The game appeared to be a cagey affair during the first half, with Chelsea putting pressure on the visitors as they searched for a way back into the game after losing the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu 2-0. Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella came closest to scoring, with Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stretching to save his close-range effort in order to keep the game goalless.

Once the second half got underway, Real Madrid emerged as the stronger team, with Rodrygo grabbing a vital away goal in the 58th minute to dash the home side’s hopes of launching an improbable comeback. The winger scored again in the 80th minute to seal Real Madrid’s place in the semifinals.

“I don’t know how to explain it. I always say it’s a very special competition for me, every time I play I can help the team,” Rodrygo said in his post-match interview. “I’m happy and I hope to carry on like that, scoring more goals, providing more assists, and winning the Champions League again.”

Real Madrid will face the winner in the matchup between Manchester City and Bayern Munich. City currently has the advantage, having defeated Bayern 3-0 in the first leg.

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While the Reds managed to regain their Premier League form with back-to-back 2-0 wins over Everton and Newcastle United, the loss to Real Madrid echoes the struggle that the Kop has faced this season. It is the latest setback in a season that has seen Liverpool eliminated from the League Cup and FA Cup, with Champions League progression now appearing unlikely.

“Conceding five in the Champions League is not acceptable but it happened anyway,” Klopp commented at a news conference on Friday. “We have to change things. The first half [against Madrid] was really good; the second half was the worst start. A lot of things are back but not stable yet.”

Klopp warned that his team must find playing consistently while getting in control of their emotions. He also stated that the team needs to start believing in itself once again.

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While PSG defeated reigning Serie A champions Juventus 2-1 to boost their points tally to 14, Benfica secured a massive 6-1 win over Maccabi Haifa, thereby leveling on points with the French side as well as on goal difference, with both teams attaining a positive goal difference of nine. Seemingly level on all frontiers, the Portuguese club’s superior away goals tally secured them the coveted top spot in the group.

Despite his team’s second-place finish, PSG manager Christophe Galtier remains impressed by his team’s performance thus far in the tournament. “We’ve beaten Juventus twice and we were very happy until the 92nd minute.”We’ve beaten Juventus twice and we were very happy until the 92nd minute.”

Juventus narrowly secured a spot in the Europa League after finishing third in the group, racking up just three points in their six group games. With Maccabi Haifa level on points, Juventus managed to finish ahead of the Israeli side due to their superior goal difference.

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After being placed under pressure by the French side’s attacking ability in the first half, the Spurs’ defense finally caved in during first-half stoppage time when Chancel Mbemba put Marseille in the lead. By this stage, Tottenham had been knocked down from a knockout round qualification spot.

With manager Antonio Conte banned from the sidelines and star midfielder Son Heung-Min going off due to injury, the disadvantaged Spurs side managed to turn their fortunes around when defender Clement Lenglet leveled the scoreline in the 54th minute.

The Premier League giants then sealed their win in a most dramatic fashion as Pierre-Emile Hojberg scored the winner for Tottenham with the last kick of the game in the 95th minute.

Following their victory, Spurs emerged as group winners with 11 points while Marseille finished bottom of the group with six points.

“To be honest, we expected that type of game. The Stade Velodrome is a very difficult place to deal with and I think we showed great personality,” Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris remarked.

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“We were not at Bayern’s level today,” Barca manager Xavi admitted following his team’s loss on home soil. “I have said that we have to be united, tackle the situation head on. We have been knocked out of the Champions League but the season does not end in October. There are other competitions,” Xavi continued as focus now turns to La Liga and the Europa League.

Potentially joining Barca in the Europa League are La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid, who were kept in third place in Group B following a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen. Still, with Leverkusen trailing by just one point, Atletico will have to remain focused in their final group game in order to avoid losing their Europa League slot to the German side.

With Sevilla also eliminated from the competition, Real Madrid is now the only Spanish team to qualify for the knockout stages; the first time that this has happened this century.

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With one game left to play, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain have 11 points and have qualified for the knockout stage. Juve is third with the same number of points as Maccabi Haifa, and still has a chance to secure a spot in Europa League.

