This is how the first leg of Champions play-offs ended: Bayern and Benfica, close to eight finals

Published:13/02/2025 - 00:24h

Updated:13/02/2025 - 08:54h

The first leg matches of the Champions League play-offs concluded with two home victories and two away wins in a round with fewer goals than Tuesday's, but with plenty of excitement and some surprises

The UEFA Champions League play-offs completed their first leg matches this Wednesday, and at least five of the eight ties leading to the round of 16 are starting to show a clear picture regarding the teams that will advance to the next round. Early on, Club Brugge took a narrow lead at home against Atalanta (2-1), in a controversial match that was decided in stoppage time in Belgium in favor of the hosts. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich and Benfica took a firm step towards the round of 16 by winning away from home, while Feyenoord did manage to successfully defend their home ground against Milan (1-0).

The Dutch will travel to Italy with an advantage thanks to the goal scored by Brazilian Igor Paixao just as the match began, in the 3rd minute. Club Brugge, for their part, took the lead in their tie thanks to goals from former FC Barcelona forward Ferran Jutglà in the 15' and Gustaf Nilsson, who scored a penalty in the 90+6'. Mario Pasalic had equalized for Atalanta before halftime, in the 41'.

🏆All results from Wednesday in the Champions

⚽Club Brugge 2-1 Atalanta

⚽AS Monaco 0-1 Benfica

⚽Celtic 1-2 Bayern Munich

⚽Feyenoord 1-0 AC Milan

Bayern and Benfica take advantage away from home

In the case of Bayern, the Bavarians set their tie on the right track thanks to goals from Michael Olise in the 45' and Harry Kane in the 49' against a combative Celtic who pulled one back eleven minutes from the end through Japanese Daizen Maeda. The Swedes were close to earning a penalty in the second half that could have given them the equalizer, but VAR overturned the referee's initial decision.

Benfica did the same against Monaco in the Principality. The Portuguese won thanks to a goal from the executioner of Barcelona in the group stage, Greek Vangelis Pavlidis, in a match where the hosts played almost the entire second half with ten men after the expulsion of Moatasem Al-Musrati in the 52'. Benfica attacked frequently and could have sealed the tie on Wednesday, but they only managed to win by the narrowest of margins.

Real Madrid, Dortmund, and PSG took a step forward on Tuesday

Another team that left with an advantage but wasted multiple clear chances was Real Madrid. The Whites finally managed to defeat Manchester City in England (2-3) in a match where, despite being superior, they were losing 2-1 by the 85th minute. Goals from Brahim Díaz and Jude Bellingham, along with another from Kylian Mbappé, allowed Carlo Ancelotti's team to come back from Erling Haaland's initial double.

Much more convincing were Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund. Both teams thrashed Brest and Sporting CP (0-3) to practically seal their passage to the next phase. The French won with goals from Vitor Pereira (penalty) and a brace from the inspired Ousmane Dembélé, while the Germans did their homework in Lisbon with goals from Guirassy, Groß, and Adeyemi. Guirassy, in fact, reached 10 goals, one more than Robert Lewandowski.

The only team that won at home on Tuesday was Juventus, against PSV Eindhoven (2-1). Weston McKennie put the 'bianconeri' ahead in the first half, but experienced Croatian Ivan Perisic equalized in the second half. Eight minutes from the end, Belgian Samuel Mbangula restored the lead for Thiago Motta's team, who will try to defend their advantage on Dutch soil on Wednesday.

🏆All results from Wednesday in the Champions

⚽Brest 0-3 PSG

⚽Manchester City 2-3 Real Madrid

⚽Sporting CP 0-3 Borussia Dortmund

⚽Juventus 2-1 PSV Eindhoven