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Bayern and Atletico made significant progress toward the UCL quarter-finals with easy wins.
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Teams like Barcelona, Liverpool, and Newcastle still have challenges ahead.
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Tottenham’s tough season worsened after a poor performance in Madrid.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid moved closer to the Champions League quarter-finals with strong victories on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Liverpool and Barcelona have work to do.
Bayern defeated Atalanta 6-1, even without top scorer Harry Kane starting. Atletico took advantage of a risky decision from Tottenham coach Igor Tudor not to start first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, quickly leading 3-0 and eventually winning 5-2.
Liverpool must recover from a 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in the second leg next week at Anfield, while Barcelona needed a last-minute penalty from Lamine Yamal to finish level at 1-1 against Newcastle.
Goals Galore
Despite Kane’s absence, Bayern all but assured their place in the quarter-finals with a commanding win against Atalanta.
Kane, who has scored 47 goals this season, was on the bench due to fitness issues, allowing Michael Olise to score twice. Serge Gnabry and Nicolas Jackson each contributed with goals and assists. Josip Stanisic and Jamal Musiala also added to Bayern’s tally.
Tottenham had a disastrous start in Madrid. Backup goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was substituted in the 17th minute after errors led to two early Atletico goals.
Tudor’s decision to bench Vicario backfired. Kinsky, making his Champions League debut, mishandled the ball, allowing Marcos Llorente to score first. Antoine Griezmann then made it 2-0, followed by another mistake leading to Julian Alvarez scoring into an empty net.
Kinsky appeared devastated upon being replaced by Vicario, who conceded just five minutes after coming on, with Robin Le Normand scoring Atletico’s fourth.
“We capitalized on our opponents’ mistakes for an early lead, and we go into the second leg with a three-goal advantage,” Alvarez said.
Despite a Spurs rally, they will face an uphill battle to avoid elimination in the second leg.
“We conceded three early goals, making it very hard for us,” Tudor stated.
According to Opta, this was Tottenham’s first occurrence of losing six consecutive games in their history.
Barcelona Leaves it Late
Referee Marco Guida awarded a penalty, and 18-year-old Yamal calmly scored, even with home fans demanding he miss. His goal came at the 96th minute, and the whistle blew right after.
“It wasn’t our best game, but we have a young team,” said Barcelona coach Hansi Flick. “We need to improve, but we have a lot of potential that we can build on.”
Newcastle took the lead with Harvey Barnes scoring in the 86th minute. Barnes, who had also hit the post earlier, shared his thoughts on the late equalizer: “It’s tough to concede like that after scoring, but the score is level, and we have a chance in the second leg.”
Galatasaray Holds Advantage Against Liverpool
Galatasaray is gaining recognition by defeating European heavyweights, following their win against Juventus.
A 1-0 win in Istanbul in the first leg gives the Turkish champions an upper hand in this round-of-16 matchup.
Mario Lemina’s header in the seventh minute secured the win for Galatasaray, who previously stunned Juventus with a 7-5 aggregate victory.
The second leg will take place next Wednesday.
“We want to win there too and reach the quarter-finals,” stated Lemina.
This was the second time Galatasaray triumphed over Liverpool this season, having won the group-stage match by the same scoreline.
Galatasaray nearly extended their lead, but Victor Osimhen’s second-half goal was ruled out for offside, while Liverpool had Ibrahima Konate’s goal disallowed by VAR for handball.
“Right now, it’s halftime,” Liverpool coach Arne Slot noted. “We’ve lost here twice by 1-0, but the next game is at Anfield, and our fans can create a great atmosphere.”