In this article, we take a look at all the action from Gameweek 8 of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League (UCL).
Lille have reached the last 16 of the Champions League after crushing Feyenoord with a resounding victory. Both sides started the night level on 13 points and the same goal difference, with 11th taking on 12th in the table.
Lille opened the scoring in the fourth minute, when Osame Sahraoui slid a low finish past Justin Bijlow from a tight angle. Feyenoord then equalised when Santiago Giménez turned home from close range for his fifth goal of the competition.
However, the Dutch side scored two own goals on the night. The first own goal of the night came when centreback Gernot Trauner turned a cutback past his own keeper. Lille then doubled their lead after 57 minutes when Angel Gomes’ shot deflected off David Hancko and looped home.
Lille ensured progression with three quick-fire goals in six second-half minutes with Jonathan David scoring Lille’s fourth, before the unfortunate Trauner scored his second own goal of the night amid a goalmouth scramble.
Former Newcastle midfielder Rémy Cabella added the sixth with a close-range header on 80 minutes to cap a brilliant group stage for Lille, who won five of eight league phase games including beating Real Madrid.
Morgan Rogers scored a hat-trick to help Aston Villa beat Celtic 4-2 in the final round of Champions League fixtures and help secure a top-eight spot.
Rogers got off to a brilliant start at Villa Park, netting the first two of his goals inside the opening five minutes to get the hosts up and running.
But Scottish side Celtic, with an outside shout of a top-eight spot themselves, hauled themselves back into the game remarkably. Adam Idah stunned the home crowd with his own two-minute salvo to get the visitors level. Idah’s goals came in the 36th and 38th minutes to make it 2-2.
This frantic encounter roared back into life in the second half, with Ollie Watkins restoring Aston Villa’s lead on the hour. Watkins had a chance to make it 4-2 just four minutes later, but blazed his penalty over the bar to make it a nervy end to the match.
Rogers, though, managed to get his hat-trick in stoppage time, meaning that Aston Villa finished eighth in the league stage and while Celtic finished 21st with 12 points.
A goal in each half sent Bayer Leverkusen into the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday with a comfortable 2-0 win over a toothless Sparta Prague side unable to offer much resistance to the German champions.
Leverkusen broke through in the 32nd minute after dominating play from the opening whistle when Jeremie Frimpong collected the ball at midfield, raced down the right flank and sent in a cross to Florian Wirtz who hit a first-time shot past Sparta keeper Peter Vindahl.
The German club spent most of the match piling pressure on Sparta’s backline while the visitors struggled to hold possession or create attacking opportunities.
Nathan Tella gave Leverkusen breathing room in the 64th minute when he slammed home a rebound into an empty net after Vindahl did well to parry away Alejandro Grimaldo’s direct free kick from outside the penalty area.
Following the result, Leverkusen finished the league phase in sixth place while Sparta Prague dropped out of the competition after a disappointing campaign.
Antoine Griezmann’s brace ensured Atlético Madrid’s place in the Champions League last 16 as they thrashed RB Salzburg 4-1 to finish fifth in the final league phase standings.
Atléti needed just five minutes to get up and running at the Red Bull Arena when Giuliano Simeone tucked home his first Champions League goal with his father and manager watching on.
Simeone was instrumental again eight minutes later, sending in a teasing delivery that found Griezmann, who stroked the ball past Salzburg captain Alexander Schlager. The Frenchman completed his brace in the first minute of first-half stoppage time to put the result beyond their lowly hosts with 45 minutes still to play.
Marcos Llorente added further gloss to the scoreline just after the hour, rounding off a quick counter-attack led by Rodrigo De Paul with a fine finish.
Salzburg, however, would take the shine off an otherwise impressive display from Diego Simeone’s side late on when Adam Daghim sent a brilliantly taken left-footed volley into the bottom corner.
The result means Altético have set up a potential clash in the round of 16 against either Celtic, Manchester City, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich following Wednesday’s results.
