Champions League Playoff Drama
Champions League playoff second-leg results delivered major upsets: Atlético Madrid crushed Club Brugge 4-1, Atalanta dominated Dortmund 4-1 (series 4-3), and Juventus beat Galatasaray 3-2 in overtime though Galatasaray advanced 7-5 overall. Real Madrid topped Benfica 2-1 to advance 3-1 on aggregate.
Atlético Madrid's dominant 4-1 victory at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano was powered by an Alexander Sørloth hat-trick. The tie was evenly poised after a 3-3 draw in the first leg in Bruges, but Sørloth's clinical finishing ensured Atlético's passage to the next round with a 7-4 aggregate score. Atalanta engineered a remarkable comeback against Borussia Dortmund. After losing the first leg 2-0 in Germany, the Italian side stormed to a 4-1 win at home. The tie was level at 3-3 on aggregate until a dramatic 97th-minute penalty, converted by Lazar Samardžić, secured the 4-3 aggregate victory. Juventus's 3-2 win on the night was not enough to overcome their first-leg deficit against Galatasaray. The Turkish club, buoyed by a 5-2 home victory, advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time in 12 years. Victor Osimhen's goal in extra time proved crucial, silencing the Allianz Stadium and sealing the 7-5 aggregate result. Real Madrid survived an early scare at the Bernabéu after Benfica's Rafa Silva scored to level the aggregate score at 1-1. However, the 15-time champions responded just minutes later through a strike from Aurélien Tchouaméni, his first in the Champions League, before Vinícius Júnior secured the 2-1 win on the night. The advancing teams will now await their fate in the Round of 16. The draw is set to take place on Friday, February 27, 2026, in Nyon, Switzerland, where they will be pitted against the top eight teams who qualified directly from the league phase.
