The second leg of the play-off matches in the Champions League, on Wednesday evening, February 25, settled four tickets to the eighth final, but they also presented a clear picture of the disparity in levels between the teams. Some of them decided to qualify with control and rhythm, some of them passed with minimal effort, and a third paid the price for unforgivable detail errors in this role.
Atalanta was the clearest performer. The team overturned a 2-0 first leg loss against Dortmund to a 4-1 win in Bergamo, and qualified with a total of 4-3. The difference was not only in the late penalty kick, but in the way Atalanta imposed play in the opponent’s half, the speed of recovering the ball, and the density of the presence inside the penalty area. Dortmund struggled in defensive transitions and made positional errors under constant pressure, then entered into tense final minutes after Ramy Bensebaini was sent off and a penalty kick was awarded, from which Lazar Samardzic scored in stoppage time.
“The Royal decides it in the absence of Mbappe.”
Real Madrid qualified against Benfica with a 2-1 win at the Bernabeu and a 3-1 aggregate. The match reflected Real Madrid with a more practical face than a flamboyant one, with moments of decisiveness at the right timing, and then managing the periods of the match without excessive rush. Benfica started strongly and succeeded in disrupting the starting tempo, but Real Madrid responded quickly through Chouamini before Vinicius Junior scored the deciding goal in the second half. Amid the absence of Kylian Mbappe and the brilliance of Vinicius, Real Madrid did not need continuous pressure, but it needed greater effectiveness in the final third, with observations remaining on the spaces it allowed defensively when Benfica’s tempo increased.
The runner-up skipped the exam
Paris Saint-Germain, runner-up in last year’s Champions League, defeated Monaco with a 2-2 draw in the second leg, 5-4 on aggregate. The level fluctuated between a first half that gave Monaco the advantage, and then a second half that changed after Mamadou Koulibaly was sent off in the 58th minute. Paris took advantage of the numerical superiority and scored two consecutive goals through Marquinhos and then Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, before Monaco came back and equalized in stoppage time through Jordan Tizi. Paris had enough tools to turn the result around when space was available, but it struggled to control the end of the match when the final minutes turned into direct play and second pressure from Monaco despite the lack.
The “old lady” fell
“The Old Lady” Juventus made a comeback in terms of results, but said goodbye. They won 3-2 after extra time over Galatasaray in Turin, but the Turkish team qualified 7-5 on aggregate. Juventus equalized the difference through a penalty kick by Luca Telli and then two goals from Gatti and McKennie, despite the expulsion of Lloyd Kelly, but Galatasaray won in extra time with goals from Osimhen and Baris Alper Yilmaz. The main problem for Juventus was that it played a chase game from the beginning due to the first leg score, and when it reached the moment of equalizing the total, it did not succeed in controlling the transitions behind the back of its last line in the extension.
The next stage will be the quarter-final draw on Friday, February 27, 2026, with the playoff qualifiers joining the top eight in the league stage, who will be in the seeded category.
Returning to the night of Tuesday, February 24, 2026, the image complemented the reading itself. Atletico Madrid showed a clear attacking advantage over Club Brugge by winning 4-1 and qualifying 7-4, while Inter’s defeat by Bodo Glimt was an indication that physical differences and quick transitions may overthrow big names when there is no discipline in the decisive areas.
