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Juventus’ Weston McKennie celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Uefa Champions League match between Juventus and PSV Eindhoven at Juventus stadium in Turin. LaPresse

Highlights from the opening day of the Champions League playoffs

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated Feb 11, 2025 6:23 PM ET

The Champions League playoffs kicked off Tuesday, with eight top European teams facing off in two-legged aggregate fixtures to determine who will advance to the formal knockout round of the tournament.

Half of the round's 16 teams have now played their first game; here's how those fixtures went down (and what's on the line in Game 2.)

Paris Saint-German 3-0 Brest: Soccer fans around the world have clowned on PSG over the years for fielding the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé and still failing to win the Champions League. But its best-ever shot at the trophy is coming long after of those stars have departed ... and it's making the French team more likable than it has been in years.

PSG put on a masterclass Tuesday, and it did so without any big-name global stars; its 3-0 win was architected by young French and Portuguese talents like Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue, Joao Neves and Vitinha.

It just goes to show that traditional star power isn't everything — in important moments like these Champons League playoffs, talent and hustle matter more than anything. This new-look PSG has both in spades, and the rest of Europe better watch out.

Manchester City 2-3 Real Madrid: Another Champions League knockout fixture, another improbable Real Madrid comeback, making quite the habit out of it under coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Madrid went down 1-0 in the first half thanks to a well-worked goal created by Jack Grealish, Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland, but it fought back every time City tried to knock it down ... and snatched the game in injury time to break City's heart at home.

This fixture is far from over — City will give it everything in the second leg, and Madrid has shown it's liable to concede a few goals — but with Game 2 being played at home in Spain, this matchup is now tipped heavily in Madrid's favor.

Juventus 2-1 PSV Eindhoven: We flagged this one as a potential USMNT field day, and that's exactly what it was. Washington's Weston McKennie, New York's Tim Weah and Arizona's Richard Ledezma all saw minutes in this Champions League playoff.

It was McKennie who stole the show, knocking in a stunning long-distance volley to open the scoring in the first half. CBS halftime host Micah Richards said it best: this wasn't just a golazo, it was a "star-spangled banger."

Sporting Lisbon 0-3 Borussia Dortmund: Lisbon became a European darling under coach Ruben Amorim, but it slipped after losing him to Manchester United in November. This hammering at the hands of Dortmund — currently 11th in Germany's Bundesliga — was its latest head-scratching capitulation.

But credit where credit is due: Dortmund, after a season of struggle, finally looked like the team that made it all the way to the Champions League final in 2024. Midfielders Pascal Groß and Marcel Sabitzer grabbed the game in a chokehold in the first half and never let it go. Dortmund is in pole position to advance — and rightfully so.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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