A consequential week awaits in Europe as the UEFA Champions League’s knockout phase playoffs continue with a batch of second leg matches, several of which will be fiercely contested with spots in the round of 16 on the line.
Three first leg matches concluded in a draw or with a team boasting a narrow one goal advantage, a trip to the next round no sure thing for several high-profile teams. The list includes Real Madrid, who have just a 1-0 lead over Benfica before Wednesday’s second leg at home, and reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, who came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Monaco 3-2 last week. Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, have all to play for after a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge in the first leg.
A handful of teams, meanwhile, will hope their sizable first leg advantages make for a strong foundation as they target spots in the round of 16. Newcastle United have the largest lead after a 6-1 win at Qarabag, while Galatasaray head to Juventus with a 5-2 advantage. In the surprise of the first leg, though, Bodo/Glimt visit Inter after their surprise 3-1 win on Wednesday.
Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.
How to watch
Paramount+ will once again be a one-stop shop for all things Champions League this week, while CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network will have select coverage on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Coverage on both days begins on CBS Sports Golazo Network before the early matches before the UEFA Champions League Today pre-match show begins on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network. All matches will be available on Paramount+ while CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network will carry select games on both Tuesday and Wednesday, while Paramount+ will also have The Golazo Show. Coverage concludes with the UEFA Champions League Today post-match show on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network as well as new editions of The Champions Club and Scoreline on CBS Sports Golazo Network.
UEFA Champions League bracket
First leg scores
- Galatasaray 5, Juventus 2
- Monaco 2, Paris Saint-Germain 3
- Benfica 0, Real Madrid 1
- Borussia Dortmund 2, Atalanta 0
- Qarabag 1, Newcastle United 6
- Olympiacos 0, Bayer Leverkusen 2
- Bodo/Glimt 3, Inter 1
- Club Brugge 3, Atletico Madrid 3
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Knockout phase playoffs second leg schedule
All times U.S./Eastern
Tuesday’s storylines
Atletico Madrid’s dominance in question: Since returning to the Champions League after several years away in the 2013-14 season, Atletico Madrid have become one of the competition’s fixtures. They have made it to the round of 16 on all but two occasions in the last 12 seasons and are still the favorites to advance on Tuesday but after last week’s 3-3 draw at Club Brugge, reaching the next round is no guarantee. The Belgian side went toe-to-toe with Atleti, revealing some of their opponent’s shortcomings in the process. Diego Simeone’s side still boasts a handful of talented goalscorers, headlined by Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez, the pair supported by impactful players like Alexander Sorloth and new signing Ademola Lookman. Their defensive performances, though, have been all over the place – they have one clean sheet in their last five, a 4-0 win against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, conceding nine goals in that stretch. Brugge have sneakily been a strong attacking side in the Champions League with 15 goals in eight league phase matches, gifted at finding a way to exploit vulnerable defenses.
Are Italian sides in trouble?: Coupled with Juventus’ first leg capitulation at Galatasaray, Inter’s tie with Bodo/Glimt will serve as a bellwether for the state of the game in Italy, the pressure fully on the Serie A leaders after losing 3-1 in Norway last week. Glimt are riding a high after beating both Manchester City and Atleti in recent weeks and have the benefit of a familiarity with Aspmyra Stadion’s artificial turf but even then, Inter failed to match the tempo of the opponent in the first leg and return home with a sizable disadvantage. They rebounded in domestic play with a 2-0 win at Lecce but may have to cope without Lautaro Martinez, who came off with a calf injury at Glimt and missed Saturday’s match and may be at risk of missing Tuesday’s Champions League encounter. They will likely count on Marcus Thuram to lead their attacking charge but Inter have not exactly an attacking force in Europe with 15 goals during the league phase, an average tally during those eight games, a worrying sign for a team in need of goals on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s storylines
Real Madrid’s up-and-down season: From a results standpoint, things were coming up Real Madrid last week – their win over Real Sociedad and Barcelona’s defeat to Girona meant they took top spot in LaLiga, while a 1-0 win at Benfica means they have an important advantage heading into the second leg. Their four-match win streak came to an end on Saturday, though, with a 2-1 loss at Osasuna, a game that served as a reminder of the team’s longstanding issues. There’s a longstanding imbalance to Los Blancos’ squad, even as coach Alvaro Arbeloa commits to playing Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior alongside each other. The strategy works sometimes but is far from foolproof, as was the case on Saturday – they only managed 1.7 expected goals from 15 shots at Osasuna, while the hosts had 2.29 xG from 13 shots. There is no reason to expect Arbeloa to drop Mbappe and Vinicius when Benfica come to town on Wednesday but against a visiting side that limited Madrid’s offense to just 0.89 xG from 17 shots, finding the correct balance may be an all-important task for the coach.
Paris Saint-Germain bounce back:
Paris Saint-Germain entered their first leg at Monaco with just four wins in their last eight and a chance to end their rut, which they did – even if it was the hard way. An early brace from U.S. international Folarin Balogun ensured PSG had to come back from a 2-0 deficit in order to come out with a first leg advantage, while a 3-0 win over Metz on Saturday ensured they would have more wind in their sails in time for Wednesday’s second leg. They will have to manage against Monaco without Ousmane Dembele, who came off early in the first leg with an injury and may still be unavailable on Wednesday, leaving Luis Enrique to call upon the likes of Desire Doue and Achraf Hakimi to hold down the attacking fort.
