Vinicius Jr. scored a fantastic lead as Real Madrid blanked Manchester City 2-1 to knock Pep Guardiola’s side out of the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal reached the quarter-finals of the competition after beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at home and winning the tie 3-1. Bodo/Glimt’s fairytale run in the Champions League came to an end as Sporting Lisbon beat them 5-0 after extra time to complete a 5-3 aggregate win.
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Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain piled on the misery of Liam Rosenoir and Chelsea as they beat the Blues 3-0 to record an 8-2 aggregate win and move into the quarter-finals. In the spotlight on Tuesday, March 17 he stood firm on Vinicius and Los Blancos knocking City out of the competition for the third consecutive season.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: FULL INFORMATION
The Brazilian put Madrid ahead from the spot after Bernardo Silva handled the ball in his own box. It also meant the home side were reduced to 10 men. Vini Jr got his revenge on City fans as he celebrated with a tearful gesture. In 2024, City fans unveiled a banner telling the Brazilian to stop crying after Rodri won the Ballon d’Or.
“The last time we came here, the Manchester City fans (who put up a banner saying ‘Stop crying’ after Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d’Or ahead of the Brazilian) were making fun of me,” Vinicius said. “I wasn’t disrespecting the City fans, but it was a way for me to prove to them that I was.”
But City were not ready to give up without a fight. Erling Haaland equalized in the 41st minute but the tie was heavily in favor of Alvaro Arbelo’s men who won the home leg 3-0. Second-half drama saw goals from Manchester City duo Jeremy Doku and Rayan Ait-Nouri, along with Federico Valverde and Vinicius Jr. from Real Madrid. However, Vinicius had the final say, striking from close range in the 93rd minute to seal their brace.
ARSENAL, PSG PROGRESS
Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze opened his UCL account for the Gunners with a sensational goal as Mikel Arteta’s men reached the quarter-finals with ease. Bayer Leverkusen were able to hold firm thanks to Arsenal’s intense opening spell and goalkeeper Janis Blaswich produced an outstanding performance. But their resistance was broken in the 37th minute when Eze fired in a stunning effort from long range to put Arsenal on top in a tricky clash between the penalty area.
Declan Rice made it 2-0 just after the hour mark as Leverkusen failed to find the impetus to mount a comeback. PSG humbled Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to show they are still the team to beat in the competition.
Chelsea’s defensive frailty was exposed again when Bradley Barcola caught them on the counter to make it 2-0 in the 15th minute. Senny Mayulu put the Blues out of their misery in the 62nd minute as Chelsea struggled to make the most of their chances.
Sporting staged one of the greatest comebacks in UCL history to become the fourth team to seal their last 8 spot on Tuesday. The Portuguese side went into the game and attacked right from the start.
The visitors rattled the crossbar before the break, but Sporting responded after half-time when Pedro Goncalves finished off Luis Suarez’s cross in the 61st minute. Suarez then equalized in the 78th after a VAR handball decision.
Sporting wasted no time in extra-time, Maxi Araujo finding the net inside two minutes before substitute Rafael Nel added another in stoppage time to seal progress for the defending Portuguese champions.
– The end
Published on:
18 March 2026 08:25 IST
