Atlético and Inter face decisive playoff returns in Liga De Campeones De La Uefa
The last return legs of the liga de campeones de la uefa arrive this midweek with Atlético de Madrid and Inter among the high-profile sides that must settle their ties. The balance of first-leg results, injuries and a grueling travel schedule have turned these matches into do-or-die fixtures for several clubs.
Atlético de Madrid receives Club Brugge after 3-3 draw
Atlético de Madrid will host Club Brugge following a 3-3 draw in Belgium in a tie that remains wide open. Diego Simeone’s side will field Julián Álvarez, Giuliano Simeone and Nahuel Molina as starters, while Thiago Almada starts the game on the bench. The removal of the away-goals rule from the 2022/2023 season removes an old tiebreaker and raises the stakes for a single decisive result in the return leg.
Inter must overturn 1-3 deficit to Bodo/Glimt; Lautaro Martínez absent from squad
Inter’s path to the round of 16 is complicated after a 1-3 loss to Bodo/Glimt in the first leg. The club’s congested schedule and the flow of earlier matches—consecutive fixtures against Atlético de Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal that produced narrow defeats and late concessions—are cited as factors that affected form going into the playoffs. A 3-1 defeat in the playoff tie has left San Siro preparing for a comeback atmosphere.
Attention initially centered on Lautaro Martínez’s role in the tie, but he was not included in the matchday squad after suffering a distension in the soleus of his left leg during the first leg. Exequiel Palacios and Ezequiel Fernández were called up for the return. The absence of Martínez changes the task for the Italian side as it seeks to overturn the two-goal deficit at home.
Newcastle vs. Qarabag and a 62, 000-kilometre campaign
Newcastle’s 6-1 home victory over Qarabag in the first leg has left the English club on the verge of qualification. Newcastle plans to manage the return match to avoid sanctions and further injuries. For Qarabag, the return leg in England represents the likely end of a continental journey that has covered vast distances: the club’s itinerary across the competition included trips to Dublin, Lisbon, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bilbao, Skopje, Budapest and Naples.
Two travel figures appear in the record of that campaign: a cumulative distance of 62, 040 kilometres traveled on the eight away fixtures and a later rounded total of 62, 000 kilometres that incorporates an added 4, 084 kilometres for the St. James’s Park trip and return. The club is described as virtually eliminated after the 1-6 first-leg defeat, and the match in England will likely mark the close of that extensive itinerary unless Qarabag produces an exceptional reversal.
Leverkusen and Olympiacos carry contrasting histories into the return leg
Bayer Leverkusen arrives in Germany holding a 2-0 advantage after the first-leg win at Olympiacos. Historical records between the clubs include an Olympiacos 2-0 victory in Greece on matchday 7 of a prior campaign and a Leverkusen 2-0 win in last week’s first leg; their only other UEFA meetings came in the 2002/2003 Champions League when each won at home in the opening group phase.
Leverkusen also carries a recent knockout burden: the club has lost its last six Champions League two-legged ties, all in the round of 16, since advancing on away goals against Manchester United in the 2001/02 semifinals. Olympiacos arrives with mixed away form against German opposition—one win, one draw and nine defeats in its last 11 such matches—and aims to secure its first victory in a Champions League final-phase knockout tie after four previous eliminations. The Greeks have won the second leg in five of their last six two-legged UEFA ties but have lost all ten ties in which they trailed by two goals after the first leg.
Liga De Campeones De La Uefa: broadcast schedule, standings and other Italian risks
The remaining return legs will be televised on HBO Max and Fox One on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 February. Several high-profile teams are already close to advancing: Real Madrid won 1-0 away at Benfica and PSG recovered to win 3-2 at Monaco, leaving both sides well positioned to seal passage. Other Italian clubs face serious jeopardy after heavy first-leg setbacks: Inter fell 1-3 to Bodo/Glimt, Atalanta lost 0-2 to Borussia Dortmund and Juventus suffered a 2-5 defeat to Galatasaray in the opening ties.
Teams that advanced directly from the group stage and are awaiting winners from the playoffs include Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Sporting Lisbon, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City. The immediate cause-and-effect is clear: the margins from the first legs — multi-goal deficits, single-goal margins or decisive victories — directly determine which clubs must chase dramatic comebacks and which can approach the return legs with conservative management plans.
What makes this notable is how disparate circumstances—injuries, travel accumulation and congested domestic calendars—have converged to make these return fixtures unpredictable despite some sides holding apparent advantages after the first matches.
Match note: Newcastle vs. Qarabag
Newcastle vs. Qarabag (6-1) is scheduled for 17. 00hs at Estadio St. James' Park and will be carried on 2 for the return leg.
