Bayern Munich, Benfica, Membership Brugge and Feyenoord all superior on Tuesday to the UEFA Champions League spherical of 16, with the ultimate 4 spots to be decided on Wednesday.
Listed here are the most important takeaways from Tuesday’s 4 decisive knockout section playoff second legs.
Hernández’s foolish crimson card dooms AC Milan
The seven-time European champions have been pressured to accept a 1-1 tie on Tuesday with Dutch membership Feyenoord after French star Theo Hernández was proven a crimson card early within the second half. Milan — which began U.S. males’s nationwide staff standouts Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah on Tuesday — dropped the opening sport of the two-match, total-goals-wins home-and dwelling collection 1-0 final week within the Netherlands. With a 2-1 win on mixture, Feyenoord superior to the spherical of 16.
All was nicely for the Rossoneri in the course of the second leg on the San Siro when Pulisic helped arrange Mexican nationwide teamer (and former Feyenoord ahead) Santiago Giménez, who put Milan up 1-0 lower than a minute into the match. However Argentine striker Julián Carranza, who joined Feyenoord from the Philadelphia Union of MLS final summer time, got here off the bench within the second half and pulled the guests stage 22 minutes after Hernandez’s dismissal had diminished the hosts to 10 males.
AC Milan had completely dominated the competition in the course of the opening 51 minutes. That modified when Hernandez acquired his second warning, for diving, and his strolling papers. The hosts mounted a livid late comeback try however could not discover the objective they wanted to ship the match to additional time.
It is a vastly disappointing finish to the Champions League marketing campaign for Milan, which had been closely favored to advance. As an alternative, they will sit out the spherical of 16 for the second consecutive 12 months and the ninth time in 10 seasons.
Feyenoord, then again, can have a good time a well-known triumph. The 1970 European titlist is again within the final 16 of the world’s prime membership competitors since 1993-94. They’re going to play Arsenal or Inter Milan subsequent.
Heartbreak for Celtic as Bayern Munich snares late winner
For greater than 90 minutes in Munich, Celtic’s USMNT middle again duo of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty saved one of the harmful assaults within the international sport from scoring in entrance of their very own followers.
That appeared to be sufficient because the clock ticked nicely into second half stoppage time, with the Glasgow giants on the verge of a 1-0 win because of German winger (and former Bayern youth prospect) Nicolas-Gerrit Kühn that might ship the groups to half an hour of additional time tied 2-2 on mixture.
The guests by no means acquired there. Following a Kasper Schmeichel save with simply seconds remaining, Carter-Vickers tried to clear the rebound off his personal objective line earlier than the hosts’ Alphonso Davies might poke dwelling the equalizer. Sadly for the American, he blasted his effort off of Davies and into his personal internet:
It was a merciless option to finish Celtic’s Champions League marketing campaign, however the Scottish champs must be proud after giving a perennial trophy contender all the pieces it might deal with over the 2 legs. There’s additionally a silver lining for Carter-Vickers and Trusty. The pair definitely did not harm their inventory this month within the eyes of U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, who might identify each to his roster for the USMNT’s March 20 Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal towards Panama.
Meantime, Bayern will meet Atlético Madrid or Bundesliga rival Bayern Leverkusen within the final 16.
Benfica and Membership Brugge end the job
Essentially the most stunning first leg results of these playoffs was undoubtedly Membership Brugge’s 2-1 win over Atalanta. But the Italian facet had all the pieces to play for at dwelling on Tuesday. An early objective would’ve put them proper again into the fray.
The early objective got here, all proper — for the guests. Chemsdine Talbi then added his second halfway by way of the primary half to stun the group at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia in Bergamo, earlier than Ferran Jutglà made it 3-0 with a rocket of a shot simply earlier than the break.
Ademola Lookman pulled one again for Atalanta quickly after the groups returned to the sector, however a penalty cease by former Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet afterward ensured that that was as shut because the Serie A facet acquired. The Belgians will face both Aston Villa or Lille within the subsequent spherical.
In Portugal, Monaco stormed again from two separate one-goal deficits to tug stage on mixture by way of an 81st-minute strike by Nigerian sub George Ilenikhena. However the objective they conceded in final week’s 1-0 defeat at dwelling got here again to hang-out them, as midfielder Orkun Kökçü answered nearly instantly to ship Benfica again to the enterprise finish of the event.
The Eagles will face a far sterner check subsequent, although, towards five-time winner Barcelona or top-seeded Liverpool.
The complete spherical of 16 draw will likely be revealed on Friday.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer author for FOX Sports activities who has coated the United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at FIFA World Cups on 5 continents. Comply with him at @ByDougMcIntyre.
Get extra from UEFA Champions League Comply with your favorites to get details about video games, information and extra
