Inter loses the first match of the Champions League playoff: in Norway, on the synthetic pitch of Bodo/Glimt, the black and blue team surrenders 3-1.
The start is promising, but in the 20th minute the Scandinavians take the lead with a goal by Fet after a backheel assist by Høgh. The black and blue equalizer, after a Darmian post, comes in the 30th minute with a spin in the area by Pio Esposito.
At the start of the second half, Lautaro (who is then injured) hits another post practically with an empty net after another assist from the former Spezia player, then between minutes 61' and 64' the home team explodes: the recovery of the ball rewards Hauge who scores 2-1 with a powerful left under the crossbar. Three minutes pass and the former Milan player runs away to the edge of the offside position in the area, then serves for Hogh who simply has to score with an empty net. Chivu's substitutions (Thuram enters at 1-1, then Bonny, Zielinski and Luis Henrique) do not reopen the match and now it becomes very difficult: a three-goal victory is needed in the return leg on February 24 at the "San Siro" to fly to the 1/8 finals. The only good news, paradoxically, comes precisely from the "Meazza", with Milan drawing 1-1 with Como and slipping to -7 in the championship.
BRUGES-ATLETICO MADRID 3-3
Atletico Madrid stopped at the “Jan Breydel Stadion” in Bruges, where Lookman made his Champions League debut with the “Colchoneros” from the first minute. Taking the Spaniards to 1-0 in the 8th minute is thought by the one who is already an institution in the yard of “Cholo”, Julian Alvarez: the Argentine beats Mignolet from the penalty spot. Tresoldi does not agree and starts a personal duel with Oblak, forcing the Slovenian into several important saves to defend the advantage. Diakhon also approaches the equalizer in the 34th minute, while Oblak also denies Onyedika a goal a few seconds later. It is Lookman who finds the first European goal with Atletico in the fourth minute of extra time, beating Mignolet after Griezmann’s header deflected: for the former Atalanta player it is already the third goal in five total matches with the Madrid club.
Bruges reacted strongly and tied the match at 2-2 at the start of the second half: Onyedika reduced the deficit in the 52nd minute, while Tresoldi sealed the tie in the 60th minute. Simeone brought on Sørloth, who hit the crossbar in the 70th minute and then caused Ordonez's own goal in the 79th minute: in an attempt to get ahead of the Norwegian, the Ecuadorian defender ended up beating his goalkeeper. The emotions did not end: Tzolis scored 3-3 in the 90th minute, with the goal confirmed after a VAR review. Thus ended a crazy match in a draw, with the two teams that will play the qualifiers in a few days at the "Metropolitano".
OLYMPIACOS-BAYER LEVERKUSEN 0-2
Olympiacos host Leverkusen in Piraeus, where Tzolakis wins the spotlight in the first half hour: the Greek goalkeeper stops Schick in 16' and then makes an extraordinary save on Maza in 29', deflecting the Algerian's shot onto the crossbar. In 32' it is Poku who squanders the advantage for the "Aspirinates", while El Kaabi makes no mistake in 45': the Moroccan header makes it 1-0 for the home team, but the goal is disallowed for active offside by former Inter player Taremi. It remains 0-0, a score that changes in 60': it is Leverkusen who takes the lead, thanks to a perfect counterattack finalized by Schick. A little over two minutes pass and the former Sampdoria and Roma player scores the second goal with a header, completing the double. Bayer thus obtains an important victory in Greece, returning home with a two-goal advantage for the return leg.
QARABAG-NEWCASTLE 1-6
Newcastle are in Baku for the Champions League clash against Qarabag and need just three minutes to go 1-0 up: Burn sends Gordon deep with a gentle touch from the outside of his left foot and the number 10 scores the visitors' advantage. The Magpies push hard and in the 8th minute they are 2-0 up thanks to Thiaw: the former Milan player rises high in the area, sending Trippier's cross into the net. The English dominance is unchallenged and in the 32nd minute it is confirmed with 3-0 scored again by Gordon from the penalty spot, with the former Everton player making it 4-0 two minutes later and then completing his personal poker with a penalty for 5-0 in extra time.
Gordon thus becomes the second player in history to score four goals in the first half alone in the Champions League (Luiz Adriano had achieved this with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2014). Cafarquliyev scored the only goal of the evening for Qarabag in the 55th minute, while Murphy sealed the 6-1 final in the 72nd minute. Newcastle thus secured a comprehensive victory that firmly orients their qualification for the 1/8 finals: they will only have to defend it in the return leg at “St James' Park”.