A night of high drama in the UEFA Champions League play-offs culminated in several elite clubs securing their progression to the last 16, though not without significant tension and controversy. Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Atalanta each navigated challenging second-leg fixtures to book their places in the next round.
At the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid overturned a first-half deficit to defeat Benfica 2-1 (3-1 on aggregate), with Vinicius Junior delivering the decisive blow. The Brazilian forward, recently embroiled in a racism controversy during the first leg in Lisbon, provided a powerful on-field response by scoring the winning goal in the 79th minute. His strike came after an early opener from Benfica’s Rafa Silva was quickly canceled out by Aurélien Tchouaméni. The match was notably absent of both Benfica’s suspended coach, José Mourinho, and the player accused of racially abusing Vinicius, who was provisionally banned by UEFA.
In Paris, the reigning champions PSG narrowly avoided a shocking elimination despite being held to a 2-2 draw by Ligue 1 rivals Monaco, advancing 5-4 on aggregate. The match turned on a pivotal moment early in the second half when Monaco’s Mamadou Coulibaly received two quick yellow cards, reducing his side to ten men. Almost immediately, PSG capitalized with goals from Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to seemingly secure the tie, though a late consolation goal from Jordan Teze ensured a nervy finish. The match was played under a cloud of off-field controversy, with PSG’s Achraf Hakimi starting despite facing an ongoing trial for alleged rape.
The most spectacular narrative unfolded in Turin, where Juventus mounted a heroic but ultimately futile comeback attempt against Galatasaray. Despite being reduced to ten men after Lloyd Kelly’s dismissal, Juventus fought back from a 5-2 first-leg deficit to force extra time with a 3-2 victory on the night, drawing the aggregate score level. Goals from Manuel Locatelli, Federico Gatti, and Weston McKennie completed the stunning regulation-time turnaround. However, Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen and Baris Yilmaz scored in extra time to crush Juventus’s hopes and secure a 7-5 aggregate victory for the Turkish side.
In the night’s most dramatic conclusion, Atalanta secured their progression with a last-gasp penalty deep into stoppage time against Borussia Dortmund. Serbian midfielder Lazar Samardžić converted the spot-kick to seal a 4-1 victory on the night (4-3 on aggregate), after a catastrophic performance from Dortmund’s Algerian defender Ramy Bensebaini. Bensebaini was directly involved in Atalanta’s first two goals through deflections and was sent off in the final moments for conceding the decisive penalty with a high boot.