Benfica, who entered the match against Juventus with a 19-game unbeaten run at their Estadio da Luz, managed to strike first in the 17th minute thanks to a goal by 18-year-old defender Antonio Silva. Knowing what was at stake, Juve immediately started pushing for an equalizer and managed to get one via Moise Kean just four minutes later.

At this point, everyone expected Juve to take the command, but it was actually the Portuguese team who thrived under pressure. Benfica got the lead back in the 28th minute after midfielder Joao Mario scored from a penalty before forward Rafa Silva scored late in the first half to make it 3-1 for the home side. With Juventus unable to get things going in the second period, the latter player added one more goal in the 50th minute.

Facing a possibility of an embarrassing loss to a team that was considered the underdog, Juve started a late rally. They managed to cut into Benfica’s lead via goals from Arkadiusz Milik in the 77th minute and USMNT’s Weston McKennie in 79th, and it appeared the spectators were in for a thrilling finish.

However, Benfica fortified its defense and managed to hold onto the lead that saw them getting out of the UCL group stage for the second straight season. In 2021-22 Benfica made it to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Liverpool.   

“It was a typical Champions League match, we knew we were playing against a great team,” said Joao Mario after the game. “Our game was beautiful until the 70th minute, then Juve have a lot of quality and put us in difficulty. We know that there is a long way to go, the season has just begun. We must continue like this, keep the right mindset and always work hard.”

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Despite trailing 0-1 in Wednesday’s match and 3-5 on aggregate, Real made it even in stoppage time and then finished the job in extra time. They are now set to play Liverpool in the UCL finals at Paris’ Stade de France and have a chance to win their 14th Champions League trophy.

Real welcomed City on Bernabeu and need at least a goal to keep their finals hope alive after losing 3-4 in Manchester last week. However, this proved easier said than done as the La Liga side struggled to catch Man City’s defense off-guard despite having some great-looking chances. The English club sat back and waited to strike from counterattacks.

Manchester City’s strategy paid off midway through the second half when winger Riyad Mahrez ran up to a loose ball and slammed it into the right top corner of Thibaut Courtois’ goal. At this point, considering the result and their lack of efficiency, it seemed like the time had come for Real Madrid to bow out of the tournament. Then, Brazilian winger Rodrygo entered the scene.

Rodrygo, the second-half sub, first scored a goal in 90′ minute off of Karim Benzema’s assist to give his team a glimpse of hope. Then, less than two minutes later, everyone at Bernabeu was at their feet as Rodrygo scored again for Real’s 2-1 lead and chance to go to extra time.

Their spirit already broken, Manchester City looked lost in extra time. This was on full display five minutes in when defender Ruben Dias took down Benzema with a poorly-timed sliding tackle. The referee pointed to the spot, and Benzema was as cool under pressure as it gets, calmly converting the kick with a well-placed shot. This proved to be enough for Real to seal one of the most remarkable UCL comebacks in recent memory as City failed to put themselves in a position to threaten Courtois again.

“This team, this club is capable of anything, we believed until the end,” Courtois said after the match. “We made it 1-1 and then 2-1, and they were dead. We were better in extra time. We had to defend well, and we did it. Incredible.”

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At the center of criticism for this upset was Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose tactical decisions throughout the game were brought into question by pundits and fans alike.

After taking the lead through a Cristiano Ronaldo strike in the 13th minute, the Red Devils’ night soon took a turn for the worse when defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s red card was shown a straight red card in the 35th minute of play.

It was once the visitors were down to 10 men that Solskjaer made his first controversial substitution of the night, bringing new signing Jadon Sancho off in order to reinforce the Red Devils’ defense.

At the center of the controversy was Solskjaer’s decision to bring off Ronaldo for Jesse Lingard, whose back pass fell to the feet of Young Boys’ striker Jordan Pefok who scored a last-minute winner for his team.

Despite the loss, Solskjaer remained adamant that he made the correct tactical decisions on the night. “The last goal is a mistake, it happens in football, but it’s unfortunate again. In terms of the shape without the ball, I felt it was a lot better when we went to a back three or back five,” Solskjaer said in defense of his defensive formation.

