The inaugural Champions League play-offs to reach the round of 16 are complete… without any huge surprises.
The result was never in doubt at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid eased past Manchester City, arguably their biggest rivals in this competition in recent years, thanks to a hat-trick by Kylian Mbappe.
Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain did not miss their former star man, demolishing fellow Ligue 1 side Brest to book their place in the next round.
Celtic were close to causing the shock of the round against Bayern Munich, but a late equaliser on the night from Alphonso Davies put paid to their ambitions of qualifying for the round of 16 for the first time since 2012-13.
Here, The Athletic analyses all the action and what it means for the rest of the knockout stages.
What happened on Wednesday?
Borussia Dortmund played out a welcome bore draw with Sporting CP at home, confirming their qualification after a 3-0 first-leg win in Lisbon.
The Germans had ample opportunities to extend their aggregate lead but could not make any of their 18 shots count. The competition’s top scorer Serhou Guirassy saw a penalty saved in style by Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva.
Madrid made light work of City, who only had Erling Haaland on the becn due to a knee injury the Norway striker sustained late in last weekend’s win against Newcastle United. Mbappe, who now looks fully at home in the Spanish capital after some early struggles, scored a hat-trick as the holders and record 15-time competition winners cruised to a 3-0 victory.
PSG, another side who have found form in the new year after a slow start, made light work of Brest at the Parc des Princes. Bradley Barcola opened the scoring for Luis Enrique’s side before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, Desire Doue, Nuno Mendes, Goncalo Ramos, and Senny Mayulu put them out of sight. A 7-0 win on the night was PSG’s biggest win in all European competitions and meant they recorded a whopping 10-0 aggregate scoreline.
7 – Paris SG recorded their biggest win in all European competitions (7-0). Conversely, Brest suffered the heaviest defeat for a French team in the UEFA Champions League. Mind-blowing. pic.twitter.com/C5fYRICpdu
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 19, 2025
Juventus went into the second leg against PSV in control but fell behind shortly after the half-time interval through former Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic. Timothy Weah put the Serie A side back on level terms 10 minutes later, but PSV’s dominance on the night told through Ismael Salibari, who hammered home from close range to put the home side ahead 2-1 on the night and level on aggregate at 3-3.
The promising 22-year-old centre-back Ryan Flamingo grabbed the winner after extra time — his third goal in his last six Champions League outings — to put Peter Bosz’s side through.
What does the round of 16 look like?
The first group of clubs to qualify for the round of 16 was confirmed on Tuesday, with none of the four ties needing extra time to find a winner.
Celtic came agonisingly close to taking Bayern beyond regular time, leading 1-0 from the 63rd minute until the fourth minute of added time. With less than 60 seconds remaining of the minimum four minutes added on, Canada left-back Davies reacted quickest to a Kasper Schmeichel save to tap in the rebound from close range and secure Bayern’s progress.
Feyenoord were the first team to confirm their progress from the play-offs, but it was not straightforward. With a 1-0 lead going into the second leg, Milan levelled the tie within 40 seconds when Santiago Gimenez, the former Feyenoord striker who joined Milan in January, headed in from close range.
Following a red card for Milan full-back Theo Hernandez, Feyenoord forward Julian Carranza equalised on the night in the 71st minute — putting the Dutch side 2-1 ahead on aggregate, which was the final score. But they will be without 18-year-old defender Givairo Read for the next round — he was shown a red card after the final whistle for kicking the ball at Milan defender Strahinja Pavlovic.
Feyenoord beat Milan to reach the round of 16 (Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Benfica’s second leg against Monaco was the standout match of the day. The Portuguese side clinched the tie with a 3-3 draw at home, which sent them through after a 1-0 away win in the first leg.
A whirlwind eight-minute period between the 76th and the 84th minutes started with Vangelis Pavlidis converting a penalty which looked to put Benfica in the driving seat. But George Ilenikhena then put Monaco ahead on the night and level on aggregate, before Orkun Korkcu’s effort three minutes later proved to be Benfica’s winner.
There was less drama as Club Brugge made light work of Atalanta, beating the Italian side 3-1 in the second leg away from home after a 2-1 home victory in the first leg.
These sides join the teams that qualified by finishing in the top eight places of the inaugural league phase. From first place to eighth, these are: Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa.
When is the draw? What is the format?
It is not just the round of 16 draw taking place on Friday — the quarter-final and semi-final pathway will be laid out too.
The sides who progressed through the knockout play-offs join the eight who qualified directly for the last 16, where they will face off. As the graphic demonstrates, the draw determines the opponents for the clubs who qualified for the knockout stage proper through the league phase.
The clubs that finished in the league phase’s top eight are seeded according to their final league position and paired accordingly (1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8). The seeded pairs can face one of two teams, and the draw will determine which it is. For example, Liverpool and Barcelona will play either PSG or Benfica, with Friday’s draw confirming which of those matches each team has.
The draw process involves four bowls, each containing two balls, and both teams are ranked. The first team to be drawn from a bowl will be placed on the left side of the bracket, while the second team will play the club on the right side. The seeded club will play the return leg at home. If Liverpool are drawn first, for instance, they will play PSG.
There are also four bowls for the quarter-final draw, determining which club will host the first leg and which will host the second. There are no club names in the quarter-final draw. Each ball will be titled “QF” and their corresponding number from one to eight. This draw determines which club will play home and away in the first leg of the quarter-final.
It is the same for the semi-final draw, but there will only be two balls for this section as there are only two ties — one on either side of the bracket. Like in the quarter-final draw, the first team drawn will play the first leg at home and the second leg away.
PSG thrashed Brest but will have a tough round of 16 draw (Thibaud Moritz/AFP via Getty Images)
What are the possible round of 16 ties?
We are guaranteed at least three must-watch ties in the next round.
Despite their impressive win against Brest, PSG will have their work cut out for them in the round of 16. The French champions are guaranteed to face either Liverpool or Barcelona, who finished first and second in the league phase.
Madrid booking their place in the round of 16 means Atletico will either face their city rivals or Bayern — with both ties worthy of at least the quarter-finals. If it is to be a Madrid derby, Bayern will face Bayer Leverkusen in the next round.
Bayern are currently eight points ahead of Leverkusen in the Bundesliga table but will have revenge on their minds after Xabi Alonso’s side broke their run of 11 consecutive titles last season.
(Top photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
