The first-ever UEFA Champions League (UCL) playoffs took place over the past two weeks, as 16 teams battled it out for eight Round of 16 spots. In case you missed out on the action, let me catch you up on the world’s most prestigious club soccer competition. The breakdown is split into two parts, so be on the look out for part two!
Paris St. Germain (PSG) vs Brest (Stade Brestois 29): 10-0 (agg.)
One of this season’s best underdog stories has now come to an end, as Les Parisiens rack-up an astounding 10-0 aggregate score, split into two legs of 3-0 and 7-0. The first game saw PSG opening the score after a handball from Pierre Lees-Melou led to a Vitinha penalty, followed by a brace from Ousmane Dembélé. Luis Enrique’s team might have already guaranteed their classification then, but they chose to give the home crowd a spectacle in the second game: seven goals and seven different names on the score sheet, a competition record.
Borussia Dortmund (BVB) vs Sporting CP: 3-0 (agg.)
After a successful first-leg 3-0 outing at Estadio José Alvalade, Dortmund brought the game home to the famous “Yellow Wall” to seal the deal. Despite a scoreless draw at Signal Iduna Park, Niko Kovač’s men were able to pull through to the Round of 16, an impressive result for the German coach, who has only been in charge of the Bundesliga club for the past month. This result means that UCL spectators will have to say goodbye – for the time being – to one of the most exciting attacking talents of this year’s competition, Viktor Gyökeres, and his iconic goal celebration.
Feyenoord vs AC Milan: 2-1 (agg.)
Feyenoord upset AC Milan after gaining a slim advantage in the first game, as the Eredivisie team went 1-0 up at the De Kuip, courtesy of an early strike by Igor Paixão. The match remained relatively deadlocked afterwards; despite a total of six shots on target, the Rossoneri were unable to go level. As the match headed into the San Siro Stadium, a cross awarded in the first minute of regulation allowed Christian Pulisic to find Malick Thiaw in the box, who fired off a great pass to Santiago Giménez.
Early in the second half, Milan’s hope of classification were dampened by Theo Hernández’s sending-off, as the referee awarded him a second yellow for going down without any contact. This was further aggravated as Julian Carranza got his head to Hugo Bueno’s cross, moving the score line to 2-1 on aggregate. As a 10-man Milan struggled to press the visitors, the final whistle blew at the San Siro, handing the Rotterdam side a round of 16 spot and breaking the hearts of the Rossoneri faithful.
PSV Eindhoven vs Juventus: 4-3 (agg.)
Another Eredivisie team prevailed over a Serie A side — albeit with a couple more goals involved — as PSV Eindhoven gained qualification over Juventus F.C. A lively first leg saw Juventus go up by one, as American talent Weston McKennie made the best of chaos in the PSV box, only for the Roodwitte to even things out twenty minutes later, as veteran Ivan Perišić brought them back into the game. The Bianconeri ultimately emerged victorious, as academy youngster Samuel Mbangula scored his first Champions League goal for Juventus.
The second-leg of the game did not disappoint as PSV charged to a 3-1 home win, with goals from Perišić, Ismael Saibari and Ryan Flamingo. After a scoreless first-half, Eindhoven leveled the aggregate score with another Perišić goal. Juve pulled one back with an absolute screamer by Timothy Weah, but the tie was quickly overturned with a strike from Ismael Saibari. The game was pushed to extra-time, where an unfortunate move by goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio opened the way for the final goal of the night, a tap-in by PSV’s Ryan Flamingo.
