Didier Drogba scored twice on his return from a three-match European suspension as Chelsea drew 2-2 at Atletico Madrid to seal their place in the knock-out round of the Champions League on Tuesday. They were joined in the last 16 by Manchester United, Porto and Girondins Bordeaux, although four-time European champions Bayern Munich are on the brink of elimination after losing at home to the French champions.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said they were committed to "qualification based on sporting merit".
The two-legged ties will be played from February 16.
Panathinaikos secured a Champions League qualifying spot by beating PAOK Salonica 2-0 on Sunday to extend their lead in the Super League playoffs to a eight points with two matches left.
Clubs from Lithuania, Georgia, Moldova and Macedonia on Tuesday became the first four to progress from 11 Champions League first qualifying round ties.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
In a major relief for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the Karnataka government has granted approval to host IPL 2026 matches at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid made it four away wins from the opening four Champions League last-16 first leg matches when they triumphed at Arsenal and AC Milan respectively on Wednesday.
Paris Saint-Germain took a crucial advantage after beating Chelsea 2-1 in an entertaining UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg tie at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Tuesday.
Roundup of the Champions League matches played on Wednesday night
The group stage draw of the continent's top-tier league involving 40 teams was held online in Margao.
All eyes will be on Shubman Gill when Ranji Trophy resumes on Thursday after India's Test and ODI captain decided against taking a break and opting to turn up for Punjab against Saurashtra in a key Group B clash in Rajkot.
Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Services, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Indian Railways and Bihar have qualified for the quarter-finals of the 72nd Senior men's National Kabaddi Championship.
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A tainted AC Milan side, 2005 winners Liverpool and last season's finalists Arsenal will top the bill when the Champions League final qualifying round gets underway this week.
Chelsea's inability to score a second goal proved costly as Karim Benzema's effort levelled things up
Liverpool shrugged off the absence of Mohamed Salah as midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai scored an 88th-minute penalty to give them a 1-0 Champions League win at Inter Milan.
Manchester United's early exit from the Champions League last season cost the English club almost 17 million euros in payments from UEFA compared with the previous year, figures released on Friday showed.
Bengaluru Torpedoes clinch PVL Season 4 title with dominant win over Mumbai Meteors
Four-time European champions Ajax Amsterdam were knocked out of the Champions League in the third qualifying round on Tuesday after a dramatic 3-2 defeat at home to unsung Rapid Vienna.
Arsenal's captain will miss next week's Champions League qualifier due to a lack of pre-season training, while keeper Jens Lehmann is suspended for the third round, first leg tie.
Celebration was tinged with disappointment for Manchester City who eased into the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time on Tuesday but lost Vincent Kompany to injury in a 0-0 draw with Dynamo Kiev.
Pep Guardiola's ManchesterCity will play Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League playoff round after the draw was made in Nyon on Friday.
The European champions are likely to play CSKA Sofia in the Champions League third qualifying round.
The Champions League tie between Bayern Munich and Juventus is the outstanding pairing of the round but there are glittering jewels -- and duels -- to savour everywhere in the quarter-finals of Europe's elite soccer competition this week.
Manchester United and Manchester City could both get knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday while French champions Lille will also endure a nerve-wracking 90 minutes.
Azeri champions Qarabag took a big step towards the playoff round with a 2-1 win at Cypriot side APOEL but Dinamo Zagreb left their progress hanging in the balance after the Croats played out a 1-1 home draw against Hungary's Ferencvaros.
Manchester City now have enough experience of playing against the European elite to mount a serious challenge in the Champions League, striker Sergio Aguero has said.
Having seen the domestic league and cup double go to Porto last term, Benfica missed a string of chances against PAOK in a one-sided first half as they enjoyed 72% of possession.
Barca captain Messi opened the scoring with a "Panenka" penalty chipped straight down the middle in the 17th minute after Luis Suarez was fouled in the area, putting the home side ahead in the tie after a goalless first leg in France.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has said Ajax have an unfair advantage because the whole of the Dutch league programme was postponed to help Erik ten Hag's side prepare.
Real Madrid through to next round, win 6-2 on aggregate, Liverpool ousted
Sevilla midfielder Samir Nasri has accused Jamie Vardy of cheating after the Frenchman was sent off for squaring up to the Leicester forward and bumping foreheads in their Champions League clash on Tuesday.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Pep Guardiola will return to the Nou Camp in the Champions League group stage after his new club Manchester City were drawn against his former Barcelona team on Thursday. The two sides were drawn in Group C alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic in one of the toughest of the eight sections. Spanish coach Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice with Barca, faced the Catalans when he was in charge of Bayern Munich two seasons ago and suffered a 5-3 defeat in the semi-finals.
Chelsea struggled to deal with Barca's punishing press and they went 2-0 behind in the 14th minute
Quoting a source close to the club, the Al-Nassr team will leave for Goa on Monday afternoon without injured Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, in addition to a number of foreign players.
Atletico Madrid are not seeking revenge for their 2014 Champions League final defeat but instead want to write a new chapter in the club's history with their first European Cup after getting past Bayern Munich.
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