Manchester United next faces West Ham United in their Premier League clash on Sunday.

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AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli stated during a news conference on Tuesday that the Swedish international would have started his team’s Champions League opening game had it not been for the injury. “He was fine but after the match [on Sunday], he felt a little discomfort,” Piolo explained. “This morning, he tried [to train], but he felt pain so there’s need to take such a risk at this time of the season.”

Piolo also reminded the press that while AC Milan’s clash against Liverpool is of high importance, there are plenty more crucial fixtures in the months ahead that Ibrahimovich will be needed for.

Zlatan Ibrahimovich played a pivotal role in AC Milan’s second-placed finish in Serie A last season, earning the team their first Champions League qualification since 2014.

With Ibrahimovich unavailable, French striker Olivier Giroud is in contention to take his place in the starting 11.

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However, an important 2-0 road victory at RB Salzburg gave the Colchoneros the three points they needed in order to advance to the next stage of the competition.

Atletico, who finished second place in Group A behind defending champions Bayern Munich, had to at least draw in their match against a feisty Austrian opponent if they wanted to keep their Champions League dreams alive.

Simeone’s bunch did more than that, knocking in a pair of goals to defeat their opposition, which left the match feeling shorted after shooting more times and holding more possession of the ball than Atletico did.

Atletico keeper Jan Oblak was key in their victory, making two saves which easily could have ended up as goals for RB Salzburg.

The La Liga leaders took the lead in the 39th minute of the match when a Yannick Carrasco free kick headed straight into the Salzburg net by defender Mario Hermoso, putting the team at ease.

Atletico held onto their lead throughout the second half, try as Salzburg did to get back into the game. The final result was sealed when Angel Correa found an unmarked Carrasco on a counter-attack, whose shot easily beat Cican Stanković.

Atleti will move on to the knockout stage of the competition, while RB Salzburg will qualify for the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League after finishing 3rd in Group A.

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The game appeared to be a cagey affair during the first half, with Chelsea putting pressure on the visitors as they searched for a way back into the game after losing the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu 2-0. Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella came closest to scoring, with Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stretching to save his close-range effort in order to keep the game goalless.

Once the second half got underway, Real Madrid emerged as the stronger team, with Rodrygo grabbing a vital away goal in the 58th minute to dash the home side’s hopes of launching an improbable comeback. The winger scored again in the 80th minute to seal Real Madrid’s place in the semifinals.

“I don’t know how to explain it. I always say it’s a very special competition for me, every time I play I can help the team,” Rodrygo said in his post-match interview. “I’m happy and I hope to carry on like that, scoring more goals, providing more assists, and winning the Champions League again.”

Real Madrid will face the winner in the matchup between Manchester City and Bayern Munich. City currently has the advantage, having defeated Bayern 3-0 in the first leg.

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While the Reds managed to regain their Premier League form with back-to-back 2-0 wins over Everton and Newcastle United, the loss to Real Madrid echoes the struggle that the Kop has faced this season. It is the latest setback in a season that has seen Liverpool eliminated from the League Cup and FA Cup, with Champions League progression now appearing unlikely.

“Conceding five in the Champions League is not acceptable but it happened anyway,” Klopp commented at a news conference on Friday. “We have to change things. The first half [against Madrid] was really good; the second half was the worst start. A lot of things are back but not stable yet.”

Klopp warned that his team must find playing consistently while getting in control of their emotions. He also stated that the team needs to start believing in itself once again.

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While PSG defeated reigning Serie A champions Juventus 2-1 to boost their points tally to 14, Benfica secured a massive 6-1 win over Maccabi Haifa, thereby leveling on points with the French side as well as on goal difference, with both teams attaining a positive goal difference of nine. Seemingly level on all frontiers, the Portuguese club’s superior away goals tally secured them the coveted top spot in the group.

