Author: Scott Murray

This game and the entire tie swung on a late first-half penalty … and how

1 min: Gordon dribbles down the left and spins Eric Garcia, who is fortunate not to get booked for a pull of the shirt. But it is a free kick in a dangerous position, just to the left of the Barca box. Tonali to take.

Newcastle United get the ball rolling. Whistles as they pass it about the back.

Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice scored pearlers as Arsenal eased into the quarters, where they’ll face comeback kings Sporting Club

Arsenal v Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal make two changes to their starting line-up in Leverkusen. Ben White comes in at right-back for the injured Jurriën Timber, while Leandro Trossard replaces the benched Gabriel Martinelli. Kasper Hjulmand names the same starting XI.

The comeback’s definitely on now! Geny Catamo sprays a lovely ball down the right wing for Luis Suárez, who delivers an inch-perfect low cross into the middle. Pedro Gonçalves, steaming down the inside-left channel, doesn’t need to break stride before blasting home from 12 yards. Lovely sweeping move!

Federico Valverde scored one of the great Champions League hat-tricks to give Real a huge advantage going into next week’s second leg

The Atari-esque sprites of Manchester City get the ball rolling. The famous old pile might not be sold out, but it is noisy.

The teams are out! Real Madrid in their meringue whites, Manchester City in a green top with jet-set geometric squiggles all over it, and a chip embedded within the City crest that, if you were to wave a newfangled “smart electric telecommunications device” over it, unlocks a slew of bonus features for Pele’s Soccer on the Atari 2600 EA Sports FC 26. This is the sort of news that will either excite you or make you feel so very old and useless. Latest score: Excited 0-1 Old & Useless.

Mario Lemina’s early goal gave Cim Bom the first-leg advantage … and the hosts could have had more

Galatasaray get the ball rolling. Liverpool desperately hoping to improve on the events of last September.

The teams are out! And there’s some BREAKING NEWS: the atmosphere is hella hot at the Ali Sami Yen^†. Cim Bom Bom! Galatasaray wear their classic red and yellow halves, Liverpool are in third-choice bottle green, a colour that may send shivers down the spine of the Candy generation. We’ll be off in a couple of Zadok-the-Priest-soundtracked minutes.

Real Madrid didn’t impress, but they still had too much quality for Benfica, while Atalanta, PSG and Galatasaray all advanced in dramatic style

85 min: Krstović one-twos with Zalewski down the middle … and he’s clear! But Kobel reads the danger and comes racing out of his box to blooter clear. The keeper takes a whack for his trouble, but Krstović was within his rights to compete for the ball with so much on the line. Great play all round.

82 min: Atalanta counter, and Samardžić dances his way in from the right, before lashing a low diagonal drive inches wide of the left-hand post. Kobel wasn’t getting to that.

Newcastle won an entertaining low-stakes second leg against Qarabag, while Bodø/Glimt slayed European royalty at the San Siro

A short-corner routine by Atleti is pinged back down the left flank. Matteo Ruggeri crosses, the ball dropping onto the foot of Alexander Sørloth, who slots with a confident sidefoot from close range past the rooted Simon Mignolet. That’s a hat-trick for Sørloth, and Atleti will play either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16.

… so having said that, Atletico establish a two-goal lead, and are surely in the hat for Friday’s last-16 draw. Marcos Llorente plays a long ball down the inside-right channel for Alexander Sørloth, who should release Ademola Lookman into the box down the left. His pass across is poor, behind Lookman, but Antoine Griezmann comes over, offering himself as a wall for Lookman to ping the ball off. A one-two down the left, then Lookman crosses low. Sørloth can’t miss from six yards and that is surely that!