Lautaro Martínez etched his name in Inter’s record books as they beat 10-man Monaco to finish fourth in the Champions League standings. Martínez matched Sandro Mazzola’s tally of 17 goals in Europe’s premier club competition, as Inter finished fourth in the league phase.
The home side started the game at a frenetic pace and were 2-0 up and a man to the good inside 16 minutes.
Martínez converted from the penalty spot after Denis Zakaria clipped Marcus Thuram, things then got bad to worse for Monaco when Christian Mawissa received a straight red card for hauling the same player back in the 12th minute.
A low finish from Martinez made it 2-0 to the Nerazzurri, and the Argentine completed his hat-trick when Rados?aw Majecki could only parry Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s shot into his path in the second half.
The victory means Inter qualify directly for the round of 16 with 19 points from eight games, with Serie A rivals Milan and Juventus – as well as PSV and Feyenoord – among their potential next round opponents. Monaco, meanwhile, must navigate a play-off against Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica after finishing 17th of 36 teams, with 13 points.
Ousmane Dembélé netted a hat trick and fellow France forward Bradley Barcola added another as PSG qualified for the playoffs as one of the eight seeded teams for Friday’s draw after finishing 15th in the 36-team league.
The visitors, who will face either Stade Brest or Monaco, both Ligue 1 rivals, went ahead after six minutes when Barcola ghosted his markers to head home from Achraf Hakimi’s overhead flick.
Stuttgart came close when Chris Führich’s attempt was parried away by Gianluigi Donnarumma, but on the resulting counter attack, Dembélé slid the ball past Fabian Bredlow after being set up by Barcola.
Dembélé then bagged the goal of the season with a missile of a cross shot that went into the opposite side of the net to put PSG in a very comfortable spot before half-time. The Frenchman was at it again after the break, curling a splendid shot into the top corner from Hakimi’s pass in the box for his 17th goal of the season.
Führich later pulled one back with a clinical finish in the 77th minute but Stuttgart never threatened a comeback and finished 26th in the league.
Bayern Munich produced a professional performance to see off Slovan Bratislava 3-1 at the Allianz Arena but the victory was only good enough to earn the German club a play-off spot in the Champions League.
Thomas Müller converted a free header on the edge of the six-yard box to set Bayern on their way. The goal, his 56th in the competition, moved the 35-year-old joint-sixth on the all-time Champions League scorers list.
Bayern had a firm grip on proceedings throughout, controlling the game deep inside Slovan Bratislava territory but had to wait until the 63rd minute for Harry Kane to grab their second.
Kingsley Coman added a third for the hosts with a cool side-foot finish after goalkeeper Dominik Taká? parried into his path. Slovan’s Marko Toli? later scored the goal of the night, rifling the ball into the roof of the net, to reduce the deficit in stoppage time.
Following the result, Bayern climbed up to 12th in the standings and will face either Manchester City, Real Madrid or Celtic in the play-off round. Slovan Bratislava, on the other hand, ended the campaign in 35th and without a single point.
Manchester City huffed and puffed their way into the play-off phase of the Champions League after coming from behind to beat Club Brugge 3-1 and finish 22nd of the 24 qualified teams.
Second-half goals from Mateo Kova?i? and substitute Savinho – both set up by John Stones – and an own goal from Brugge’s Joel Ordóñez, were enough to get the job done.
Brugge stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd seconds before half-time when Ferran Jutglà beat Matheus Nunes before sending in a long cross that Raphael Onyedika smashed into the back of the net.
Kova?i? levelled the score in the 53rd minute when he dribbled through the heart of Brugge’s defence before unleashing a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box into the bottom corner.
City went ahead nine minutes later when Ordóñez slid to block Joško Gvardiol’s cross but knocked it into his own net. Substitute Savinho later added a third in the 77th minute to seal victory when Stones played a pinpoint cross-field ball that the Brazilian chested down before firing it past keeper Simon Mignolet.
Atalanta missed out on an automatic place in the Champions League last 16 as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Barcelona on Wednesday.
Last season’s Europa League winners, who were missing Ademola Lookman through injury, needed a victory away from home due to results elsewhere in the final round of league-phase matches.
