With pool play, knockout stages, and the first leg of the Round of 16 complete, the Champions League has already proven to be an eventful year full of unexpected twists and turns.
As pool play wrapped up, Liverpool, current Premier League leaders, displayed a dominant performance. However, the new format showed its exciting effects, with Italian giants Juventus making the cut by a single point and last year’s finalists, Manchester City, barely escaping the wrath of elimination by goal differential, pushing Croatian GNK Dinamo into elimination.
As the teams moved into knockout stages, intense showdowns and surprising results continued to shock fans. William Javelera ’27 described AC Milan’s exit, “Shocking, especially since they have been one of the most successful teams in Champions League history.” AC Milan was beaten by Feyenoord, who only retain a single UCL trophy that they received over half a century ago.
On the opposite side of the bracket, there was an exciting matchup early in the tournament, as Manchester City drew Real Madrid. Man City was unsuccessful, being blown out three to six in aggregate, ending their Champions League run much earlier than anticipated.
Charlie Levenick ’27, like other fans, was shocked at the results. He stated, “It’s crazy how unpredictable this tournament has been so far. Some of these teams that were expected to make really deep runs are already gone.”
The unpredictability resumed in the first leg of the Round of 16, with several matches ending in surprising results after the final whistle. In the anticipated clash between PSG and Liverpool, the French squad dominated the possession, but one of the best goalkeeping performances in UCL history saved the Reds. This led them to a lucky one-to-nothing win away.
Meanwhile, the Madrid Derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid was no show to miss, ending in a two-to-one home victory for Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.
In the second leg, multiple teams went in confident, leading their opposition in aggregate. Arsenal easily outscored PSV nine to three, and Bayern Munich destroyed Leverkusen five to zero. On the flip side, a few important games came down to the wire. Real Madrid beat out their cross-town rivals, Atletico Madrid, by four to two in penalties.
The biggest surprise was number one-seeded Liverpool being knocked completely out of the tournament after giving up their one-goal lead followed by a humiliating defeat in penalties.
With the Quarterfinals approaching, fans can anticipate more crazy upsets and historic performances as they pray that their team will be the one to bring home the much-coveted Champions League trophy.
