. PSV Eindhoven 1-7 Arsenal
4. Dortmund 1-1 LOSC Lille

⚽Results from Wednesday

1. Feyenoord 0-2 Inter Milan
2. Bayern Munich 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen
3. Benfica 0-1 FC Barcelona
4. Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Liverpool

🏆 This is how the return leg of the Champions round of 16 will be played: