Champions League results: Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City among teams into Round of 16; Benfica scores last-gasp goal for playoffs berth

The drama of Matchday 8 was saved until the very last kick of the opening phase of the 2025-26 Champions League.

Up 3-2 against nine-man Real Madrid and needing to score again for a goal-differential tie-breaker advantage over Marseille and Pafos, Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin headed home a free kick in the 98th minute to send José Mourinho’s men into February’s playoffs.

The defeat affected Real Madrid as well as it finishes ninth in the table and will be a seeded team in next month’s two-legged playoffs.

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Eight teams won’t have to worry about playing Champions League soccer in February. Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting and Manchester City all earned automatic places in March’s Round of 16.

The Gunners beat Kairat Almaty 3-2 on Wednesday to take the top overall spot with an 8-0-0 record. Viktor Gyökeres opened the scoring two minutes into the match and Kai Havertz helped regain the lead after 15 minutes.

Finishing behind Arsenal in the table is Bayern Munich, who earned second place after a 2-1 win over PSV, thanks to a Harry Kane 84th-minute goal.

Along with Real Madrid, Inter Milan, PSG, Newcastle, Juventus Atlético Madrid, Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen will be the seeded teams in the playoffs. Borussia Dortmund, Olympiacos, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Monaco, Qarabağ, Bodø/Glimt and Benfica all move on as well and will be the unseeded clubs in the next round.

Wednesday was the end of the road for 12 clubs with Marseille, Pafos, Union Saint-Gilloise, PSV, Athletic Club, Napoli, Copenhagen, Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, Villarreal and Kairat all seeing their European dreams come to an end.

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The February playoffs draw will be held Friday at 6 a.m. ET.

Champions League knockout round schedule

Playoffs: Feb. 17-18 and 24-25
Round of 16: March 10-11 and 17-18
Quarterfinals: April 7-8 and 14-15
Semi-finals: April 28-29 and May 5-6
Final: May 30 (Puskás Aréna, Hungary)

Here’s how Matchday 8 played out live on Wednesday:

Champions League Matchday 8 results

FT: Ajax 1-2 Olympiacos
FT: Arsenal 3-2 Kairat Almaty
FT: Monaco 0-0 Juventus
FT: Athletic Club 2-3 Sporting
FT: Atlético Madrid 1-2 Bodø/Glimt
FT: Barcelona 4-1 Copenhagen
FT: Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Villarreal
FT: Benfica 4-2 Real Madrid
FT: Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Inter Milan
FT: Club Brugge 3-0 Marseille
FT: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Tottenham
FT: Liverpool 6-0 Qarabağ
FT: Manchester City 2-0 Galatasaray
FT: Napoli 2-3 Chelsea
FT: Pafos 4-1 Slavia Prague
FT: PSG 1-1 Newcastle
FT: PSV 1-2 Bayern Munich
FT: Union St.-Gilloise 1-0 Atalanta