Real Madrid Crush Man City While PSG Overpower Chelsea in Champions League

Federico Valverde netted an unexpected hat-trick as Real Madrid hammered Manchester City 3-0 in the opening leg of their Champions League last-16 matchup on Wednesday, with the defending champions Paris Saint-Germain securing a 5-2 victory over Chelsea.

Premier League frontrunners Arsenal managed a 1-1 draw away at Bayer Leverkusen to maintain their perfect unbeaten streak in Europe this term, as Bodo/Glimt kept up their dream campaign with a 3-0 triumph against Sporting.

Under Alvaro Arbeloa, the 15-time European winners got revenge on City from the league stage defeat, with Valverde scoring all three goals in the opening 45 minutes to give Madrid a commanding position in the tie even without the sidelined Kylian Mbappe.

Valverde latched onto a long clearance from Thibaut Courtois and rounded Gianluigi Donnarumma before firing into an empty net to open the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu versus City, marking the fifth consecutive season the sides have clashed in knockout rounds.

The Uruguay international midfielder then rifled a low shot into the bottom corner to make it two, before sealing his treble with a fine first touch and shot following a combination with Brahim Diaz.

City dodged an even worse thrashing, but Donnarumma denied a second-half spot-kick from Vinicius Junior after the City keeper felled the Brazilian.

PSG are nearly through to the quarter-finals thanks to a pair of stoppage-time strikes from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia at the Parc des Princes.

Bradley Barcola gave PSG the edge early on, though Malo Gusto's awkward finish evaded Matvei Safonov to equalise for Chelsea.

Ousmane Dembele slotted home a sharp breakaway to regain the advantage for the French side before the interval, but Enzo Fernandez levelled it again for Chelsea after sharp play from Pedro Neto.

A blunder by Filip Jorgensen allowed Vitinha to chip the Chelsea stopper and put PSG ahead for the third occasion, before Kvaratskhelia blasted in a stunning fourth and then perhaps delivered the killer blow for Luis Enrique's team deep into added time.

Arsenal snatch late point

Even with a record six English clubs in the last 16, none claimed victory and just two sidestepped loss in Europe this week.

Arsenal required a 89th-minute penalty by Kai Havertz against his old team to grab a point on the road at Bayer Leverkusen.

Robert Andrich nodded in from a corner for Leverkusen early in the second period, putting Arsenal, who topped their league phase with eight wins, on the brink of a German defeat.

However, Havertz entered as a substitute and buried the penalty after a foul on Noni Madueke, keeping Arsenal as strong contenders for the quarter-finals. 

"I know how tough it is to visit here... and we anticipated what was coming," Havertz remarked.

"We werent at our peak today. But were heading back with a solid outcome. We must accelerate next week."

Bodo/Glimt produced yet another memorable Champions League evening by brushing aside Portugals Sporting 3-0 for their fifth straight win in the tournament.

Sondre Brunstad Fet converted from the spot just past the half-hour, with Ole Didrik Blomberg adding a second in first-half added time.

Kasper Hogh bagged his fifth European goal in five outings with 19 minutes left, igniting joyous scenes for the Norwegian minnows.