On Wednesday, the last four round of 16 teams will be determined in the Champions League. In the second legs of the play-offs, the cards appear to be stacked.
25.02.2026, 05:00
SDA
Borussia Dortmund won 2:0 against Atalanta Bergamo on Tuesday of the previous week and will travel to Lombardy with a corresponding cushion. However, this should only reassure the BVB bosses around managing director Lars Ricken to a limited extent. On the one hand, because they have been in the business long enough to know that a two-goal lead is quickly squandered. On the other hand, because the Bergamasques have already played many a big opponent to the wall in front of a home crowd.
Atalanta have won all of their last five home games in the league, including matches against top teams AS Roma and champions Napoli. For BVB, the motto is clear: keep a clean sheet at the back. Under coach Niko Kovac, Dortmund is focusing on a stable defense. In the league, Swiss international goalkeeper Gregor Kobel has not conceded a goal in eleven of 23 games. If Borussia take their championship form into the Champions League, nothing stands in the way of them advancing to the last 16.
When sport takes a back seat
Real Madrid go into the second leg of their Iberian clash against Benfica Lisbon with the slimmest of leads. Vinicius Junior made the difference in the Portuguese capital. However, the Brazilian's dream goal was not the main talking point, but rather comments made by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni, who allegedly made racist insults against his opponent. The UEFA investigation is still ongoing. Nevertheless, Prestianni has been suspended for the second leg as a precautionary measure. Let's hope that the second leg will only be reported on sport.
In the league, things are not going according to plan for either team. After a surprising defeat in Pamplona at the weekend, the Spaniards lost the lead in the table to arch-rivals Barça, while Benfica are only in 3rd place behind Porto and Sporting.
Herculean task for Köhn and Zakaria
After a lightning start in the first leg, the AS Monaco players must have begun to dream. And when Vitinha missed a penalty four minutes after going 2-0 up, the football gods seemed to have made up their minds. But things turned out differently. Désiré Doué, who came on for the injured Ousmane Dembélé, single-handedly turned the game around with two goals and an assist. Even Swiss goalkeeper Philipp Köhn and his compatriot Denis Zakaria in a Monegasque shirt could do nothing to change that.
As in the previous year, the Parisians want to make a run at the play-offs and march through to the title. The signs are good that they will at least reach the next round. In the league, Luis Enrique's team have picked up 31 out of a possible 33 points in front of a home crowd. Monaco's last win in the capital dates back to February 2021.
The "Old Lady" needs a breath of fresh air
After the first leg, Juventus Turin's clash with Galatasaray Istanbul is somewhat surprisingly the clearest starting position. The Turkish double winners won the first leg 5:2. "Gala" has one foot in the round of 16 - it would be the first time in twelve years that the traditional club has advanced to these spheres. The Italian record champions, on the other hand, are in a slump in form and have been without a win in all competitions since the beginning of February. The "Old Lady" has lost four of its last five games.
