The UEFA Champions League saw plenty of drama in the decisive second legs of the round-of-16 ties, with some stunning comebacks. Sporting CP pulled off a comeback for the ages, when they defeated Bodo/Glimt 5-0 at home after extra time to win 5-3 on aggregate. The Portuguese side set up a quarterfinal with Arsenal, who strolled past Bayer Leverkusen with a 2-0 win (3-1 agg.) at home.
Manchester City went down to ten men early in their game against Real Madrid, extinguishing any hopes of a comeback from their 0-3 loss in the first leg, with the Spanish giants triumphing 2-1 at the Etihad. Barcelona handed Newcastle United a hammering, defeating them 7-2 at the Camp Nou to win the tie 8-3 overall. Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were the others to account for an English team, when they eased past Chelsea 3-0 in London to win 8-2 on aggregate.
Liverpool, however joined Arsenal in the quarterfinals after a thumping 4-0 win at Anfield over Galatasaray eased fears over Arne Slot's future. Tottenham Hotspur earned a rare victory with a 3-2 win in their second leg against Atlético Madrid, but it was not enough to overturn the 2-5 deficit from the first leg. Bayern Munich hammered Atalanta once again by a 4-1 scoreline at home to advance 10-2 on aggregate.
ESPN's By The Numbers brings you the best of stats from the UEFA Champions League:
1
With Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle, and Tottenham Hotspur going out in the Round of 16, this is the first time that four sides from a single nation have all been eliminated at the same stage of a season in the UEFA Champions League.
5.8
Wednesday saw the highest goals per game average (5.8) of any day in the UEFA Champions League with 3+ games played (23 goals in 4 games). 68 goals in total were scored in this round-of-16 stage, beating the previous UCL record of 62 goals set in the 2016-17 season.
50 in 66
Harry Kane scored the 50th UCL goal of his career, becoming the first English player to do so. Only Erling Haaland (49) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (62) needed fewer games needed to score 50 Champions League goals than Harry Kane's 66 (tied with Lionel Messi).
28%
Of the 45 players to score at least 25 UEFA Champions League goals, Harry Kane has scored the highest percentage of his goals from the penalty spot (28%, 14/50).
28
Harry Kane has 28 goals in 34 UEFA Champions League games for Bayern Munich; tied for the most of any player in the competition since the start of 2023-24, along with Kylian Mbappé (28).
14
Luis Díaz scored the 14th UCL goal of his career, thus overtaking Jackson Martínez for the most scored by a Colombian international in UEFA Champions League history.
50
Mohamed Salah became the first African player to score 50 UCL goals, and the twelfth player ovarall to reach the milestone.
MO SALAH 50 CAREER UCL GOALS.
NOW IN THE TOP 10 UCL SCORERS OF ALL TIME �� pic.twitter.com/0DmOZOo9qg
- ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 18, 2026
16+
The last time Liverpool had 16+ shots on target in a match was Nov. 6, 2016 vs Watford. Back then, Liverpool had 17 shots on target in a 6-1 win, amassing 2.96 xG.
14
Liverpool have scored 14 goals from set pieces in all competitions in 2026 - tied for the most of any club in Europe's top 5 leagues this calendar year (Arsenal have also scored 14).
9
Dominik Szoboszlai has made 9 goal contributions in the UEFA Champions League this season (5 goals, 4 assists); the only midfielder with more in a single season in the competition for Liverpool is Steven Gerrard in 2007-08 (10 - 6 goals, 4 assists).
41
Newcastle became the 41st different opponent that Robert Lewandowski has scored against in the UEFA Champions League, breaking a tie with Lionel Messi (40) for the most opponents to have scored against (Cristiano Ronaldo 3rd with 38).
36
Lewandowski has also scored the third-most goals (36) in the UCL knockout stage, over taking Karim Benzema (34). Cristiano Ronaldo is first with 67, Lionel Messi is second with 49.
37y 209d
At 37y, 209d, Lewandowski became the oldest ever scorer in the UEFA Champions League KO Stage. The Polish striker also became the oldest player to score multiple goals in a UEFA Champions League match, overtaking Filippo Inzaghi for AC Milan vs Real Madrid in November 2010 (37y 86d).
At 37 years and 209 days, Robert Lewandowski is the oldest ever scorer in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage ��
CLINICAL �� pic.twitter.com/mQu3h8vgiy
- ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 18, 2026
18
Lewandowski alse extended his record for most UCL goals by a player 35 years or older - 18 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo is second with 12, Edin Džeko third with seven.
10+
Lamine Yamal became the third player to score 10+ goals in the UEFA Champions League as a teenager, after Kylian Mbappé (13) and Erling Haaland (10). Yamal also became the second player to score 10 UCL goals before turning 19, alongside Mbappé. Yamal won't turn 20 until July 2027.
26
Raphinha has 26 goal contributions in the last two UEFA Champions League seasons (16 goals, 10 assists), the most of any player in that span. The Brazilian now has 30 goal contributions (18 goals, 12 assists) in 33 career UEFA Champions League games; only Erling Haaland (22), Ruud van Nistelrooy (28), Kylian Mbappé (30), and Luis Suárez (31) reached 30 in fewer appearances in the competition (Neymar level with Raphinha on 33).
