LEWANDOWSKI AND YAMAL FIRE BARCA INTO THE UCL KNOCKOUTS AFTER 4-1 COPENHAGEN COMEBACK
Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski inspire a 4-1 comeback win over Copenhagen to send Barcelona into the UCL Last 16.
Barcelona punched their ticket to the Champions League last 16 with a 4-1 win over Copenhagen on Wednesday night. Hansi Flick’s team looked comfortable in the end, racking up second-half goals from Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Marcus Rashford. But honestly, that first half was a real headache—they actually went behind early, thanks to a fourth-minute strike from 17-year-old Viktor Dadason.
Barca controlled possession right from the start, but one sharp Copenhagen counter turned everything upside down. Mohamed Eyenoussi slipped a perfect pass between the centre-backs, and Flick’s high defensive line left Dadason all alone with Joan Garcia. The teenager stayed cool and slotted his shot past the keeper. Simple as that.
After that, Barcelona started to crank up the pressure. Lewandowski almost levelled things after a sloppy back pass handed him an open look, but he wasted it—something you don’t see from him often. Eric Garcia came close to, but Dominik Kotarski in the Copenhagen goal pulled off a sharp save on his deflected shot.
Even though Barcelona ended the half with a whopping 75% possession, they just couldn’t break Copenhagen down. Eric Garcia rattled the crossbar with a rocket, and Yamal fired wide, but that was about it.
Things finally turned right after halftime, and Yamal was at the heart of it. Dani Olmo sliced open the left side of Copenhagen’s defence with a gorgeous pass, sending Yamal racing toward goal. Instead of shooting, the Spanish youngster set up Lewandowski with a clever outside-of-the-boot pass, and the Polish striker did the rest—goal number 106 for him in the Champions League.
That fired up Yamal even more. In a six-minute burst, he basically decided the match on his own. First, he let fly from the edge of the box; the shot took a nasty deflection and looped over Kotarski for the lead. Moments later, Yamal whipped in a cross that Lewandowski chested down, then got clipped by a defender. Raphinha stepped up and buried the penalty.
Rashford, coming off the bench, capped it off with a sneaky free kick that caught Kotarski napping at his near post. Barcelona almost let one in at the end, but Pereira’s header was scratched off for offside interference by Chatzidiakos.
Barca finished the group stage in fifth, locking in a spot in the round of 16. Next up? They could face defending champs Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle, or a few others. The big games are coming.
LEAGUE UPDATE: MAN UNITED’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HOPES BOOSTED BY COEFFICIENT POINTS SURGE
Manchester United move into fourth place as England's dominant UEFA coefficient makes a fifth Champions League spot almost certain.
Manchester United just got a real shot in the arm for their Champions League hopes this season. After knocking off Manchester City and Arsenal in back-to-back games, they’ve climbed into fourth place in the Premier League. It’s been a struggle for United to make the Champions League in recent years—their last run was in the 2023/24 season.
These days, finishing in the top four isn’t always enough for Premier League teams. UEFA now hands out extra spots, and it all depends on how clubs from each country perform across the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
So, how does it work? UEFA takes each league’s overall coefficient score—basically, a measure of how well their teams do in Europe—and divides it by the number of clubs they have in these competitions.
This season, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Newcastle all joined the European fight. Out of those six, only Newcastle had to go through the play-offs; the rest sailed straight into the knockouts.
Now that the Champions League group stage is done, you can really see which countries are in line for those bonus spots next year. Right now, England is out in front with 180,625 points. Germany follows with 107,000. Portugal sits in third with 14,700, and Spain is just behind on 14,375.
Here’s the key thing: the two countries whose teams rack up the best results across all three competitions this season each get a European Performance Spot—an extra Champions League place.
With England leading the pack, even a fifth-place finish in the Premier League could send United back into the Champions League instead of the Europa League. Newcastle took advantage of this last season.
If United hold onto fourth, they’re in. But there’s still a lot of football left. Interim boss Michael Carrick isn’t letting anyone get ahead of themselves—he’s already told his players to stay sharp.
Next up, United face Fulham at Old Trafford. They'll be chasing a third straight win and looking to keep Carrick’s perfect record going since he stepped in for Darren Fletcher.
JUST IN: PEP GUARDIOLA THANKS JOSE MOURINHO AFTER WILD NIGHT OF EUROPEAN DRAMA
Pep Guardiola thanks Jose Mourinho as Benfica’s last-gasp winner against Real Madrid sends City straight into the Last-16.
Pep Guardiola had a smile on his face and a message for Jose Mourinho after his old rival did him a huge favour, helping Manchester City sneak into the Champions League knockout rounds.
City took care of their own business, beating Galatasaray 2-0 at the Etihad. Haaland and Cherki got the goals, but the real drama was happening elsewhere. City’s spot in the last eight still hung in the balance because Real Madrid needed to equalise against Benfica. If they had, Guardiola’s squad would have been bumped into the play-offs instead.
That’s when Benfica’s goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin, pulled off something wild. He left his box, charged forward for a late free kick, and scored a brilliant goal. Benfica won 4-2. That goal kept Benfica alive in the competition—and, as it turned out, saved City too.
Guardiola admitted he and his players were glued to the screen in the dressing room, completely confused when they saw Trubin running up for that last free kick. “We were all in there, watching, and none of us realised Benfica still needed a goal to qualify,” Guardiola said. “So when their keeper went up, we’re all thinking, ‘What are you doing?’ But Jose knew. It was a smart move. Finishing in the top eight, with how tough the Champions League has become, feels really good for us. Now we can focus on being at our best by March.”
Bernardo Silva didn’t hide how relieved he felt. Skipping those extra play-off games really matters, especially when you’re chasing a quadruple. “A bit of drama, but we did it. We’re very happy because we avoid two more matches,” he said. “With all the injuries we’ve got and the crazy schedule, having those two weeks free to rest, get players back, and focus on the other competitions is huge for us.”
As for Mourinho, he looked proud after Benfica’s wild finish. He’s won this tournament twice before, and he believed his side deserved to stay in. “That was a fantastic goal, a historic moment—almost blew the roof off the stadium,” Mourinho said. “Honestly, for Benfica to beat Real Madrid, that’s massive.”