The playoffs of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 have come to an end, after 16 thrilling matches and eight ties with a home and away match each. These matchups have resulted in eight great winners:
- Bayern Munich
- SL Benfica
- Feyenoord
- Club Brugge
- Borussia Dortmund
- Real Madrid
- Paris Saint-Germain
- PSV Eindhoven
These teams have secured their place to compete in the round of 16, where they will join another eight squads that have already secured their ticket to this stage:
- Liverpool
- FC Barcelona
- Inter Milan
- Arsenal
- Atletico Madrid
- Bayer Leverkusen
- LOSC Lille
- Aston Villa
🏆 The knockout stage culminated on Wednesday, February 19 with four thrilling matches.
- Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Sporting Lisbon
- Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City
- Paris Saint-Germain 7-0 Stade Brestois
- PSV Eindhoven 3-1 Juventus
🟡⚫ Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Sporting Lisbon 🟢⚪: Apathetic draw in Germany
The Borussia Dortmund was the first team to secure its place in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 on this matchday, having already tilted the series in their favor against Sporting Lisbon at the Portuguese stadium, where they left with a resounding 0-3 victory. In the return leg at Signal Iduna Park, there were no major surprises, as the score ended in a goalless draw.
Although it was the Portuguese who needed to take the initiative to change the course of the tie, the best scoring opportunities were generated by the Germans. The Lusitanians, without their main attacking weapon, Viktor Gyökeres, had a rather barren performance.
- ⚽ What was the score of the first leg?: 3-0 in favor of Borussia Dortmund
- ⚽ Total series result: 3-0 in favor of Borussia Dortmund
- ⚽ Possible opponent in the round of 16: (8°) Aston Villa or (7°) LOSC Lille
⚪⚪ Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City 🔵⚪: Mbappé had his first dream night with the whites
The Real Madrid demonstrated why they are considered the kings of the UEFA Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti's team ended up overwhelming Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu in what was a night dominated by one particular name: Kylian Mbappé Lottin, who scored an impressive hat-trick (4', 33', and 61') against a 'citizens' side that showed an extremely apathetic performance, revealing themselves as an erratic team, extremely weak in defense and with few ideas offensively.
The absence of their scorer Erling Haaland was felt on the field. The match turned out to be much less even than expected, with a minimal reaction from Nico González, who scored in the 90+2 minute.
- ⚽ What was the score of the first leg?: 2-3 in favor of Real Madrid
- ⚽ Total series result: 6-3 in favor of Real Madrid
- ⚽ Possible opponent in the round of 16: (5°) Atletico Madrid or (6°) Bayer Leverkusen
🔵🔴 Paris Saint-Germain 7-0 Stade Brestois 🔴⚪: The Parisians thrashed the Bretons at home
One of the teams that had no trouble overcoming their playoff series in the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 was Paris Saint-Germain, a team that dismantled Stade Brestois in a match where the seven goals that fell into the Breton net were scored by different 'executioners': Bradley Barcola (19'), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (38'), Vitinha (58'), Désiré Doué (63'), Nuno Mendes (68'), Gonçalo Ramos (75') and Senny Mayulu (85'). It was a match that left little room for analysis, as PSG was overwhelmingly dominant against a restrained Brest.
- ⚽ What was the score of the first leg?: 0-3 in favor of Paris Saint-Germain
- ⚽ Total series result: 10-0 in favor of Paris Saint-Germain
- ⚽ Possible opponent in the round of 16: (1°) Liverpool or (2°) FC Barcelona
⚪🔴 PSV Eindhoven 3-1 Juventus ⚪⚫: The 'Juve' could not stop the spectacular comeback of the 'farmers'
The Juventus suffered a debacle at the home of PSV Eindhoven. Thiago Motta's team could not maintain the advantage they had from the first leg and fell on Dutch soil with a resounding and unexpected 3-1. In a match where goals from Ivan Perišić in the 53rd minute, Ismael Saibari in the 74th for the 'farmers', and Timothy Weah in the 63rd for the 'Vecchia Signora', took the match to extra time, where the game was decided in favor of the locals with a goal from Ryan Flamingo in the 98th minute.
Ultimately, the team that seemed to have more determination to tilt the match in their favor was the one that prevailed. Despite the odds against them, PSV Eindhoven managed to outmaneuver a Juventus team that collapsed in extra time, thus consolidating the failure of Italian football in this season of the UEFA Champions League.
In addition to Juventus, both AC Milan and Atalanta have been eliminated from the most prestigious club competition in Europe, leaving Calcio in this edition of the Champions League with only one representative, Inter Milan.