Atalanta slipped out of the top eight despite twice coming from behind to earn a point against a Barça side who were already sure of advancing and finished second in the table.
Lamine Yamal gave the Blaugrana the lead two minutes after half-time, before Éderson equalised for Atalanta with a stunning effort from the edge of the box.
Ronald Araújo restored Barca’s advantage with a header from a corner, but Atalanta were level again when Mario Pašali? nutmegged Wojciech Szcz?sny with a low strike.
There was to be no late twist, though, and the Serie A side will instead enter the play-off round as the top seeded team in ninth place.
Also read: UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Sponsors
PSV Eindhoven ended Liverpool’s unbeaten run in the Champions League in the last game of the league phase.
With a Top-two finish guaranteed, Arne Slot took a heavily rotated side to the Dutch capital holding back nine first team players at Anfield. All five goals were scored in a highly eventful first-half. Liverpool opened the scoring with a penalty awarded for a foul on Federico Chiesa which Cody Gakpo converted in the 28th minute. PSV equalised through Johan Bakayoko in the 35th minute when he sent two defenders the wrong way and finished emphatically into the bottom corner. Five minutes later, Liverpool regained the lead through Harvey Elliott who scored when Chiesa’s shot was parried off by Walter Benítez into his path. Ismael Saibari’s near-post strike into the roof of the net restored parity in the 45th minute. PSV then took the lead in the first half injury time when Ricardo Pepi’s close range sliding shot evaded everyone, rolling into the far post.
Liverpool tried to attack but couldn’t create clear-cut chances. In the later stages of the game, defender Amara Nallo was shown a straight red card for a foul on Bakayoko. The game ended in defeat for the Reds.
Despite the defeat, Liverpool ended the league stage top of the table ensuring automatic qualification to the Round of 16.
Borussia Dortmund comfortably beat Shakhtar in their last league phase game after two defeats in the last two games.
Serhou Guirassy continued his top form with a brace in the first half. Shoddy defending from Shakhtar led to the first Dortmund goal in the 17th minute. For his second goal, Guirassy was put through by Julian Brandt and he slotted in coolly in the 44th minute to settle down the nerves.
Five minutes into the restart, Shakhtar were gifted a goal by the Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel as Shakhtar forward Marion Gomes stole the ball from him and scored to reduce the deficit. But any hopes of an equaliser were squashed as Ramy Bensebaini restored Dortmund’s two goal lead with an emphatic finish in the 79th minute.
With this win, Dortmund finished in 10th place and ensured a place in the playoffs while Shakhtar Dontesk was knocked out, finishing 27th in the league table.
Arsenal went away to Girona and grabbed a win to close out their last league phase game in the Champions League.
The hosts scored the opener through Arnaut Danjuma who chipped the ball over an onrushing Neto in the 28th minute. However, Girona couldn’t hold the lead for a long time as Arsenal equalised through Jorginho’s spot-kick ten minutes later for a foul on Thomas Partey in the box. Three minutes before the break, Arsenal’s teenager Ethan Nwaneri struck a fantastic curled shot into the top left corner to take the lead.
Girona dominated most parts of the second half but failed to score until Cristhian Stuani’s strike in the 76th minute but it was ruled out for offside. Girona also gave away another penalty for handball in the closing stages but Raheem Sterling couldn’t convert it as it was palmed away by Girona goalkeeper Pau López. The Gunners endured nervous moments in injury time but managed to close out the game with the three points.
Arsenal ensured Top-eight qualification with this win while Girona bowed out of the competition.
Real Madrid ensured a playoff berth with a comfortable win against Brest in their last league phase game.
Rodrygo’s brace either side of the half along with Jude Bellingham’s goal confirmed the three points for the Los Blancos. The in-form Brazilian scored a superb individual goal dribbling past defenders to rifle the ball into the far corner off the post.