Despite his team’s second-place finish, PSG manager Christophe Galtier remains impressed by his team’s performance thus far in the tournament. “We’ve beaten Juventus twice and we were very happy until the 92nd minute.”We’ve beaten Juventus twice and we were very happy until the 92nd minute.”

Juventus narrowly secured a spot in the Europa League after finishing third in the group, racking up just three points in their six group games. With Maccabi Haifa level on points, Juventus managed to finish ahead of the Israeli side due to their superior goal difference.

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After being placed under pressure by the French side’s attacking ability in the first half, the Spurs’ defense finally caved in during first-half stoppage time when Chancel Mbemba put Marseille in the lead. By this stage, Tottenham had been knocked down from a knockout round qualification spot.

With manager Antonio Conte banned from the sidelines and star midfielder Son Heung-Min going off due to injury, the disadvantaged Spurs side managed to turn their fortunes around when defender Clement Lenglet leveled the scoreline in the 54th minute.

The Premier League giants then sealed their win in a most dramatic fashion as Pierre-Emile Hojberg scored the winner for Tottenham with the last kick of the game in the 95th minute.

Following their victory, Spurs emerged as group winners with 11 points while Marseille finished bottom of the group with six points.

“To be honest, we expected that type of game. The Stade Velodrome is a very difficult place to deal with and I think we showed great personality,” Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris remarked.

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“We were not at Bayern’s level today,” Barca manager Xavi admitted following his team’s loss on home soil. “I have said that we have to be united, tackle the situation head on. We have been knocked out of the Champions League but the season does not end in October. There are other competitions,” Xavi continued as focus now turns to La Liga and the Europa League.

Potentially joining Barca in the Europa League are La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid, who were kept in third place in Group B following a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen. Still, with Leverkusen trailing by just one point, Atletico will have to remain focused in their final group game in order to avoid losing their Europa League slot to the German side.

With Sevilla also eliminated from the competition, Real Madrid is now the only Spanish team to qualify for the knockout stages; the first time that this has happened this century.

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With one game left to play, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain have 11 points and have qualified for the knockout stage. Juve is third with the same number of points as Maccabi Haifa, and still has a chance to secure a spot in Europa League.

Benfica, who entered the match against Juventus with a 19-game unbeaten run at their Estadio da Luz, managed to strike first in the 17th minute thanks to a goal by 18-year-old defender Antonio Silva. Knowing what was at stake, Juve immediately started pushing for an equalizer and managed to get one via Moise Kean just four minutes later.

At this point, everyone expected Juve to take the command, but it was actually the Portuguese team who thrived under pressure. Benfica got the lead back in the 28th minute after midfielder Joao Mario scored from a penalty before forward Rafa Silva scored late in the first half to make it 3-1 for the home side. With Juventus unable to get things going in the second period, the latter player added one more goal in the 50th minute.

Facing a possibility of an embarrassing loss to a team that was considered the underdog, Juve started a late rally. They managed to cut into Benfica’s lead via goals from Arkadiusz Milik in the 77th minute and USMNT’s Weston McKennie in 79th, and it appeared the spectators were in for a thrilling finish.

However, Benfica fortified its defense and managed to hold onto the lead that saw them getting out of the UCL group stage for the second straight season. In 2021-22 Benfica made it to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Liverpool.   

“It was a typical Champions League match, we knew we were playing against a great team,” said Joao Mario after the game. “Our game was beautiful until the 70th minute, then Juve have a lot of quality and put us in difficulty. We know that there is a long way to go, the season has just begun. We must continue like this, keep the right mindset and always work hard.”

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Despite trailing 0-1 in Wednesday’s match and 3-5 on aggregate, Real made it even in stoppage time and then finished the job in extra time. They are now set to play Liverpool in the UCL finals at Paris’ Stade de France and have a chance to win their 14th Champions League trophy.

Real welcomed City on Bernabeu and need at least a goal to keep their finals hope alive after losing 3-4 in Manchester last week. However, this proved easier said than done as the La Liga side struggled to catch Man City’s defense off-guard despite having some great-looking chances. The English club sat back and waited to strike from counterattacks.