10
Fermín López has 10 goal contributions for Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League this season (10 - 6 goals, 4 assists), overtaking Xavi (2008-09, 9) for the most by a Spanish player for the club in a single season,
14
Marc Bernal became the fourteenth different teenager to score for Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League, the joint-most for a team in the competition (level with Ajax).
7
Barcelona's most goals in a single UCL KO Stage game are seven: 7-1 vs Leverkusen in 2011-12 Round of 16, 2nd leg, and 7-2 against Newcastle.
610 and 7
Newcastle conceded 7+ goals in a match in any competition for the first time since a 7-3 defeat to Arsenal in December 2012 - today was their 610th game since. Newcastle's seven goals conceded is tied for the most in a game by an English team in UEFA competition, after Tottenham's 7-2 loss to Bayern Munich in October 2019. This was also the first time Newcastle conceded 5+ goals in any of their 152 matches in UEFA competitions.
2
Anthony Elanga became just the second Swedish player to score a brace in a UEFA Champions League knockout match - Zlatan Ibrahimovic achieved it twice, in March 2010 (Barcelona v Arsenal) and February 2014 (PSG v Bayer Leverkusen). Elanga also became only the second player to score twice in a UEFA Champions League away match at Camp Nou for an English club, after Dwight Yorke for Manchester United in November 1998.
1
Pep Guardiola failed to reach the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals in consecutive seasons for the first time in his managerial career. He was only eliminated prior to the quarterfinals in one of his first 15 editions as a manager in the competition.
4 and 5
Guardiola lost both legs of a UEFA Champions League knockout stage tie for the fourth time, with three of those coming against Real Madrid (2013-14, 2024-25 and 2025-26). This was also the fifth time Real Madrid eliminated a Pep Guardiola-coached team in the UEFA Champions League -- no other team has eliminated a Guardiola coached team more than once.
9
Since Arbeloa took over as Real Madrid manager on Jan. 14, only 3 players on clubs from Europe's top 5 leagues have more goals than Vinícius Júnior's 9 (all comps): Harry Kane (14), João Pedro (11) and Lamine Yamal (11).
16
Vinícius Júnior (16) overtook Raúl González (15) for the third-most UCL KO Stage goals for Real Madrid after Cristiano Ronaldo (50) and Karim Benzema (33). He is also the all=time top-scoring Brazlian in the UCL knockout stages.
4
This was the fourth time Vinícius Júnior scored multiple goals in a UCL KO stage game, becoming the first Brazlian to do so (Neymar has done it thrice). Only two more players have done it more often for Real Madrid - Cristiano Ronald (15 times) and Karim Benzema (7 times).
8
Only Lionel Messi (9) has more goal involvements against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League than Real Madrid's Vinícius Júnior (8 - 4 goals, 4 assists).
57
Erling Haaland now has 57 career UEFA Champions League goals, tied with Thomas Müller for seventh-most in the competition's history
2
Eberechi Eze became only the second English player to score for Arsenal in the Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season, after Theo Walcott in 2012-13.
6
The 2-8 loss to PSG tied Chelsea's largest margin of defeat in a two-legged KO stage tie (6-goal difference) in any UEFA competition - the club lost 1-7 on aggregate to Bayern Munich in 2020.
What a comeback from Sporting ��
They've ended Bodø/Glimt's Cinderella run in the Champions League after a stunning second leg �� pic.twitter.com/c2Jg80DyQi
- ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 17, 2026
5
Sporting Club became just the fifth team in UCL KO Stage history to overturn a first-leg deficit of 3+ goals. Sporting are the first team to achieve the feat since Liverpool in the 2018-19 semifinals vs Barcelona.
Sporting's five goals are the most by a Portuguese club in a UCL KO stage match. Benfica scored five vs Club Brugge in the 2023 Round of 16, also in the second leg.
8
Julián Álvarez drew level with Diego Costa (2013-14 season) for most goals in a single UCL season by an Atlético Madrid player.
30
Including this season's meetings in the quarterfinals, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich will have faced each other 22 times in the UEFA Champions League KO Stage, which is also the most repeated matchup in UCL KO Stage history. And if you expand to European Cup history (all the way back to 1955-56), it will be the 29th and 30th meetings between the clubs, also a competition record
0/9
Bayern Munich have failed to win any of their last nine games against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League (all in the KO Stage), the club's longest winless streak against a single opponent in competition history
2
Atlético Madrid have gone on to reach the final in the previous two seasons in which they faced Barcelona in the European Cup/UCL KO stages (2015-16 quarterfinal, 2013-14 quarterfinal).
6
Barcelona face Atlético Madrid in the next round, this would be the sixth time the Catalans play a LALIGA opponent in the UCL KO stage. History does not fare well for Barcelona, as they have been eliminated in four of the previous 5 instances, including both vs Atleti in the QF.
7
Arsenal are unbeaten in all seven of their games against Sporting in European competitions (3W-4D), but were eliminated on penalties in their last two-legged tie: the 2022-23 Europa League Round of 16.
4
PSG will be the fourth different team that Liverpool have faced in the UCL KO stage in consecutive seasons. The only teams Liverpool have faced in three consecutive UCL KO stage ties were Chelsea (2006-07 to 2008-09) and Real Madrid (2020-21 to 2022-23).
PSG have eliminated English clubs in their last four two-legged UCL KO Stage ties.
Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this report.