Brest thought they had equalised through a fine finish by Ludovic Ajorque in the 50th minute but he was marginally offside. Five minutes later, Bellingham extended the lead when he netted the ball when he received a cutback from Lucas Vázquez. Rodrygo wrapped up the game in the 78th minute when he volleyed home after Marco Bizot had parried off a Kylian Mbappé shot.
With this win, Real Madrid ended the league phase in 11th place and confirmed a playoff berth. Even with the loss, Brest had done enough to ensure playoffs with an 18th place finish in their debut campaign.
Young Boys lost narrowly to Crvena Zvezda in their last game of the campaign.
Both teams came into this fixture on the back of abysmal form in the CL. It was the visitors who were the better team from start to finish. However, the game remained goalless with Mirko Ivani? and Cherif Ndiaye missing glorious chances for the visitors.
In the second half, Andrija Maksimovi? fired wide before the deadlock was broken by substitute Guelor Kanga who scored an unstoppable long-range screamer in the 69th minute.
This was an eighth straight defeat for the hosts as they were knocked out. Even with this win Crvena Zvezda bowed out of the competition as well.
The Old Lady suffered a shock home defeat to Benfica who needed to confirm a playoff berth with a win.
The hattrick scorer for Benfica in the last game, Vangelis Pavlidis scored the opener in the 16th minute when Alexander Bah controlled a long ball, drove forward and passed to him for slotting home. Benfica could have doubled their lead just before the break after a sloppy pass from Federico Gatti allowed Pavlidis to shoot but Mattia Perin pulled off a vital save.
The hosts dominated possession after the break and tried to attack but couldn’t create clear-cut chances. 10 minutes from regulation time, Pavlidis set up Orkun Kökçü who went into the box unchallenged and fired into the net past Perin to seal the three points.
Juventus dropped down to 20th place and will make the playoffs while Benfica went up to 16th place ensuring playoffs as the last seeded team.
Dinamo Zagreb deflated Milan’s hopes for a top-eight finish with a narrow win over a 10-man Rossonneri.
Dinamo made the brighter start and a slip from Milan defender Matteo Gabbia gifted a goal to the hosts as Mark Baturina snatched possession and slotted past Mike Maignan to give his side the lead in the 19th minute. Milan’s problems were compounded when Yunus Musah was sent off for a second yellow for a foul on Luka Stojkovi? in the 39th minute.
However, the visitors equalised in the 53rd minute through Christian Pulisic’s low shot past the goalkeeper near post. At the hour mark though, Marko Pjaca put the hosts back into the lead with an angled shot into the net. Milan was awarded a penalty for a foul on Rafael Leão late on but a VAR review discarded the penalty as Leão had fouled the Dinamo defender.
Even with a win, Dinamo narrowly missed out on the playoffs berth losing out on goal difference while Milan managed to qualify for the playoffs.
Sturm Graz beat a dismal RB Leipzig in a relatively meaningless encounter as both teams had already been eliminated from the competition.
Sturm Graz won by a solitary first half goal in an encounter where RB Leipzig had many chances but couldn’t capitalise. Antonio Nusa had Leipzig’s best chance early on but his shot was saved by Sturm goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen in the 19th minute. Arjan Mali? broke the deadlock for the hosts from a corner-kick before the break. Christoph Baumgartner could have equalised but scuffed his chance.
Sturm thought they had doubled their lead with just over an hour played, however William Böving’s goal was ruled out for a foul on Willi Orban in the build-up. RB Leipzig couldn’t rescue a point in the final half-an-hour of the game as Sturm ended their CL campaign with a home win.
Sporting came back to rescue a point against Bologna as the Portuguese side just about managed a playoff berth.
The Portuguese league leaders came into the game off the back of three straight defeats in Europe since Ruben Amorim’s departure for Manchester United. The visitors opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Tommaso Pobega headed home from a flicked Sam Beukema header.
However, Sporting pushed for an equaliser in the second half and restored parity in the 77th minute when Conrad Harder scored from a Joao Simoe’s cut-back into the box.
With favourable results from other quarters, Sporting have just about managed a place in the playoffs as they had a better goal difference.
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