Winners and Losers From the 2026 UEFA Champions League Knockout Round

The conclusion of Wednesday's Champions League play-off round means we finally have our Round of 16 contenders.

UEFA's decision to expand the number of teams and add an extra round has thrown up major jeopardy, with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid needing two-legged ties to get through.

Some impressed, others fell away when success lay ahead. Cue the winners and losers for the Knockout Round.

Winner: Vinícius Júnior's Revenge

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A lot of eyes were on Vinícius Júnior on Wednesday night.

The fallout from last week, which saw Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni provisionally suspended after Vini Jr. claimed he racially abused him, is going to take a lot of time to reach its conclusion. Kylian Mbappe's injury then meant Vini was elevated to 'main man' before the match, the big player who needed to drag Real Madrid through.

And he did that, despite Los Blancos struggling.

The 2-1 scoreline on the night (3-1 on aggregate) was flattering, especially after Benfica dominated the early stages. Vinícius took a little while to warm up, showing a few signs of his quality with a couple of sharp dribbles and quick interchanges.

Deep into the second half, his moment arrived. Vinícius latched onto a Federico Valverde pass and confidently dribbled into the box before slotting beyond Anatoliy Trubin. Vinícius made his way to the corner flag, danced in triumph, and saw his team through.

It's no consolation to a horrible situation that needs dealing with. Vini's form has been widely criticised this season, so he'll feel this was a timely reminder of what makes him one of the world's most exciting players.

Losers: Serie A Giants

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Victor Osimhen and Weston McKennie

Inter, Italy's champions elect, lost 2-1 at home to Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday. The San Siro catastrophe followed a 3-1 defeat in Norway the week before. Last year's Champions League finalists are out, and with it, the state of Serie A comes under great scrutiny once more.

The big picture is grim.

Juventus will get deserved plaudits for nearly overturning last week's 5-2 loss to Galatasaray, but it did still finish 7-5.

Playing a half with 10 men and getting to 5-5 is commendable. Goals from Victor Osimhen and Baris Yilmaz in extra time ultimately proved too much, underlining the main issue: It should never have gotten to that stage. The Old Lady made her bed in the first leg and woke up far too late to advance.

Then you look at the full Champions League table and remember that current champs Napoli exited in 30th place with two wins in eight games.

Only Atalanta overturning a two-goal deficit against Dortmund maintained any Italian presence in the competition: Lazar Samardzic's last-minute penalty proved the vital moment in Wednesday's well-deserved 4-1 win.

Winners: Plucky Underdogs

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Odin Bjortuft

Perhaps controversial: It feels like Bodø/Glimt aren't getting the credit they deserve for one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history.

Maybe it's the play-off format not quite feeling like a knockout tie? These fixtures, although pivotal, kind of feel like waiting for the party to begin. An extra round to get some TV money flowing! But the most in-form sides are already inside…

I digress. Bodø/Glimt have been excellent on their run to the Round of 16. League stage wins over Manchester City and Atletico Madrid provided the evidence that Inter couldn't take their task lightly.

The best bit? We saw both sides of the Norwegian team, who withstood waves of pressure and proved deadly when chances fell their way. It's a mighty achievement that will be rewarded with two games against Man City or Sporting.

Who's to say Kjetil Knutsen's side can't go even further?

Losers: Dortmund's Self-Destruction

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It's not that Dortmund lost to Atalanta over two legs that makes them losers on this list. It's the way it happened.

The Bundesliga side threw away a 2-0 first-leg lead, fought to get back on terms, and still ended up going out. Serhou Guirassy has proven so reliable in this competition again this year, but he fluffed a huge chance before Karim Adeyemi's goal. Chaos then ensued at the end, as the penalty and two red cards sent Dortmund home in disgrace.

They're eight points behind a Bayern side that has lost one game all season in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen knocked them out of the DFB-Pokal. This was their seasonal failures in a nutshell, just elevated and in front of more people.

Loser: Mamadou Coulibaly

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Monaco were 1-0 up at the Parc des Princes, the home of their great French rivals and defending Champions League kings Paris Saint-Germain. Maghnes Akliouche's lovely finish had them level on aggregate and looking capable of a major upset.

Then Mamadou Coulibaly got silly. On 55 minutes, the midfielder received his first booking. On 58 minutes, he received his second. This happened after he was lucky to escape an initial yellow card.

Marquinhos scored moments after Coulibaly left the pitch to put PSG ahead once more on aggregate. Six minutes later, they ended the tie through Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's quick reactions.

All of Monaco's hard work undone…just like it was last week, when Aleksandr Golovin was dismissed with half the game remaining. Jordan Teze's late goal, which meant Monaco only lost by one across both ties, emphasised how big an opportunity was missed.

This really could have been one for the ages: The current champions dumped out at the first major hurdle. In the end, Monaco defeated themselves.