UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Play-offs Second Legs

Inter 1-2 Bodo/Glimt (2-5 AGG) - San Siro Stadium

A dominant performance by Inter but they were unable to make back their deficit from the first leg. For all of their 70% possession and 33 shots they could only score once as they struggled in front of goal. With all of their chances, Inter only managed 6 shots on target which was not good enough for the 4 goal deficit they had at one stage in the game. 

On the other hand, Bodo/Glimt showed another disciplined performance to not only win convincingly on aggregate but also win away at the San Siro. They were clinical with their chances yet again that Inter had already seen as well as Manchester City and Atletico Madrid. With only 7 shots to Inter’s 33 and 5 on target compared to only 6 for Inter the 5-2 win on aggregate for Bodo/Glimt was deserved over the 2 legs. The fairytale story continues for Bodo/Glimt with either Manchester CIty again or Sporting CP to play in the round of 16. 

The first goal of the game came for Bodo/Glimt in the 58th minute. It was a mistake at the back as Manuel Akanji misjudged his surroundings and the pressure around him. He tried to pass the ball back to Zielinski but the pass was far too short. Blomberg latched onto the pass and was through to have a shot which he did. It was saved by Sommer but it was followed up by Jens Petter Hauge hitting it on the volley into an empty net.  That goal alone made it seem like a near impossible task to come back from 1-4 down on aggregate with just over 30 minutes left. 

Bodo/Glimt doubled their lead on the night and made it 1-5 on aggregate with a sensational team goal. It started from the back with an interception and was played through the middle of the pitch with 1 and 2 touch football to put Hakon Evjen through. He only needed one touch to set himself before perfect finish on the half volley. The whole move lasted just over 10 seconds, proving how efficient Bodo/Glimt had been over the 2 legs and in their recent matches. A near impossible task was made even harder in the 72nd minute. 

Inter did manage to pull a consolation goal back by Bastoni. The goal only just went in with goal line technology needed to confirm the goal. A corner from Dimarco which Bisseck won and put towards goal. At the back post, Ange-Yoan Bonny put it towards Bastoni who headed it at goal. Nikita Haikin in the Bodo/Glimt goal caught it but was behind the line to give Inter their goal. However, with only 14 minutes left and at least another 3 goals needed, it proved too much for Inter. The finalists of 2025 and 2023 were unable to make it to the round of 16 for the first time in 5 seasons. 

Atalanta 4-1 Borussia Dortmund (4-3 AGG) - New Balance Arena

An incredible comeback from the Italian team as they went from 2-0 down in the first leg to 3-2 up. Even after Dortmund came back and scored to make it 3-3, there was drama in 90th minute stoppage time. Just as it seemed to be destined for extra time, a mistake from Gregor Kobel ended in a penalty for Atalanta. The comeback was completed in the 98th minute to put them in the round of 16 to play either Arsenal or Bayern. 

A disappointing night for Dortmund after being 2-0 from the first leg and after being 3-2 down on aggregate on the night, they were able to comeback to 3-3. With just minutes from extra time where anything could have happened to go out in the cruelest of ways with last minute heart break. Dortmund wouldn’t have much time to feel sorry for themselves with a huge game against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga coming up at the weekend. 

Within the first 5 minutes Atalanta had their first goal back. It was good play down the left side of the box and the ball across the box caused confusion between defenders. Ramy Bensebaini tried to clear the ball and it fell to Scamacca to tap it home from close range. An almighty lift early in the game for Atalanta as they chased down Dortmund. 

Right on half time they had another goal and were level in the tie thanks to Davide Zappacosta. It was another cross from the left that caused the issues. It came in and was cleared but only to Zappacosta on the edge of the box. He shot towards goal and a deflection off Bensebaini took it over the goalkeeper and in. A first half to forget for the Dortmund centre back. 

Atalanta then took the lead for the first time in the tie in the 57th minute. Once again it came down the left side for Atalanta and their captain De Roon found some space from a pass back to him on the corner of the box. A terrific ball into the box was met at the back post by Mario Pasalic to squeeze it in at the near post. The turnaround was complete but not finished by any means. 

In the 75th minute, Dortmund found their goal to level the tie through Karim Adeyemi. A great solo effort from the 24 year old. He went down the right side for Dortmund and went at the Atalanta defence. He played the ball into Chukwuemeka and he returned it to the feet of Adeyemi. He continued to run across the box and curled a shot into the top corner. It stunned the Atalanta players and crowd as their momentum was halted from a top quality piece of play. 

With both teams looking for a goal towards the end of the game, it seemed that extra time was the only option as it entered stoppage time in the 90th minute. However, there was another twist in the tale as Kobel in the Dortmund goal made a mistake in the 94th minute to give Atalanta a chance. A short pass to one of his team mates was picked up by Pasalic. He looked up and saw Krstovic and looped a ball towards him. 

With the ball behind Bensebaini, he swung a boot at it and cleared the ball but caught Krstovic very clearly on the head. Nothing was given at the time and a corner was awarded but after a VAR review it was clearly given as a penalty to Atalanta. The nightmare night for Bensebaini got worse as his challenge got him a second yellow card and he was sent off. The pressure was on Lazar Samardžić who stepped up to take the all important penalty. You could hear a pin drop as he waited for the referee's whistle. However, he made no mistake and fired it into the top corner. Atalanta did it and were through to the round of 16!

Juventus 3-2 Galatasaray (5-7 AGG) - Allianz Stadium

From one comeback to another. This time it was Juventus trying to comeback from a 5-2 deficit from the first leg in Istanbul. It was an incredible game with tremendous fight and determination from Juventus backed by the fans in Turin. Although Juventus were able to get the tie level and force extra time after scoring 3 unanswered goals, the extra time proved to be too much with a man down as Galatasaray scored 2 unanswered goals in the extra 30 minutes to go through. 

The first goal came from the penalty spot. It was a ball in from Koopmeiners, picked up by Jonathan David in the box. He laid it off to Thuram but he was caught down the back of the leg by Torreira. Locatelli took the spot kick and sent the keeper the wrong way to give Juventus a life line to build from. 

A second was added in the 70th minute by Gatti. Kalulu found himself free just inside the right side of the box and was played in. He fired the ball across goal with Cakir scrambling to reach it. He managed to get a hand on it but it still fell into Gatti's path as he prodded it into the goal. Only one goal was needed to level the tie after that. 

In the 82nd minute the tie was level from a Juventus free kick on the left side. It was crossed into the box and met by Koopmeiners at the back post. He looped his headed back towards his teammates and towards the goal at the same time. The Galatasaray defenders tried their best to get their heads on it but Weston McKennie won the header and squeezed into the narrow gap to score. Somehow he was able to get the ball in between the post and the goalkeeper to make it 3-0 on the night and 5-5 on aggregate.

Into extra time, Juventus had a golden opportunity to go ahead for the first time on aggregate on the night but it was taken and Galatasaray punished Juve for not getting the goal when they needed it. Added time in the first half of extra time gave Galatasaray the lead back in the tie. Yilmaz had the ball just outside the box and passed it to Osimhen in the box. A calm and collected finish from Osimhen as he put it through Perin’s legs to score. 

Just before the end of extra time, Galatasaray made sure of the win with Yilmaz getting the goal to send them to the round of 16. Wilfried Singo made a great run through the middle of the pitch and passed the ball through the Juve defence with Yilmaz and Osimhen both through on goal. They both wanted the ball but Yilmaz took the shot with Osimhen possibly offside. He too put it through Perin’s legs with a composed finish. A valiant effort from Juventus who looked to just run out of steam but they were applauded off the pitch by their fans who showed their appreciation at the end of the game.