Continuing the trend from last week, the second leg of the 2025-26 Champions League Round of 16 stage produced exhilarating drama including a flurry of goals, magnificent individual performances and stunning comebacks which ultimately led to the eight teams moving into the quarterfinals. Past records were broken and new milestones were set as fans witnessed some of the best ever witnessed in Europe's premier competition.
Sporting CP and Liverpool both made historical comebacks in their respective ties. The Portuguese side ended the fairytale run of Bodø/Glimt in the competition by replacing a 3-0 defeat in the first leg with a huge thumping 5-0 victory back at home. The Reds also overturned a 1-0 deficit against Galatasaray to win big in the return leg at Anfield with four different goalscorers on the scoresheet in the 4-1 aggregate victory. The same goal flurry happened at Camp Nou where Barcelona decimated Newcastle with a 7-2 win, 8-3 on aggregate, with the feared front three of last season, firing at all fronts.
Meanwhile, Arsenal completed their job at home with a 2-0 victory, throwing away any chance of surprises after a rather uncharacteristic 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. For the rest, it was just to add to their comfortable first leg aggregate score to confirm their place in the quarterfinal without a hitch. Bayern Munich did not lay back after their massive 6-1 first leg win at Atalanta as they smashed them again in front of their home fans this time with the returning Harry Kane inspiring a 4-1 victory.
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia came back to haunt Chelsea but from the start this time as he inspired a 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge that helped PSG enter the last eight 8-2 on aggregate. Real Madrid made sure that there was no unwanted comeback from Manchester City from 3-0 down as they claimed a 2-1 victory to move into the quarterfinals as well. A turnaround Tottenham could have hoped for as they ended with a victory in London by scoring three goals but conceding twice and the 5-2 battering in the first leg meant Atletico Madrid had the last laugh altogether.
Here are all the records set in the second leg of the 2025-26 Champions League Round of 16 stage:
Sporting CP 5-0 Bodø/Glimt (5-3 on agg)
This is not the first time Sporting have overturned a three-goal deficit to progress from a knockout-stage tie in major European competition, but it is their first in the Champions League. The last time they did so was in the now defunct Cup Winner's Cup, eliminating Manchester United in the 1963/64 season. They finished with 38 shots with 14 of those hitting the target. It was the joint most attempts by a Portuguese team in a Champions League game since Braga had 38 against Cluj in September 2012.
Center-back Goncalo Ignacio sparked the comeback with a brilliant header from a corner in the 34th minute after an explosive start by the home team. It was his second goal in the competition after netting against Arsenal back in November 2024. Before converting from the spot to level the tie in the 78th minute, Sporting's charismatic striker Luis Suarez made a run in behind to set up Pedro Goncalves perfectly for the side's second goal of the evening just past the hour mark.
Maximilian Araujo then put the host ahead with a wonderful left-footed finish in the extra-time that followed after it was tied 3-3 on aggregate in 90 minutes. It was the earliest ever goal scored in the extra time period in Champions League history after the Uruguayan netted in the 92nd minute. The host then put the sealer in the stoppage of extra time through Rafael Nel, just five minutes after he entered the pitch. It was a special evening for him as he scored on his Champions League debut and for his side who reached the last eight of the competition.
This was the first defeat for Bodø/Glimt against Portuguese opponents on the European stage. Kjetil Knutsen's side had won all three previous encounters against different opponents from the nation including beating Sporting in the first leg. Bodø also lost the chance to become only the second team from Norway to reach the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League or the European Cup after Rosenborg managed to do so in the 1996/97 season.
The Norwegian side's five game winning streak was snapped after that mighty turnaround by Sporting. They beat Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter over two legs while also beating the Lisbon based side at home in the first leg but failed to equal the longest winning streak in the competition by a side outside the top five leagues of Europe. Three sides achieved the feat before, Benfica in 1990, Spartak Moscow in 1995 and more recently Ajax in 2021.
Arsenal 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen (3-1 on agg)
Eberechi Eze's thumping volley in the 36th minute gave Gunners the lead in the game and in the tie. The strike was also historic for the former Crystal Palace star, who has made landmark strikes before, as he became only the second English player to score for Arsenal in the Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season, after Theo Walcott in 2012-13.
Leonardo Trossard grabbed the assist after doing good work to create the chance which Eze finished emphatically. However, the Belgian drew blank at the Emirates Stadium again making it ten straight home games he has featured in but have failed to find the back of the net. It is strikingly poor form from the former Brighton man who found the net in each of his first four Champions League games at home.
However, the Gunners had no reason to worry as their star midfielder Declan Rice settled the tie past the hour mark with an elegant finish. It was his third straight goal in the competition from outside of the box and eighth overall in an Arsenal shirt. With Eze and Rice on the scoresheet, Arsenal had two English players score in the same Champions League match for the first time since October 2016 when Walcott and Oxlade Chamberlain netted against Ludogorets.
Chelsea 0-3 PSG (8-2 on agg)
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia scored the earliest goal Chelsea have conceded at home in a Champions League knockout game just six minutes after kick-off, killing off any comeback hopes. With that strike, he has now been directly involved in 16 goals, including 10 goals and six assists in his last 19 games in the competition for PSG.
The Georgian also carry the best goals and assists per ratio, having a goal involvement per 63 minutes of a match on average, for a PSG player in the Champions League this season, surpassing Kylian Mbappe's 65 minutes per 90 ratio in the 2022-23 campaign.
Paris's second also came swiftly in the 14th minute with Bradley Barcola scoring a smashing goal, just as he did to open the tie in the French capital in the first leg. It is just the second time the 23-year-old has scored for successive appearances in the Champions League having done so in January 2025. Surprisingly, the winger did not score in the competition between the two periods.