Manchester City’s strategy paid off midway through the second half when winger Riyad Mahrez ran up to a loose ball and slammed it into the right top corner of Thibaut Courtois’ goal. At this point, considering the result and their lack of efficiency, it seemed like the time had come for Real Madrid to bow out of the tournament. Then, Brazilian winger Rodrygo entered the scene.

Rodrygo, the second-half sub, first scored a goal in 90′ minute off of Karim Benzema’s assist to give his team a glimpse of hope. Then, less than two minutes later, everyone at Bernabeu was at their feet as Rodrygo scored again for Real’s 2-1 lead and chance to go to extra time.

Their spirit already broken, Manchester City looked lost in extra time. This was on full display five minutes in when defender Ruben Dias took down Benzema with a poorly-timed sliding tackle. The referee pointed to the spot, and Benzema was as cool under pressure as it gets, calmly converting the kick with a well-placed shot. This proved to be enough for Real to seal one of the most remarkable UCL comebacks in recent memory as City failed to put themselves in a position to threaten Courtois again.

“This team, this club is capable of anything, we believed until the end,” Courtois said after the match. “We made it 1-1 and then 2-1, and they were dead. We were better in extra time. We had to defend well, and we did it. Incredible.”

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At the center of criticism for this upset was Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose tactical decisions throughout the game were brought into question by pundits and fans alike.

After taking the lead through a Cristiano Ronaldo strike in the 13th minute, the Red Devils’ night soon took a turn for the worse when defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s red card was shown a straight red card in the 35th minute of play.

It was once the visitors were down to 10 men that Solskjaer made his first controversial substitution of the night, bringing new signing Jadon Sancho off in order to reinforce the Red Devils’ defense.

At the center of the controversy was Solskjaer’s decision to bring off Ronaldo for Jesse Lingard, whose back pass fell to the feet of Young Boys’ striker Jordan Pefok who scored a last-minute winner for his team.

Despite the loss, Solskjaer remained adamant that he made the correct tactical decisions on the night. “The last goal is a mistake, it happens in football, but it’s unfortunate again. In terms of the shape without the ball, I felt it was a lot better when we went to a back three or back five,” Solskjaer said in defense of his defensive formation.

Manchester United next faces West Ham United in their Premier League clash on Sunday.

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AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli stated during a news conference on Tuesday that the Swedish international would have started his team’s Champions League opening game had it not been for the injury. “He was fine but after the match [on Sunday], he felt a little discomfort,” Piolo explained. “This morning, he tried [to train], but he felt pain so there’s need to take such a risk at this time of the season.”

Piolo also reminded the press that while AC Milan’s clash against Liverpool is of high importance, there are plenty more crucial fixtures in the months ahead that Ibrahimovich will be needed for.

Zlatan Ibrahimovich played a pivotal role in AC Milan’s second-placed finish in Serie A last season, earning the team their first Champions League qualification since 2014.

With Ibrahimovich unavailable, French striker Olivier Giroud is in contention to take his place in the starting 11.

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However, an important 2-0 road victory at RB Salzburg gave the Colchoneros the three points they needed in order to advance to the next stage of the competition.

Atletico, who finished second place in Group A behind defending champions Bayern Munich, had to at least draw in their match against a feisty Austrian opponent if they wanted to keep their Champions League dreams alive.

Simeone’s bunch did more than that, knocking in a pair of goals to defeat their opposition, which left the match feeling shorted after shooting more times and holding more possession of the ball than Atletico did.

Atletico keeper Jan Oblak was key in their victory, making two saves which easily could have ended up as goals for RB Salzburg.

The La Liga leaders took the lead in the 39th minute of the match when a Yannick Carrasco free kick headed straight into the Salzburg net by defender Mario Hermoso, putting the team at ease.

Atletico held onto their lead throughout the second half, try as Salzburg did to get back into the game. The final result was sealed when Angel Correa found an unmarked Carrasco on a counter-attack, whose shot easily beat Cican Stanković.

Atleti will move on to the knockout stage of the competition, while RB Salzburg will qualify for the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League after finishing 3rd in Group A.

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