We're all set for the round of 16 draw on Friday. Remarkably, extra time was needed to send Galatasaray through to the round of 16, the last example of a set of games that had a bit of everything. Despite going down a man in the 48th minute of play after Lloyd Kelly was sent off, Juventus scored two more times in regulation to erase a three-goal deficit coming into the match, with none other than American Weston McKennie bringing the magic to force extra time.
Unfortunately, once they got there, you can only stave off Victor Osimhen for so long, and in the 106th minute of play, the Nigerian evaded a sliding challenge by Federico Gatti to nutmeg Juventus keeper Mattia Perin -- who made his first start since Feb. 5. It's a match that Galatasaray will have always expected to advance from, but it certainly took longer than expected to get there.
There was drama all around as Atalanta overturned a two-goal deficit in the first half of play before being awarded a penalty in the final minute of play due to a reckless challenge by Dortmund defender Ramy Bensebaini. His foot ended up hitting the head of striker Nikola Kristovic, drawing blood, and after a VAR check, it was an easy decision to make, and Lazar Samardzic wouldn't miss putting his side through to the round of 16.
Monaco did what they could to push Paris Saint-Germain, drawing level on aggregate at the end of the first half of play before midfielder Mamadou Coulibaly picked up two yellow cards in less than five minutes of play. Marquinhos wasted no time pulling back a goal to put PSG ahead, and despite Monaco getting a goal late, it wouldn't be enough.
Vinicius Junior also scored in the fifth consecutive match for Real Madrid to ensure that they advanced to the Round of 16 after a tense match with Benfica. The Portuguese side scored first, but their lead wouldn't last long as Real Madrid hit right back via Aurelien Tchouameni. Then Vinicius slammed the door to set the teams through the round of 16.
Wednesday's Champions League scores
- Atalanta 4, Borussia Dortmund 1 (Atalanta advances 4-3 on aggregate)
- Juventus 3, Galatasaray 2 (AET, Galatasaray advances 7-5 on aggregate)
- PSG 2, Monaco 2 (PSG advances 5-4 on aggregate)
- Real Madrid 2, Benfica 1 (Real Madrid advances 3-1 on aggregate)
Round of 16 draw pairings
- Galatasaray vs. Liverpool or Tottenham
- Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona or Chelsea
- Real Madrid vs. Sporting CP or Manchester City
- Atalanta vs. Arsenal or Bayern Munich
- Newcastle United vs. Chelsea or Barcelona
- Atletico Madrid vs. Tottenham or Liverpool
- Bodo/Glimt vs. Manchester City or Sporting CP
- Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern Munich or Arsenal