UCL: Bodø/Glimt, Leverkusen, Newcastle Shine in Knockout Phase Play-off First Legs
Bodø/Glimt, Leverkusen and Newcastle all claimed impressive first-leg wins in their ties in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-offs, while there was a six-goal thriller in Belgium. Here is a round up of Wednesday’s action.
Qarabağ 1-6 Newcastle
Anthony Gordon’s four-goal first-half haul set up an emphatic victory for the English visitors. The 24-year-old opened the scoring after just three minutes, Malick Thiaw’s header swiftly extending the lead.
A quickfire double just after the half-hour secured Gordon the match ball, the winger converting a penalty before soon dinking in a third. There was still time before the interval for the Magpies’ No10 to grab another, slotting his second spot kick of the night to the other side.
Elvin Jafarguliyev pulled one back with a fierce strike, but visiting substitute Jacob Murphy restored the five-goal advantage with a deflected effort.
Player of the Match: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)
Olympiacos 0-2 Leverkusen
Patrik Schick scored twice in four second-half minutes as Leverkusen avenged their 2-0 defeat in Piraeus during the league phase.
Olympiacos’ Kostas Tzolakis made two exceptional first-half saves, repelling Schick’s shot and tipping Ibrahim Maza’s volley over. Opposite number Janis Blaswich also pushed Gelson Martins’ curling effort behind before the break.
Schick broke the deadlock by completing a counterattack with a composed finish on the hour. The forward soon headed in Alejandro Grimaldo’s corner for his second, leaving Die Werkself strongly placed in the tie.
Player of the Match: Patrik Schick (Leverkusen)
Bodø/Glimt 3-1 Inter
Bodø/Glimt scored two goals in four second-half minutes as they claimed a third memorable Champions League victory in a row, following their league phase triumphs against Manchester City and Atleti.
A clever back-heel from Kasper Høgh played in Sondre Brunstad Fet to slot in a clinical 20th-minute opener for the hosts, before Inter levelled when Pio Esposito powered in on the turn.
Bodø/Glimt took control with two goals just past the hour. First Jens Petter Hauge fired in an unstoppable effort from Høgh’s pass, the latter sealing the win with a strike of his own from close range.
Player of the Match: Kasper Høgh (Bodø/Glimt)
Club Brugge 3-3 Atleti
Christos Tzolis struck a minute from time as Club Brugge twice came back to preserve their unbeaten record in five home meetings with Atleti.
Julián Alvarez’s penalty and an Ademola Lookman tap-in had the visitors in a healthy position at the break, but the hosts responded brilliantly.
Raphael Onyedika pulled one back after Jan Oblak saved from Nicolo Tresoldi, who then got on the end of Mamadou Diakhon’s cross to level. Joel Ordoñez’s own goal looked to have given Atleti the win, but Tzolis’ late intervention leaves the tie in the balance.
Player of the Match: Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge)
Second-leg fixtures
Tuesday 24 February
Atlético de Madrid vs Club Brugge
Leverkusen vs Olympiacos
Inter vs Bodø/Glimt
Newcastle vs Qarabağ
Wednesday 25 February
Atalanta vs Borussia Dortmund
Juventus vs Galatasaray
Paris vs Monaco
Real Madrid vs Benfica
