Blockbuster Champions League Playoffs: Benfica Hosts Real Madrid, Juventus Faces Galatasaray

Champions League playoff action kicks off Tuesday with blockbuster ties like Benfica hosting Real Madrid in Lisbon, where Madrid's Kylian Mbappe is fit after sitting out their 4-1 La Liga win over Real Sociedad due to minor discomfort—manager Alvaro Arbeloa rested him as a precaution, with Vinicius Junior starring with two goals. Benfica stunned Madrid 4-2 in the group stage, thanks to goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin's dramatic 98th-minute header. Other key first legs include Galatasaray versus Juventus, Dortmund facing Atalanta, and Monaco taking on PSG, with second legs set for February 24-25. Real Madrid also deals with injuries to Jude Bellingham and Eder Militao, plus suspensions for Rodrygo and Raul Asencio.

In domestic leagues, Leipzig's 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Wolfsburg dents their top-four Bundesliga push, dropping them to fifth, while Bayern Munich leads by six points despite captain Manuel Neuer's calf injury. RB Leipzig faces Dortmund next. Vinicius Junior continues his hot streak in La Liga, and Mauro Icardi notched a hat-trick for Galatasaray in Turkey.

Across global soccer, Al Ahly and AS FAR drew 0-0 in a tense CAF Champions League group finale, both advancing with Al Ahly topping the group unbeaten. CAF quarter-final draws for Champions League and Confederation Cup happen Tuesday in Cairo.

Thanks for tuning in, listeners—subscribe for more updates. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.

For more http://www.quietplease.ai

Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI