UCL 2025-26: Arsenal plays out 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen; Bodo/Glimt beats Sporting 3-0 in round of 16 first leg
Arsenal’s eight-game winning run in UEFA Champions League 2025-26 came to an end as it needed an 89th-minute penalty from substitute Kai Havertz to rescue a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in their last-16 first leg on Wednesday.
Former Leverkusen player Havertz converted the late spot kick to cancel out Robert Andrich’s 46th-minute header for the host, marking the first time this season that quadruple-chasing Arsenal had fallen behind in Europe’s elite competition.
The Premier League leader, which had won all eight of its previous matches to top the table after the league phase, had Leverkusen on the back foot in a bright start, and Gabriel Martinelli rattled the crossbar with a powerful shot in the 19th minute.
The host, however, soaked up the early pressure and gradually found its footing with Christian Kofane’s runs proving a constant threat for the Arsenal defence.
Leverkusen almost caught its opponent napping with a move straight from the kickoff in the second half that earned it a corner. Alex Grimaldo curled it to the far post, where an unmarked Andrich headed in to give the host the lead.
Mikel Arteta’s team could not find a way back into the game and was toothless in attack. The coach took off Bukayo Saka after an hour to bring on Noni Madueke before also introducing Havertz to loud applause from the home crowd.
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Arsenal had an excellent chance in the 85th when Jurrien Timber was left unmarked in front of goal, but he sent his header over the bar before Madueke went down in the box after slight contact with Leverkusen’s Malik Tillman.
After a lengthy VAR review, Havertz kept his composure to rescue a draw ahead of next Tuesday’s return leg in London.
Brilliant Bodo/Glimt beats Sporting CP 3-0
Bodo/Glimt’s Ole Didrik Blomberg celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 round of 16 first leg match against Sporting CP.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Bodo/Glimt’s Ole Didrik Blomberg celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 round of 16 first leg match against Sporting CP.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Another stellar display on its artificial home turf at the Aspmyra Stadium gave Norway’s Bodo/Glmit a 3-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie.
The Norwegians’ fairytale winning run in the Champions League extended to five victories in a row as Sondre Brunstad Fet converted a penalty that he won on the half-hour mark, and Ole Didrik Blomberg followed up with a superbly-placed finish from a tight angle in first-half stoppage time.
The Portuguese side had a good chance early in the game, but after that, the home side took over, and it could have gone three up in the 55th minute after the ball pinged around in the box before eventually going out of play, with Bodo defender Jostein Gundersen heading the resulting corner straight at the keeper.
Danish striker Kasper Hogh rounded off another fairytale effort, stealing between two defenders to deftly steer the ball into the net from close range in the 71st minute.
The second leg will take place in Lisbon next Tuesday.
Published on Mar 12, 2026
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