Soccer
Champions League Tuesday wrap-up: Juventus in serious trouble, PSG superior and Real Madrid get revenge
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The play-off round of the Champions League kicked off Tuesday with four Leg 1 matches that brought about some eyebrow-raising results.
Clubs are fighting to earn a spot in the round of 16, where the seeded teams from the league phase await.
Here are some of the bigger talking points from Tuesday's Champions League action.
Juventus humbled
As two-time winners of this competition, the expectations for Juventus are always to make a deep run in the tournament.
They are — after all — the most successful side in Italy, and should expect to go far each and every year.
However, their participation in the 2025-26 Champions League is now in serious doubt after the Bianconeri were throttled 5-2 in by Galatasaray in Turkey. Juve started without a true No. 9 in the lineup and were hardly threatening throughout the contest, with Teun Koopmeiners' double keeping the Italian side within a relatively respectable distance despite allowing five goals.
Observers are unlikely to be surprised by Tuesday's display given Juve's struggles with consistency this season, but it's still a stark reminder of how competitive every team is at this stage. The Serie A giants would normally be massive favourites to advance past a side like Galatasaray, but instead they will need to open the floodgates at home next week just to give themselves a fighting chance.
Ligue 1 battle
Monaco put up a valiant effort at home against fellow Ligue 1 side PSG but could not stop stop the Parisians from claiming a 3-2 victory despite two early goals from US striker Folarin Balogun.
Les Rouge et Blanc are fighting an uphill battle in this tie, as Paris Saint-Germain have established themselves as not only the best team in the French top flight over the past decade and more, but also as one of the very top sides in the world.
Still, Monaco managed to put a mighty scare into the Parisians when Balogun's double put them up by two goals inside the opening 20 minutes. Désiré Doué scored twice for PSG and Achraf Hakimi added another amid long stretches of one-way football for the visitors, and PSG's class ultimately shone through and carried them to the victory.
Things get dicier for Monaco next week when the teams reconvene at the Parc des Princes, where PSG should be expected to win handily.
Benfica and Real Madrid renew hostilities
Benfica made shockwaves last month when they defeated visiting Real Madrid 4-2 on Matchday 8 to deny the La Liga giants of a top 8 spot and subsequent bye to the round of 16.
The Portuguese side were fully deserving of the result that day, with Jose Mourinho leading his team to a dominant victory across the board — one that was required for Benfica to stave off elimination.
It seemed like fate when the teams were drawn against one another in this round, giving Mourinho another chance to one-up his old side.
However, los Blancos were more prepared for their visit to Lisbon this time around, carrying the play for most of the match. To Benfica's credit, they were able to keep their esteemed visitors off the board for the entire first half, however Vinicius Jr. got his side on the mark in the 50th minute for what was ultimately the lone goal of the game in a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid.
As Águias did well to limit Real Madrid to just the one goal, making next week's second leg an exciting opportunity for both sides.
How to watch the Champions League on DAZN
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