Champions League 2026 Bracket Update After Quarterfinals Leg 1 on Wednesday

Nick AkermanApr 8, 2026

Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain put on a clinic to beat Liverpool 2-0 in its much-anticipated quarterfinal first leg tie on Wednesday, with Désiré Doué's deflected strike and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's memorable solo goal proving the difference in the French capital.

Atletico Madrid also shocked La Liga rivals Barcelona 2-0 away from home in the other match. Goals from Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth gave the 10-man hosts a huge challenge to overcome in next week's return leg.

Wednesday's Champions League Quarterfinal Leg 1 Results

Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Liverpool

Barcelona 0-2 Atletico Madrid

Tuesday's Champions League Quarterfinal Leg 1 Results

Real Madrid 1-2 Bayern Munich

Sporting 0-1 Arsenal

Wednesday Quarterfinals Leg 1 Recap

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Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP via Getty Images

Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Liverpool

These sides met in the Round of 16 last season, with PSG advancing after a gutsy penalty shootout win on Merseyside. Liverpool showed little in this rerun to suggest this year's result will be any different.

The Reds sat deep to try and keep PSG's versatile attacking options outside of its area. However, Arne Slot's side couldn't contain the interchanging speed of Ousmane Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia and Doué, who rotated across the space in midfield. It was Doué who made the breakthrough after just 11 minutes.

His deflected effort looped over Giorgi Mamardashvili and into the net for 1-0; the significant touch coming as a result of four players standing near the Frenchman without closing him down in time.

PSG controlled the first half and really should have doubled its lead before the break.

A brilliant sweeping move saw possession land at Doué's feet in the Liverpool box. He struck the ball straight at Mamardashvili, who could do nothing but stand tall and hope with so much of the goal gaping.

Dembélé then blasted an excellent chance over the bar, before brilliant work from Kvaratskhelia saw him burst into the box and calmily double his team's lead.

A bad night nearly got instantly worse for the away side. Ibrahima Konate was adjudged to have fouled Warren Zaire-Emery in the area, but the referee soon turned to VAR before changing his mind.

PSG had time to hit the woodwork through Dembélé and then miss a huge opportunity with Nuno Mendes stumbling instead of scoring right at the end.

Barcelona 0-2 Atletico Madrid

Matches between these two teams are rarely without drama. Both created chances in the first 45 minutes, exchanging blows in a fairly even start.

Marcus Rashford thought he'd given Barca the lead, but his simple finish was chalked off due to Lamine Yamal mistiming his run.

The period of Barca pressure soon flipped with the biggest call of the evening. Alvarez's cutting pass through the heart of the home side's defense set Giuliano Simeone free and through on goal.

Young defender Pau Cubarsí clumsily clipped the onrushing forward, resulting in an initial booking, before VAR intervened and rightfully upgraded to a red card.

Alvarez stood over the freekick. Seconds later, the World Cup winner wheeled off in celebration after firing a brilliant set piece beyond Joan Garcia, concluding a mad few minutes in front of a dismayed Camp Nou.

Barca responded with great energy after the break. Rashford whacked the bar with a freekick from a similar position to Alvarez's goal and Yamal continued to look dangerous.

Despite the team's best efforts, the one-man deficit proved vital as legs got heavier and subsitute Alexander Sorloth cooly finished to make it 2-0. Barca huffed and puffed, but couldn't break down a typically robust Diego Simeone backline.