Champions League: Bayern and Atletico seize control as Liverpool and Barcelona face uphill second legs
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid took command of their Champions League round-of-16 ties with emphatic first-leg wins Tuesday, while Liverpool and Barcelona were left with narrow margins and nagging regrets heading into decisive returns next week.
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On a high-scoring night across Europe, Bayern thrashed Atalanta 6-1 in Bergamo despite starting without top scorer Harry Kane. Atletico punished Tottenham’s goalkeeping gamble to surge 3-0 up inside 15 minutes and eventually win 5-2 in Madrid. At St. James’ Park, Lamine Yamal salvaged a 1-1 draw for Barcelona with a 96th-minute penalty after Newcastle had led late, and Galatasaray’s early header proved enough for a 1-0 win over Liverpool in Istanbul.
- Atalanta 1, Bayern Munich 6
- Atletico Madrid 5, Tottenham 2
- Newcastle 1, Barcelona 1
- Galatasaray 1, Liverpool 0
Bayern rout Atalanta without Kane
Even with England captain Harry Kane only fit enough for the bench, Bayern all but booked a quarterfinal place with a ruthless, all-court performance in Italy. Michael Olise struck twice to headline a six-goal outburst, with Serge Gnabry and Nicolas Jackson each scoring and assisting. Josip Stanisic and Jamal Musiala also found the net in a statement of depth and intent from the German champion.
Kane has amassed 47 goals for club and country this season, but Bayern scarcely missed their talisman as they ran rampant through Atalanta’s lines, stretching the hosts and finishing with clinical edge. The margin leaves Gian Piero Gasperini’s side needing a miracle in Munich.
Atletico punish Spurs’ goalkeeper call
Atletico made Tottenham pay for an audacious selection call from under-pressure coach Igor Tudor, who left first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario on the bench and handed a Champions League debut to backup Antonin Kinsky. The decision unraveled almost immediately.
Kinsky’s slip and miskick in the sixth minute gifted Marcos Llorente the opener. Antoine Griezmann doubled the lead soon after, and when Kinsky scuffed another clearance, Julian Alvarez rolled the ball into an empty net to make it 3-0 inside a quarter-hour.
Tudor substituted a distraught Kinsky in the 17th minute, restoring Vicario, but Atletico were relentless. Robin Le Normand struck five minutes after coming on to push the advantage to four before halftime. Tottenham rallied to reduce the deficit after the break, but the damage was done and the Spanish side added a fifth to cap a chaotic night for the visitors.
“We knew how to take advantage of our opponents’ mistakes to gain a good lead, and now we go into the second leg with a three-goal advantage,” Alvarez said.
“We gave away three goals at the start, and then it became very difficult for us,” Tudor said, left to confront not just a daunting deficit but, according to Opta, the first six-game losing streak in Tottenham’s history.
Barcelona saved at the death by 18-year-old Yamal
Newcastle were seconds from claiming a prized European scalp when Malick Thiaw brought down Dani Olmo in stoppage time. Referee Marco Guida pointed to the spot, and 18-year-old Lamine Yamal kept his nerve amid a wall of noise, sending Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way with what proved the last kick of the game.
The late equalizer undid an 86th-minute breakthrough from Harvey Barnes, who had already shaved the post with a curling effort earlier. His close-range finish looked to have given Newcastle a slender but seismic lead to defend in Spain, only for Barcelona to escape with a draw — and a wake-up call.
“It wasn’t a great game from us, but we have a young team,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said. “We have to improve, but we have a lot of potential. We have to make things better, and we will.”
Newcastle winger Barnes said the last-gasp twist “is really hard to take,” adding: “You score and it’s an amazing feeling — you can feel the fans. We’d played really well. To concede late on is really hard to take, but the score is level and we have a second leg to come.”
Galatasaray strike first against Liverpool
Galatasaray’s giant-killing run rolled on with a 1-0 victory over Liverpool, secured by Mario Lemina’s seventh-minute header and backed by a cauldron of Istanbul noise. Fresh off a remarkable 7-5 aggregate playoff win over Juventus, the Turkish champion again landed an early blow and defended it with conviction.
Victor Osimhen had a second-half strike ruled out for offside, and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate saw an effort scrubbed by VAR for handball, leaving Arne Slot’s side to chase the tie at Anfield next Wednesday. It was Galatasaray’s second 1-0 win over Liverpool this season after a league phase triumph by the same scoreline.
“We want to win there too, we want to reach the quarter-finals,” Lemina said.
Slot tried to pivot toward the return leg. “What I do know is now it’s halftime,” the Liverpool coach said. “We’ve lost here twice with 1-0 and the good thing is the next game is not played here. It is played at Anfield and our fans can create a similar atmosphere.”
What comes next
The second legs loom with contrasting pressures. Bayern and Atletico carry commanding cushions, their tasks narrowed to control and game management. Barcelona return home grateful for Yamal’s composure but conscious that Newcastle carried a real threat in transition. Liverpool, so often revived by the Kop on European nights, must break down a Galatasaray side emboldened by recent scalps and organized enough to frustrate elite attacks.
Across a night of goals, gaffes, and late drama, two continental heavyweights flexed their muscle, and two more were reminded just how fine the Champions League margins can be.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
