A Harry Kane brace took Bayern Munich through to the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday, thanks to a 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise.
And it was a successful evening for the Premier League big guns, as Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Chelsea all joined Arsenal and Tottenham in the top eight, thanks to wins over Marseille, PSV Eindhoven, and Pafos.
After a goalless first half, Kane scored a quick-fire double, smashing home a cross from Michael Olise on 52 minutes and converted a penalty to make it 2-0 a few minutes later. The SBOTOP Champions League 2026 betting odds make the Bavarians second favourites to win the tournament, and if Kane keeps firing like this, they could go all the way.
Liverpool’s trip to Marseille turned out to be a great night for the Reds, as they swept aside OM with a 3-0 win. On the stroke of half-time Dominik Szoboszlai, who missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Burnley last weekend, was back on the scoresheet with a brilliantly taken free-kick. As the Marseille wall expected a thunderbolt or a swerving chip, the Liverpool midfielder scored his seventh goal of the season with a daisy cutter under the defensive wall and into the net.
The second came with a stroke of luck as Marseille keeper Geronimo Rulli diverted a Jeremie Frimpong cross into his own net. When Cody Gakpo made it 3-0 in injury time, it was the icing on the cake, and the Reds finished the round in fourth place.
Chelsea beat Pafos 1-0 to climb up to eighth, though the Blues were frustrated until the 78th minute when Moises Caicedo nodded in the winner. And Newcastle finished the night a place higher in seventh, thanks to a 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven.
The Magpies had a perfect start as Yoane Wissa gave them a lead, sweeping home a selfless square ball from Joelinton, and then Wissa turned provider when he intercepted a back pass and teed up Anthony Gordon for the second. But while Newcastle went into half-time 2-0 up, the mood took a downward turn when talismanic skipper Bruno Guimaraes limped off the pitch.
Newcastle went long for the third goal, keeper Nick Pope finding Harvey Barnes with a lengthy kick, and the in-form forward finished in style.
Barcelona party in Prague
In other Champions League 2026 news, Barcelona moved up to ninth and have a great chance of automatic advancement thanks to a 4-2 win away to Slavia Prague. In a topsy-turvy first half, Vasil Kuvej gave Prague an early lead before a brace from Fermin Lopez put the Catalans in charge. But then the hosts levelled before the break from the most unlikely source, as Robert Lewandowski put through his own goal.
Order was restored by Dani Olmo in 62 minutes, and then Lewandowski scored, in the right end, to make it 4-2. Slavia Prague are out.
Athletic Club snuck into the play-off places thanks to an impressive 3-2 win away to Atalanta. Gianluca Scamacca gave La Dea a first-half lead, but Bilbao were level mid-way through the second half as Gorka Guruzeta slotted home the leveller. And then the Basque club took control, as Nico Serrano made it 2-1 before Robert Navarro made it three, firing low into the corner from just outside the penalty area. Nikola Krstovic halved the deficit after good work from Ademola Lookman, but the La Liga side held on for a priceless win.
Juventus advanced their play-off chances with a 2-0 win over Benfica, a third successive victory which lifted the Old Lady into the seeded section. After a goalless first half, Khephren Thuram broke the deadlock early in the second half to give I Bianconeri a long awaited lead, and soon after, Weston McKennie doubled the lead when he converted a chance created by Jonathan David. Benfica’s hopes are hanging by a thread.
In the early kick-offs, there was a hard-fought draw in Turkey, as Galatasaray held Atletico Madrid 1-1. Atleti entered the lion’s den in eighth place, and they kept alive their chances of automatic qualification for the last 16, while Galatasaray are still in with a chance of a play-off place.
Giuliano Simeone headed Los Rojiblancos into an early lead, but an own goal from Marcos Llorente handed the Turkish side a point. Atleti host Bodo/Glimt, the conquerors of Manchester City next, while Galatasaray will visit Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues hoping that lightning can strike twice. And over in Azerbaijan, Qarabag took a step closer to earning a play-off place with a dramatic win over Eintracht Frankfurt to dump the Eagles out of the Champions League. Bahlul Mustafazade became the first Azerbaijani player to score in the competition with the last kick of the match to complete a dramatic comeback in a 3-2 victory.
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