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A round-up of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg matches played on Tuesday.
Fired-up Arsenal thrashed PSV Eindhoven 7-1 away in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday after rattling in three goals in a 13-minute spell in the first half and then ruthlessly added four more after the break.
Jurrien Timber opened the scoring in the 18th minute, followed by a strike from teenager Ethan Nwaneri before Mikel Merino added the third in the 31st.
The Dutch champions pulled one back with a Noa Lang penalty for a 3-1 half-time deficit but two goals in the opening three minutes after the break reinforced Arsenal’s dominance, with captain Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard scoring.
Odegaard got his second goal in the 73rd minute before substitute Riccardo Calafiori netted the seventh five minutes from time to complete the rout at the Philips Stadion.
Arsenal registered their biggest away win in European club competition and put themselves in a virtually unassailable position to advance to the quarter-finals where they will meet either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid.
They dominated from the start, although the hosts should have taken the lead in the 16th minute when a cross from Ivan Perisic was palmed away by goalkeeper David Raya into the path of Ismael Saibari, who rattled the crossbar from close range.
Two minutes later, a clever turn and left-foot cross from Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice saw Timber tower above Lang at the back post to head home and begin the deluge.
The left side of the Gunners' attack also provided the second goal as Myles Lewis-Skelly played in a square pass that Nwaneri ran onto and slammed home from point-blank range.
Lewis-Skelly was then fortunate to avoid being sent off for a second yellow card after a clumsy challenge that provoked furious protests from the PSV players and bench.
Merino’s contribution came after Timber’s persistence as the Netherlands defender tried to weave his way into the PSV box.
The home side battled to stop him but when the ball spilt free, defender Ryan Flamingo did not clear properly and Merino snapped up the chance to place the ball in the far corner.
Arsenal gave away a penalty three minutes from halftime when Thomas Partey’s outstretched arm caught PSV captain Luuk de Jong around the neck and Lang converted the spot kick.
But any hopes of a recovery were snuffed out after the break as PSV goalkeeper Walter Benitez gifted Odegaard a goal when he pushed Nwaneri’s cross straight at the Norwegian and within 60 seconds a clever dink from Trossard over Benitez made it 5-1.
Odegaard fired home the sixth goal and then provided a perfect pass for Calafiori to net at the end of a storming run on a night where everything went right for the visitors.
Diaz winner gives Real Madrid lead over Atletico
Brahim Diaz scored a second-half winner as hosts Real Madrid edged past neighbours Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a scrappy first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie on Tuesday after Julian Alvarez had cancelled out Rodrygo's opener.
It was a stuttering capital derby between bitter rivals who at times looked to be playing within themselves, seemingly conserving some energy for what is likely to be a compelling return leg at Atletico's Metropolitano Stadium next week.
Real started on fire when Rodrygo scored a fine opener four minutes after kick-off but Atletico slowly got into the game and Alvarez equalised with a stunning strike in the 32nd minute.
Real got the winner in the 55th through Diaz, who worked his magic to find a tiny pocket of space inside a crowded box and slotted a low, angled strike inside Jan Oblak's far post.
Late own goal, penalty give Aston Villa win at Brugge
Aston Villa earned a 3-1 win away to Club Brugge in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in Belgium, thanks to an own goal and a penalty kick in the final eight minutes.
Leon Bailey put Villa ahead after three minutes and Maxim De Cuyper levelled nine minutes later. But Brugge's Brandon Mechele scored an own goal eight minutes from time and with two minutes left, Marco Asensio converted from the penalty spot.
The sides will meet again at Villa Park next Wednesday for the second leg, to decide who will face either Liverpool or Paris St Germain in the quarter-finals.
Brugge won 1-0 when the sides met earlier in the competition, but this time around the hosts were chasing the game from the start.
A Youri Tielemans free kick floated into the box was headed back by Tyrone Mings and Bailey met the ball first time with a side-footed half-volley which flew into the bottom corner.
Brugge were soon level with De Cuyper marking his 100th appearance for the club with a goal.
A long ball forward reached Christos Tzolis in the area and he bided his time before laying a pass back to De Cuyper whose low shot beat the dive of Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez.
Martinez got down well to save a shot from Chemsdine Talbi as Brugge created the only other real chance before the break after the tempo slowed following their equaliser.
There was no lightning start to the second half and while the Villa players appeared content with a draw, manager Unai Emery decided to shake things up, making four changes just after the hour mark.
One of those changes, Asensio, had a powerful shot saved by Brugge keeper Simon Mignolet and when the rebound fell to another substitute, Matty Cash, he sent the ball over the bar.
Seconds later Brugge went up the other end, where Hans Vanaken sent a header wide of the far post from close range and Tzolis had an even better chance to put the hosts ahead but with just the keeper to beat he blazed his shot well over.
The game looked to be heading for a draw when it all fell apart for the home side.
First, Mechele put the ball in his own net in an attempt to cut out a low Morgan Rogers ball across the goal and it got even worse when Tzolis fouled Cash in the area.
Asensio stepped up and continued his fine scoring form for Villa, netting his fifth goal in seven games since arriving on loan from Paris St Germain to give Emery's side a two-goal cushion.
Lille hold misfiring Dortmund
Lille scored with their first shot on target in the 68th minute through Hakon Haraldsson to earn a 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund after Karim Adeyemi gave the hosts a half-time lead in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
The Germans, last year's finalists, were frustrated with the result after failing to extend their advantage in the opening period despite several chances.
They took their foot off the gas after the break to concede a deserved equaliser from the French side who waited patiently for their chance.
Dortmund needed some time to get into the game before Adeyemi fired them into a 22nd-minute lead with an unstoppable low drive that went in off the post.
Nico Schlotterbeck came close to a second goal in the 38th but his powerful shot narrowly missed the target. Pascal Gross did put the ball in the net from close range on the stroke of half-time but his effort was off-side.
The Germans, who have struggled in the Bundesliga this season and are in 10th place and at risk of missing out on next season's Champions League, eased off after the break.
Lille, who failed to break through a solid Dortmund backline for more than an hour, finally succeeded with a quick passing move as an off-balance Haraldsson beat goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Haraldsson is only the second Icelandic player to score in the Champions League knock-out rounds.
Despite some late pressure, Dortmund failed to carve out any clear chances and then had midfielder Daniel Svensson taken off with a suspected knee injury after Lille's Andre Gomes stepped on his foot from behind.
The return leg in France is on March 12.