- ⚽ What was the score of the first leg?: 2-1 in favor of Juventus
- ⚽ Total series result: 4-3 in favor of PSV Eindhoven
- ⚽ Possible opponent in the round of 16: (3°) Arsenal or (4°) Inter Milan
🏆 The matches that took place on Tuesday, February 18 in the playoffs of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25:
- AC Milan 1-1 Feyenoord
- SL Benfica 3-3 AS Monaco
- Atalanta 1-3 Club Brugge
- Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic F.C.
🔴⚫ AC Milan 1-1 Feyenoord 🔴⚪: Dutch 'upset' against one of the competition's historic teams
The Feyenoord was the first club to secure its qualification to the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25. AC Milan could not reverse the situation after falling 1-0 in the Netherlands. Interestingly, this match at San Siro also started with the home team scoring very early in the tie, as Santi Giménez took advantage of the 'law of the ex' and in less than a minute put the score 1-0 in favor of the Italians.
However, this match had a crucial turning point with the expulsion of Theo Hernández in the 50th minute. From that moment on, Sergio Conceição's team went from being the dominant side with options to turn the 'electronic' around to being more cautious and oppressed, seeing their chances of advancing to the round of 16 fade away when Julián Carranza scored the equalizer for Feyenoord in the 73rd minute.
- ⚽ What was the score of the first leg?: 1-0 in favor of Feyenoord
- ⚽ Total series result: 2-1 in favor of Feyenoord
- ⚽ Possible opponent in the round of 16: (4°) Inter Milan or Arsenal (3°)
🔴⚪ SL Benfica 3-3 AS Monaco 🔴⚪: Scoring fest in Portugal
At the Estádio da Luz, there was a true scoring fest with two teams that forgot the noble art of defending. SL Benfica and AS Monaco starred in a frantic exchange of goals that started with a goal from Kerem Aktürkoğlu in the 21st minute, followed by a goal from Takumi Minamino in the 31st. It was in the second half that the offensive power of both teams was unleashed completely.
For the first time in the match, AS Monaco managed to turn the score around with a goal from Eliesse Ben Seghir in the 50th minute. However, their joy was short-lived, as the Greek 'killer' Vangelis Pavlidis equalized the score 2-2 with a penalty goal in the 75th minute.
Despite this, the Monegasques came back again with a goal from George Ilenikhena in the 80th minute, regaining the lead that they would soon lose, as in the 83rd minute, Orkun Kökçü scored the 3-3 that eliminated the Principality team from the competition.
- ⚽ What was the score of the first leg?: 0-1 in favor of SL Benfica
- ⚽ Total series result: 4-3 in favor of SL Benfica
- ⚽ Possible opponent in the round of 16: (2°) FC Barcelona or Liverpool (1°)
🔵⚫ Atalanta 1-3 Club Brugge ⚫🔵: The 'Dea' was caught off guard by the 'Night of Bruges'
This tie resulted in one of the major surprises of the playoffs of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25. One of the main teams in Serie A, Atalanta, ended up 'sinking' in the return leg with an unexpected score of 1-3 on their own turf, the Gewiss Stadium.
The series was practically defined in the first half when Chemsdine Talbi, the standout figure of the night, scored a resounding brace (2' and 26') for Club Brugge, followed by a goal from Ferran Jutglà (47'), a former player of FC Barcelona. Despite the goal from Ademola Lookman in favor of the 'Dea' (45'), it would not be enough to reverse the adverse result.
- ⚽ What was the score of the first leg?: 2-1 in favor of Club Brugge
- ⚽ Total series result: 2-5 in favor of Club Brugge
- ⚽ Possible opponent in the round of 16: (7°) LOSC Lille or Aston Villa (8°)
🔴⚪ Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic F.C. ⚪🟢: The Bavarians managed to advance with a very tight score
Finally, Bayern Munich had to work hard, but managed to be one of the eight teams that secured their place in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25. In an exciting match against Celtic F.C., who were extremely impetuous, the Bavarian team found themselves with a rival who did not hesitate to face them, even as visitors at the imposing Allianz Arena. The Scots relied primarily on the stellar performance of Kasper Schmeichel.
Although Nicolas Kühn's goal in the 63rd minute gave Celtic F.C. hope for a comeback, after being down 1-2 at home, their dreams faded with Alphonso Davies' goal in the final minutes of the match, specifically in the 90+4 minute. This goal left Brendan Rodgers' team without options for reaction and prevented them from achieving a more favorable result.
- ⚽ What was the score of the first leg?: 1-2 in favor of Bayern Munich
- ⚽ Total series result: 3-2 in favor of Bayern Munich
- ⚽ Possible opponent in the round of 16: (6°) Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid (5°)