A round-up of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League last-16 first leg matches.
Liverpool substitute Harvey Elliott scored a last-gasp winner less than a minute after coming on to earn a fortunate 1-0 win against Paris St Germain who dominated their visitors during Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg match.
Elliott slotted the ball home in the 87th minute against the run of play after a layoff from fellow substitute Darwin Nunez for a scarcely-deserved victory in Paris.
Arne Slot's team were kept afloat by a string of magnificent saves from goalkeeper Alisson before going on to score with their first attempt on goal.
Luis Enrique's PSG, who had won 18 and drawn two of their last 20 games, were left to rue their missed chances from dozens of attempts as a tough return leg awaits at Anfield next Tuesday.
PSG got off to a strong start with Liverpool's attempt at a high press not lasting long.
The hosts had the first clear chance in the 16th minute when Joao Neves skied his attempt over the bar from Dembele's cutback after the France forward had outpaced two defenders to break down the right flank.
Alarm bells were ringing for Liverpool and they again escaped punishment in the 20th when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's superb curled effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.
Bradley Barcola went down after a challenge from Ibrahima Konate, prompting another video check for a potential red card, but the visitors stayed with 10 men.
With Liverpool in survival mode, Alisson parried Neves' 25-metre strike before denying Dembele. The ball went into the path of Barcola, whose first strike was blocked before his second flew over.
The Brazilian keeper's firm hand was there again to sop Kvaratskhelia and he made saves left, right and centre early in a one-sided second half.
Slot sent Curtis Jones and Nunez on for Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota hoping to shift the momentum but PSG stayed a notch above.
Alisson, again, stretched to tip away Desire Doue's missile 10 minutes from time and he also played a key role in the build-up to the goal.
With the clock ticking down, Nunez won Alisson's long ball and played into the path of Elliott, who calmly slid the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Kane double as Bayern outclass Leverkusen
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane scored in each half to guide his team to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Bayer Leverkusen in the all-German Champions League round of 16 first-leg match.
The Bavarians earned their first victory in the last seven matches against Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen and will take a significant advantage into next week's return,
For the visitors, second in the league behind Bayern, it was a bitterly disappointing evening, filled with mistakes and sloppy defending in their worst performance of the season.
The Bundesliga leaders, knocked out of the German Cup by Leverkusen, shot out of the blocks and established a ninth-minute lead through Kane's powerful header.
Kane's 30th goal across all competitions ended the striker's four-game goal drought.
In a pulsating start, the visitors almost hit back five minutes later but Jeremie Frimpong, alone in front of goal, could not beat Manuel Neuer, making his 150th Champions League appearance, from close range.
Bayern had control of the game and came close to a second goal when Jamal Musiala headed against the crossbar.
Error-prone Leverkusen, with top strikers Victor Boniface and Patrick Schick left on the bench, were a shadow of the team who dominated Bayern in their goalless league draw just over two weeks ago.
Leverkusen keeper Matej Kovar gifted the hosts a second in the 54th minute after he dropped the ball from a Joshua Kimmich cross to allow Jamal Musiala to tap home.
Things got worse for the visitors when Nordi Mukiele was sent off following a second booking and Kane sealed Bayern's comfortable win with a well-taken 75th-minute penalty and his 31st goal across all competitions.
The only sour note on an otherwise perfect evening for Bayern came in the 58th minute when Neuer had to be taken off injured.
The winners will face Feyenoord or Inter Milan in the last eight.
Raphinha earns 10-man Barcelona gutsy win at Benfica
Raphinha struck a second-half winner to give Barcelona a lion-hearted 1-0 victory at Benfica as they overcame a red card for Pau Cubarsi early in the game to steal an advantage in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Barcelona's teenage defender Cubarsi was given a straight red card for a last-man foul on Vangelis Pavlidis in the 22nd minute, but the visitors hung on with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny putting in a brilliant performance.
The Polish veteran pulled off a string of brilliant saves to keep Barca in the game and his effort was rewarded in the 61st minute when Raphinha pounced on a poor defensive pass across the Benfica box.
He then capitalised on the mistake, firing a low strike that deflected off a defender before going in just inside the left post.
The star of the show, however, was Szczesny, who came out of retirement to play for Barca after Germany international Marc-Andre ter Stegen sustained a torn knee ligament in September.
"Szczesny saved us many times today, he is outstanding," Barcelona midfielder Pedri told Spanish TV station Movistar Plus.
"You have to give a lot of credit for the team's effort after going a man down so early in the game. On other days it was harder for us but today we hung on and defended really well."
Szczesny's brilliant night started 30 seconds after kickoff, when Pavlidis recovered the ball and fed Kerem Akturkoglu inside the box and he fired a low strike that the 34-year-old keeper kept out with a one-handed save.
The Polish keeper ended up making eight saves, five of those in the second half when Benfica piled on the pressure with over 60% of possession and 15 goal attempts.
Barca had only a couple, with Raphinha netting with their only shot on target in the second half.
Szczesny's magic included a stunning reflex save to deny Fredrik Aursnes from close range early on after the break and an excellent stop to palm away Renato Sanches's bullet strike from the edge of the box four minutes into added time.
Inter close in on last eight with win at Feyenoord
Inter Milan took full control of their Champions League last-16 tie against Feyenoord with a 2-0 away victory thanks to goals from Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez.
Feyenoord looked more dangerous the first half but Inter went ahead against the run of play when Thuram scored with an acrobatic volley in the 38th minute and Martinez netted with a shot into the top corner soon after half-time.
The return leg in Milan will be played on Tuesday and the winners will face Bayern Munich or Bayer Leverkusen for a spot in the semi-finals.
Inter dominated possession in the opening stages but the hosts launched effective counter-attacks, a low attempt at the near post from Ibrahim Osman forcing Inter keeper Josep Martinez into an early save.
The Serie A leaders often lacked precision but Thuram finished off a great team move to put them ahead after the French forward struck from close range following a long cross from Nicolo Barella.
The goal lifted Inter and they doubled their lead five minutes into the second half when Martinez scored his sixth goal in this season's competition.
It was the Argentine's 18th goal in the Champions League for Inter as he became club's all-time leading scorer in the competition.
Jakub Moder hit the bar for the hosts but Inter could have made it 3-0 when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Thuram just after the hour mark.
Feyenoord keeper Timon Wellenreuther guessed Piotr Zielinski's intentions, however, and saved the Poland midfielder's low shot.
The result dented Feyenoord's chances of reaching the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition for the first time since 1971-72 as new coach Robin van Persie made his Champions League managerial debut.
Inter, three-times European champions and most recently in 2010, advanced directly to the knock-out stages after finishing fourth in the competition's maiden league phase.
© 2025