Thanks to the new format UEFA introduced for the current campaign, we’ve had a chance to enjoy an additional round before the round of 16 of all European club competitions. The playoffs are now over, and we know the names of all the clubs that will compete in the knockout stages.
Let’s recap this week’s action across Europe.
Champions League Recap: Club Brugge Finds Its Spot in the Round of 16
The round of 16 is up next, and we are back on the familiar ground regarding the Champions League in February and March. Only that this time around, this phase won’t feature Manchester City, who got eliminated by Real Madrid on Wednesday, with Mbappé scoring a hat-trick in the 3-1 victory.
Juventus was also left empty-handed, which was not completely unexpected given their matches and shape in this year’s campaign. Here are all the results of the playoff return games, with the teams in bold the ones that qualified for the round of 16:
Tuesday, 18 February:
- Milan 1-1 Feyenoord (agg: 1-2)
- Atalanta 1-3 Club Brugge (agg: 2-5)
- Bayern München 1-1 Celtic (agg: 3-2)
- Benfica 3-3 Monaco (agg: 4-3)
Wednesday, 19 February:
- Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Sporting CP (agg: 3-0)
- Paris Saint-Germain 7-0 Brest (agg: 10-0)
- PSV Eindhoven 3-1 Juventus (aet; agg: 4-3)
- Real Madrid 3-1 Manchester City (agg: 6-3)
Europa League Recap: Ajax Narrowly into the Round of 16
It was a penalty goal in the extra time that pushed 10-men Ajax through to the round of 16, with Union SG scoring twice in the regular time to level the score from the first match. AS Roma also netted a close win, 3-2 against 10-men Porto, as Paulo Dybala scored twice in four minutes during the first half.
The Norwegian side, Bodø/Glimt, also secured its place in the round of 16 after beating Twente 5-2 after extra time. Real Sociedad’s comfortable 5-2 win against Midtjylland took the Spanish side to the knockout stage, where Fenerbahçe will also be after a 2-2 draw with Anderlecht.
These are the complete results and the teams qualified:
Thursday, 20 February:
- Bodø/Glimt 5-2 Twente AET (agg: 6-4)
- Roma 3-2 Porto (agg: 4-3)
- Ajax 1-2 Union SG AET (agg: 3-2)
- FCSB 2-0 PAOK (agg: 4-1)
- Galatasaray 2-2 AZ Alkmaar (agg: 3-6)
- Anderlecht 2-2 Fenerbahçe (agg: 2-5)
- Viktoria Plzeň 3-0 Ferencváros (agg: 3-1)
- Real Sociedad 5-2 Midtjylland (agg: 7-3)
Conference League Recap: Panathinaikos Through After an Added-Time Winner
A late goal from Tetê brought Panathinaikos a 2-0 victory against Víkingur R. and secured the Greek side a spot in the round of 16. Copenhagen needed the extra time to go past Heidenheim, and Molde bested Shamrock Rovers in the penalty shootout after the match ended 0-1 after extra time.
A goalless draw with Olimpija was enough for Borac to go through to the knockout stage, having won the first leg 1-0 at home. A 2-0 victory for Celje against APOEL in an away fixture brought the Slovenian side a spot in the round of 16. Here’s who else made it to the knockout stage:
Thursday, 20 February:
- APOEL 0-2 Celje (agg: 2-4)
- Heidenheim 1-3 Copenhagen AET (agg: 3-4)
- Pafos 2-1 Omonoia (agg: 3-2)
- Panathinaikos 2-0 Víkingur R. (agg: 3-2)
- Real Betis 0-1 Gent (agg: 3-1)
- Jagiellonia 3-1 TSC (agg: 6-2)
- Olimpija 0-0 Borac (agg: 0-1)
- Shamrock Rovers 0-1 Molde AET (agg: 1-1, Molde win 5-4 on penalties)
The round of 16 matches will be played in the first week of March, precisely on 4-6 March, and the second leg matches only a week later.
