The expected contenders have one foot through the Champions League quarter-finals, as there have been no upsets in the first leg. Aston Villa, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, and Lille avoided defeats yesterday, while Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Barcelona secured wins a few hours later.
Arsenal scored the biggest victory of the round, demolishing PSV Eindhoven 7-1 at Philips Stadion. It was one of the most impressive Champions League 2025 results this year because it put the whole competition on notice. As a result, the Gunners, priced at 1.32, have the highest Champions League 2025 odds to go through the next round.
Allow SBOTOP to review some of the biggest takeaways, especially from last night’s slate, which saw Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Barcelona win their respective matches.
Super sub bails out Liverpool
PSG and Liverpool were two of the most in-form teams in Europe, but only one goal separated the two sides at Parc des Princes. The Reds snatched a late winner, as Harvey Elliott came off the bench and scored the marginal goal in the 87th minute, angling Darwin Nunez’s pass into the back of the net. The Englishman has scored in his third consecutive Champions League appearance.
Liverpool played on the back foot for almost the whole game, as they only had two shots compared to the hosts’ 27 shots. Alisson made superb saves in the first half to keep out shots from Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Kvaratskhelia found the back of the net before halftime but was deemed offside. The Brazilian goalkeeper deservedly took home the Man of the Match honours, as Alisson described his outing as the “best performance of his life.”
Despite winning the first leg, Liverpool’s job is far from finished. If they take care of business at Anfield next Tuesday, they could face Aston Villa, who are up 3-1 against Club Brugge, in the next round.
Kane makes it comfortable for Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich ended their six-game winless run against Bayer Leverkusen with a timely home win in the first leg, with Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala spearheading the charge. Kane’s ninth-minute header from Michael Olise’s wonderful cross set the tone for Vincent Kompany’s side. Musiala struck in the second half by pouncing on Matej Kovar’s spill. Kane was impeded by Edmond Tapsoba, and the Englishman converted his penalty kick.
Jonas Urbig was handed his Champions League debut, as the 21-year-old goalkeeper replaced the injured Manuel Neuer. Bayer Leverkusen were reduced to 10 men, as Nordi Mukiele was shown a red card
Die Werkself were far from their best last night, as they only had three shots with only one on target. In stark contrast, Die Bayern fired 17 shots with six on target and had 65-per cent possession. Xabi Alonso acknowledged that it’ll take a miracle for his team to overturn the three-goal deficit.
Inter Milan avoids Feyenoord upset
Inter Milan secured a 2-0 first-leg advantage over Feyenoord in Rotterdam for their eighth Champions League clean sheet this season. Marcus Thuram broke the deadlock in the 38th minute with a volley from Nicolo Barella’s cross. Lautaro Martinez doubled the Nerazzurri’s lead by scoring the second goal five minutes after the halftime break. The Argentine international now has six goals this campaign, and Martinez is officially Inter Milan’s all-time leading scorer in the Champions League (18 goals).
The Nerazzurri almost made it 3-0. However, Timon Wellenreuther saved Piotr Zielinski’s penalty in the 65th minute.
Before this game, Feyenoord were in a state of emergency because they didn’t have a head coach. However, they managed to eliminate AC Milan in the play-off round before appointing Robin van Persie.
Feyenoord tried to find a way back into the tie, and Brighton loanee Jakub Moder came close when his strike hit the crossbar. The odds are stacked against the Dutch side since Ibrahim Osman must serve his suspension in the return leg for an accumulation of yellow cards.
10-man Barcelona survive Benfica
Barcelona edged past Benfica, despite being reduced to 10 men after Pau Cubarsi was sent off in the 22nd minute for a reckless challenge on Vangelis Pavlidis. The Blaugrana claimed the slender advantage just after the hour mark, as Raphinha took advantage of a misplaced pass before his low shot deflected into the back of the net.
Benfica looked to respond by laying siege to the Barcelona box, but Wojciech Szczesny thwarted their chances. The Polish goalkeeper made an acrobatic save to deny substitute Renato Sanches’ late attempt. Pedri was named Man of the Match for controlling the tempo in the middle of the park for Hansi Flick’s side.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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