Summary of this article
The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 saw 68 goals, with Bayern, Barcelona, and Real Madrid clinching big wins
Arsenal look strong favourites for the final after beating Leverkusen and drawing Sporting CP in the quarter-finals
Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa impressed with a Zidane-esque start; Kane and Salah both reached 50 UCL goals
The UEFA Champions League 2025-26 got its eight quarter-finalists after a chaotic and action-packed Round of 16. Some big names saw their European run come to an end, including Manchester City and Chelsea, while giants like PSG and Real Madrid continued their journey towards the final in Budapest.
Let’s look at the five big talking points from the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matches:
Goals Galore
The Champions League Round of 16 matches saw several high-scoring matches across both legs. A staggering 68 goals were scored in this stage, the most in the Champions League since 1959/60.
Bayern Munich secured a 10-2 aggregate win over Atalanta, while Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid played two supremely entertaining legs that ended 7-5 on aggregate, and Barcelona won 7-2 against Newcastle United in the second leg at Camp Nou.
Liverpool netted four goals against Galatasaray at Anfield to overturn a one-goal deficit, and Real Madrid won home and away against Manchester City with a 5-1 aggregate score.
Arsenal Favourites?
Despite a mid-season wobble, Arsenal seem on course for an unprecedented quadruple under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners are top of the English Premier League table, in the FA Cup quarter-finals, and scheduled to play Manchester City in the EFL Cup final.
Arsenal also have what seems to be the easiest path to the Champions League final. After their clinical 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Round of 16, the Gunners will face Sporting CP in the quarter-finals.
The Portuguese side turned around a 3-0 first-leg deficit against Bodo/Glimt with a superb 5-0 win at home, but are, on paper at least, the weakest side in the last-eight stage.
If Arsenal win against Sporting, as most neutrals would expect them to, they will face the winner of the tie between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. The La Liga sides, despite being dangerous at their best, have been inconsistent this season.
Barcelona are just four points above Real Madrid in the league table and are out of the Copa del Rey, having been beaten by Atletico, who are 13 points adrift of the top.
As such, there’s a very good chance that Arsenal will make it to the Champions League final for the first time in two decades, and might even get their hands on their maiden title.
Arbeloa’s Zidane-esque Story
The last time Real Madrid promoted a La Fabrica manager as their senior side head coach, it was a certain Zinedine Zidane who went on to win 11 trophies, including three consecutive Champions League titles and two La Liga titles.
While Alvaro Arbeloa is quite far away from such feats, the former Real Madrid defender has made a good start to life as Los Blancos gaffer. Replacing Xabi Alonso mid-season, he has successfully guided Real Madrid to the quarter-finals, beating Jose Mourinho’s Benfica and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
The 5-1 win over City was extra special as Real Madrid did that without some big names – Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, and Rodrygo. Federico Valverde and Vinicius have stepped up in their absence, and Madrid might be on course for a 16th UCL title.
Premier League’s Grim Days
The English Premier League – by far Europe’s richest football league – had six teams in the Round of 16, which is a Champions League record. However, that dominance fell apart over the two legs, with only two English sides left standing – Arsenal and Liverpool.
Newcastle were hit for eight goals by Barcelona, Chelsea conceded eight more by Paris Saint-Germain, while Tottenham and Man City allowed seven and five goals, respectively.
A hectic domestic schedule might have contributed to the poor showing from the Premier League sides on the continental stage, but it has led to doubts about whether the English top flight will be allocated five Champions League spots next season as well.
Kane, Salah’s 50-Club Induction
Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah, two of this generation’s most lethal forwards, etched their names in the Champions League history books by scoring 50 goals in the tournament. Kane scored twice in Bayern Munich’s second-leg thrashing of Atalanta, becoming the first Englishman to reach the mark, that too in just 66 matches.
Meanwhile, Salah overcame the ignominy of a first-half penalty miss to set up Liverpool’s second goal against Galatasaray. His shot, saved by Ugurcan Cakir, was turned in by Ryan Gravenberch for the Reds’ third, and Salah netted the fourth in the 62nd minute to mark his 50th goal in the Champions League.
