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Nine UEFA Champions League moments you might have missed - Superstar hooked, half-time spat and needless red cards
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Published 19/02/2026 at 11:18 GMT
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The UEFA Champions League play-off round started with a bang as the first legs saw underdogs and giants meet in two nights of European action. There were surprises, goals, and moments galore. Juventus suffered an embarrassing night in Istanbul, Inter had a miserable experience in the Arctic Circle, among other shocks. You can watch the Champions League live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Highlights: Glittering Gordon grabs four as Newcastle hit Qarabag for SIX
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Juve's Cabal hammered for red card
Juan Cabal’s red card against Galatasaray completed a brief, miserable experience for the Colombian, leaving his Juventus side struggling and facing a mountain to climb in the return leg next week.
Juve manager Luciano Spalletti introduced Cabal at half-time with his team 2-1 up in the play-off, and they looked well set to go back to Italy with the upper hand.
However, Noa Lang scored on 49 minutes to level the scores, and Davinson Sanchez added another on the hour mark to put the Turkish giants ahead.
Shortly afterwards, Galatasaray’s Baris Yilmaz looked to sprint past his opponent, but Cabal reacted by grappling with him and dragged him to the ground.
After just 67 minutes - already on a yellow - the referee had no option to send Cabal off for the briefest of cameos.
Goals from Lang again and Sacha Boey consigned Juve to a heavy 5-2 defeat, and they are almost certainly out of the tournament.
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'Tormented' Cabal sees red after 'horrific' half-time substitution
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Dembele lasts half a half
That was not the only early controversial exit in Tuesday’s round of European ties, as Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele also suffered an ignominious early bath.
Not because of a red card, though, but because PSG head coach Luis Enrique decided the Frenchman was struggling to such a degree that he needed to be hooked.
The Champions League holders were up against Ligue 1 rivals Monaco, and two early goals from former Arsenal man Folarin Balogun had them struggling.
After Vitinha missed a penalty, Enrique decided to act, taking Dembele off after 26 minutes, with Desire Doue stepping in. The new man quickly scored, before Achraf Hakimi equalised, and Doue then grabbed a second-half winner.
Reports in French media had suggested that Dembele was not necessarily fit enough to play, which might suggest Enrique and the reigning Ballon d'Or holder decided he was not able to perform to the best of his usually frightening ability.
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Ballon d'Or winner Dembele hooked after 26 minutes in shock substitution
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Mourinho antagonises again
Attention is for now on the accusations of racism made by Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior against Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni, and UEFA have confirmed that they will now investigate a reported incident.
Before the match between the Portuguese side and Real Madrid ended on Tuesday, though, the Benfica manager was already stoking the fires, once again finding himself sent to the stands by a match official.
The home side were chasing an equaliser, and frustration boiled over as Mourinho appealed to the referee after a decision was not to his liking, and the official brandished a yellow card.
That did little to calm Mourinho, though, and the referee then upgraded the censure to a red.
It seems inevitable that Mourinho will now miss the return leg in Madrid next week, in what could be a deeply bitter second match-up.
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'He said too much, he kept on saying it' - Mourinho sent off after 'furious' tirade at referee
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Gordon makes history with four in Baku
Anthony Gordon's four goals against Qarabag saw him become just the second player in UEFA Champions League history to score four in the first half of a game, after Luiz Adriano achieved the feat for Shakhtar Donetsk against BATE Borisov in October 2014, according to Opta.
His 33-minute treble also means he is just the third Newcastle player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League after Faustino Asprilla and Alan Shearer.
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Gordon nets first senior hat-trick 11 seconds after restart as Newcastle run riot
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Bodo/Glimt join exclusive club with Inter triumph
Adding to the already incredible string of results they have accrued in Europe this season, Norway's Bodo/Glimt beat Inter 3-1 in the opening leg of their tie.
It puts them in an incredible position for the second leg at San Siro, where they will need every possible advantage.
But victory meant they joined an exclusive club, becoming only the fourth team outside the top five leagues to win three consecutive matches in a UEFA Champions League campaign, where each win came against teams in those leagues.
They join Panathinaikos (2001/02), Benfica (2005/06) and Zenit (2015/16). Bodo/Glimt are also the first Norwegian team to win three consecutive Champions League matches.
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'Again upsetting the odds in Europe' - Hauge stunner puts Bodo/Glimt 2-1 up against Inter
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Schick deadly away from home
Patrick Schick is enjoying a productive season for Bayer Leverkusen, netting 13 goals across all competitions so far.
The Czech was once again pivotal as the Bundesliga side defeated Olympiacos 2-0 in Athens on Wednesday night to give them the edge in the two-legged tie.
Schick scored a second-half double, bringing his Champions League tally to four for the campaign. All four strikes have come away from home.
Wins away against Benfica and Manchester City were pivotal in qualifying for the knockout round, and a visiting Leverkusen could be a difficult prospect for any side deeper into the competition.
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Leverkusen take 'stranglehold' on tie as Schick hits quickfire double
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Not feeling very at home in Monaco
Monaco did everything they could to try and stun fellow Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain at Stade Louis II.
Balogun saw his early brace overturned by a spectacular performance by Doue, and PSG prevailed 3-2 in the end.
It continued an unfortunate trend for the Principality club, who have failed to win a European knockout match at home since 2017.
Their last successful attempt at doing so was in the 2016/17 season, where a squad that included Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Fabinho, Radamel Falcao, and Thomas Lemar made it to the semi-finals with a 6-3 aggregate win over Dortmund in the quarters.
Since then, they have been winless in five knockout matches at home.
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Watch: Monaco, Balogun STUN holders PSG after 55 seconds
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Two red cards in four days for Golovin
Aleksandr Golovin was shown a red card in Monaco's game against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. His sending off marked a pivotal swing in momentum as the Parisians wrestled control back in their favour.
The Russian was also sent off on Friday against Nantes in Ligue 1, making it two red cards in four days.
His red against PSG also makes him the most red-carded player for Monaco in the 21st century, with six in total.
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Golovin shown straight red for studs-up horror tackle on Vitinha
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Trippier and Gordon squabble while 5-0 up at half-time
It cannot all be sunshine and rainbows, can it? Even at 5-0 and their knockout phase tie against Qarabag effectively sown up, Newcastle United players still could not resist throwing a spanner in the works.
Heading into half-time, Newcastle captain Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon had a strange spat, despite everything going smoothly in Baku.
It all came when Gordon, who had already sealed a hat-trick, stepped up to take his second penalty of the day for his fourth goal.
As the players headed inside, Gordon gestured towards Trippier, who was skipper in Bruno Guimaraes' absence. Trippier responded, and Dan Burn and Anthony Elanga had to separate them.
Trippier explained that he wanted Nick Woltemade to take the penalty due to Gordon already netting three goals.
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Gordon and Trippier bicker in 'strange' half-time incident
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"Obviously, Gordy's scored a hat-trick, and I was thinking about the other players," he told TNT Sports. "I wanted Nick [Woltemade] to take a penalty.
"But also, he [Gordon] is our penalty taker. He wants to score goals, as everybody else does, but ultimately he's the penalty taker.
"Listen, in football, emotions are high on the pitch at times. It is what it is. He scored four goals, he was unbelievable today, and we've moved on."
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