The first half of the new Champions League knockout stage playoffs is in the books.
After eight of Europe’s best club teams opened their respective two-game, total-goals-wins series on Tuesday, the back half of the field still in contention to join eight automatic qualifiers in the round of 16 played their opening match on Wednesday.
These are the biggest takeaways.
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The Rossoneri have been nothing if inconsistent this season. The coaching change that was made in December and Milan’s lowly place in the Italian top flight standings — one of the most storied teams in soccer history, they’re currently seventh in Serie A — prove it.
But the seven-time continental titlists’ lone respite has been the Champions League, or it had been. A loss in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb on the final day of the first round cost them a bye to the last 16.
AC Milan suffered another loss on Wednesday at Dutch power Feyenoord, as Igor Paixão scored the only goal the hosts would need less than three minutes into the contest — a goal that keeper Mike Maignan really ought to have prevented:
The good news for Milan is that it’s only 1-0 on aggregate. An equalizer early in the second leg back home at the San Siro could swing the series back the Italians’ way. But to stave off elimination next Tuesday, new manager Sérgio Conceição will need a better performance. He’ll also need more from U.S. star Christian Pulisic.
Pulisic, the club’s leading scorer this season, was unusually quiet on Wednesday before being substituted after an hour. With Conceição still integrating new recruits like Kyle Walker and João Félix into his squad, it will be up to Pulisic to lead the way next week and keep Milan’s dreams of winning an eighth Champions League crown alive. If not, it could be the last we see of the Rossoneri in the world’s premier club tournament until at least 2026-27.
For the first 44 minutes of Wednesday’s tilt at an electric Celtic Park in Glasgow, the Scottish titans gave Germany’s best everything they could handle. But such is the all-world quality of mighty Bayern that it only took a half-chance for Michael Olise to put the visitors ahead of Celtic on the stroke of halftime.
It’s possible that Celtic center back Auston Trusty, who started alongside fellow American defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, could have reacted more quickly and closed down Olise on his opener, but the Frenchman still finished it superbly.
The backbreaking second goal? There’s no question that it was an error, as the hosts left Bayern goal machine Harry Kane (of all people) criminally unmarked on a second-half corner kick:
Celtic managed to claw one back late via Daizen Maeda to salvage a little bit of hope as the series shifts to Munich. Could a monumental upset happen? As much as Bayern, a six-time European champ and the overwhelming favorite to advance even before Wednesday’s victory, have been far from convincing this season, the Scots must be kicking themselves for not leaving home on even terms.
Advantage Benfica, Club Brugge
It’s impossible to know what would’ve happened on Wednesday had Monaco not played almost the entire second half down a man. Benfica nonetheless deserves credit for leaving the principality with a crucial 1-0 advantage — and for scoring what turned out to be the decisive goal long before home defender Al-Musrati was sent off in the 52nd minute for picking up a second yellow card. The Eagles are now in prime position to advance with a tie next Tuesday in Portugal.
Earlier on Wednesday in Belgium, Club Brugge snared a famous (although controversial) victory over Serie A side Atalanta. The match seemed headed to a 1-1 stalemate before sub Gustaf Nilsson converted a penalty deep into stoppage time to give the hosts a 2-1 aggregate lead. Whether the spot kick should’ve been awarded is another matter. Judge for yourself:
Either way, Brugge’s job is obviously far from done. And given the contentious way the opener ended, Atalanta’s players and fans will be hugely motivated to turn the series around next week in Northern Italy.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports who has covered the United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him at @ByDougMcIntyre.
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