It was the earliest the Blues had ever conceded two goals in a Champions League match. They also trailed at halftime with a two goal deficit for the first time since 2019. It went from bad to worse as Senny Mayulu added a third which meant Chelsea are now winless in their last five meetings against PSG in the Champions League which is their joint winless run against an opponent in the competition, tied with Bayern Munich.
Chelsea have also lost four games in a row in the knockout stages of the competition. On the other hand, this was the fourth consecutive knockout-stage win for the Ligue 1 giants over an English team, having also knocked out Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal on their route to the final last season. Luis Enrique's side are now unbeaten in the last six games in such fixtures in the competition.
Manchester City 1-2 Real Madrid (5-1 on agg)
Real Madrid have eliminated Manchester City from the Champions League knockout stages for a fifth time and for the third consecutive season. Only Bayern Munich have been eliminated by the Los Blancos on more occasions than the Premier League giants with seven. Pep Guardiola have also not seen a side managed by him progress after losing the first leg of a knockout tie in the competition since 2015, when he was in the Bavarian's dugout. The Spaniard has witnessed six failures since then with four coming with City.
Erling Haaland's equaliser produced nothing at the end as Vinicius Jr netted again at the death after extending the lead in the tie from the penalty spot following Bernardo Silva's red carded offence in denying a goal with his hand. However, the Norwegian had a personal record to savour as his eighth strike in the Champions League got him level with Bayern's legend Thomas Muller in the all time scoring list in the competition with 57 goals.
The victory for Real Madrid means their boss Alvaro Arbeloa became the first manager to win each of his first four knockout ties of a Champions League. Meanwhile, Guardiola has failed to manage his side to the quarterfinal stage for the second successive season. Before that, his teams were eliminated before the quarters only once in his first 15 attempts.
Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle (8-3 on agg)
Barcelona have now progressed from each of their last 11 Champions League games when they have drawn the first leg away from home. Meanwhile, this is the first time Newcastle conceded seven or more goals in any competition since their 7-3 humbling by Arsenal in the Premier League back in 2012. It is also the joint most conceded by any English side in a major European competition since Tottenham suffered the same scoreline against Bayern Munich.
Lamine Yamal became the youngest player to score 10 goals in Champions League history at the age of 18 years and 248 days when he scored the all important penalty on the stroke of half-time to put Barcelona 3-2 ahead in the game and 4-3 on aggregate. It was previously held by Kylian Mbappe who set the record in 2017 at the age of 18 years and 350 days.
Robert Lewandowski's brace in the second half took the game completely out of reach from Newcastle. In doing so, he became the oldest player ever to score twice in a Champions League match, also taking his competition tally to 109 goals, at the age of 37 years and 209 days, overtaking Filippo Inzaghi for AC Milan against Real Madrid in November 2010 who did it at the age of 37 years and 86 days.
However, the star of the show was Raphinha who in addition to winning that penalty at the end of first half scored a brace and also provided two assists. The Brazilian also registered five shots, took eight touches in the opposition box and created five chances, more than any other player on the pitch.
Although Anthony Elanga's brace to make it 2-2 in the evening faded into obscurity in terms of result after such a powerful showing by the host in the second half, he had a personal record to savour. The former Manchester United winger became only the second player to score twice in an away Champions League game at Camp Nou for an English side since Dwight Yorke in 1998.
Bayern Munich 4-1 Atalanta (10-2 on agg)
Harry Kane scored his 50th Champions League goal in his 66th appearance in the competition. Only Erling Haaland taking just 49 matches and Ruud van Nistelrooy with 62 took fewer games to reach the 50 goals landmark in the competition. The England captain has also scored 47 goals this season in all competitions, his best record and also the most by any player in Europe's top five leagues.
Kane has now scored 29 goals in just 34 matches for the Bundesliga giants which is the most by any player in the competition since the start of 2023-24 season. He suppressed Kylian Mbappe with that feat. The former Spurs player has also scored 20 goals in 18 home games for Bayern in the competition. His penalty opener in the 25 minute was also the 16th time Bayern scored in the first half, only already eliminating Newcastle, bettering them with 17.
Lennart Karl showed his talent once again, now becoming the youngest German player to score and assist in a Champions League at the age of 18 years and 24 days. He is also the youngest Bayern Munich player to do so and the second youngest to score in a knockout match in the competition for the club after Jamal Musiala.
Tottenham 3-2 Atletico Madrid (7-5 on agg)
Julian Alvarez became just the fourth player to score and assist in both legs of a Champions League tie and the first since Lewandowski for Bayern Munich, similarly against a Premier League side in the Round of 16 stage, Chelsea in the 2019-20 season. He is the only Atletico Madrid player to do so in the competition and also the first Argentinian.
The Spanish outfit has 31 goals in the Champions League this season which is the most they managed in history in a single campaign. Also finding the net was Xavi Simons who ended a run of 16 scoreless games, netting a brace even though it became too little too late at the end.
Tottenham have now won just three of their last 16 games against Spanish opposition in UEFA competitions while Atletico have been victorious in 11 of their 15 two legged ties against English opponents in European major competitions.
Liverpool 4-0 Galatasaray (4-1 agg)
Liverpool overturned a first-leg deficit to progress from a two-legged knockout tie in the Champions League for just the third time in eight attempts, after against Chelsea in 2006-07 and Barcelona in 2018-19, both at the semi-final stage. Galatasaray have now suffered nine defeats in their last 13 away games in the competition, with the sole victory coming against the Red's rivals Manchester United in 2023.
Mohamed Salah became the first African player to score 50 goals in the Champions League with 47 of those coming in a Liverpool shirt. At the same time, he registered 200th and 201st goal involvements for Liverpool at Anfield in all competitions including 140 goals and 61 assists, reaching that tally in just 211 appearances.
