Saturday, July 18, 2026

UCL: Real Madrid, PSG, Galatasaray move to round of 16

Real Madrid knocked out Benfica in their third meeting, beating the visitors 2-1 after a dramatic 1-0 victory in the first leg of the playoffs.

• February 26, 2026
Osimhen in Galatasaray shirt
Osimhen in Galatasaray shirt

Real Madrid eliminated Benfica from the Champions League with a 2-1 victory, beating the Portuguese side 3-1 on aggregate, as Galatasaray and PSG both qualify for the round of 16.

Real Madrid knocked out Benfica in their third meeting, beating the visitors 2-1 after a dramatic 1-0 victory in the first leg of the playoffs.

Madrid maintained their 1-0 advantage despite Benfica opening the scoring with a goal from Rafa Silva at the Bernabéu on Wednesday.

The Los Blancos responded immediately in just two minutes in the 16th minute with a goal from Aurélien Tchouaméni.

Madrid kept up the high pressure as Benfica showed no threat to their hosts, and after the break, just as in the first leg, Vinicius Junior scored again to put the game at 2-1 and seal the game on aggregate 3-1.

Now Madrid look up to face either Manchester City or Sporting in the quarter-finals draw.

Over in Paris, current holders PSG survived a nervy comeback from Monaco in a 2-2 draw, which came through an advantage as Monaco were reduced to ten men, allowing the home side to net in two from Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, while Monaco responded late, but it wasn’t enough to alter the aggregate score.

This secured a 5-4 aggregate for the reigning champions, enabling them to advance to the last 16 of the Champions League.

Wednesday Champions League action continued in Turin as Galatasaray survived a near miss in 120 minutes of intense action, with Juventus delivering a three-goal comeback through Manuel Locatelli, Federico Gatti, and Weston McKennie.

The match went into extra time.

The visitors responded with a goal from Victor Osimhen, who netted a brilliant strike from the edge of the box, and the victory was sealed by another from Baris Yilmaz, settling the intense game 3-2 (in favour of Juventus on that night) and 7-5 on aggregate (in favour of the Turkish club).

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