Barcelona 3 Bayer Leverkusen 1
Playing as the hosts, a injury-decimated Bayer Leverkusen team decided to play defensively-minded from the onset. It worked well until Alexis Sanchez broke through in the 41th minute with his first Champions League goal. Bayer Leverkusen came out of the intermission determined to put the ball in the net. They found the equalizer in the 52nd minute, off the foot of Michal Kadlec. However, Sanchez had an immediate answer for Barcelona when he netted his second goal of the game just three minutes later. Bayer Leverkusen tried to find another equalizer late, but ended up conceiding a decisive goal to Lionel Messi in the 88th minute. The late goal swings all momentum in Barcelona's favor. Barca travels home for the second leg with a comfortable advantage. They seem to be a lock to advance.
Lyon 1 Apoel Nicosia 0
Apoel Nicosia came out in the defensive-focused mindset that made them the first Cypriot side ever to advance this far in the Champions League. The strategy seemed to work perfectly for the visitors, until they got unlucky when Lyon forward Alexandre Lacazette scored on a deflected shot in the 58th minute. Despite taking 18 shots in the match, that was the only Lyon shot to go in. It proved to be the difference as Apoel Nicosia didn't even have a shot attempt until the 88th minute. By that point, it was too late. This means that Apoel Nicosia is going to have to find the net at least once in the second leg at home in order to have a chance of advancing further in the tournament.
Zenit St Petersburg 3 Benfica 2
The match started slowly as conditions for this match were freezing in Russia. The visitors struck first when Zenit goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov made a crucial mistake. Benfica defender Maxi Pereira simply had to tap the ball into the net for the game's first goal. However, the mental error seemed to spark the hosts. They almost scored a minute later and found the equalizer just seven minutes later, when Tomas Hubocan sent a cross in that Roman Shirokov was able to put in on a one-time volley. Opportunities came and went, but the score remained tied at one until the 71st minute. Zenit put together some nice passing that ended in subsitute Sergei Semak's nice backheel goal. Benefica put their foot on the accelerator, and in the 87th minute, earned another baffling blunder by Zhevnov, which led to another easy goal for Zenit, scored by Oscar Cardozo. However, Zenit had the final dose of late magic when the ball came loose in the box. Shirokov came up with it and buried it for the decisive goal. The second leg seems bound to be an exciting one. If Zenit is to advance, they will need a much better performance from Zhevnov to say the least.
AC Milan 4 Arsenal 0
This matchup was supposed to be one of the best of the Round of 16. It featured Arsenal, a traditional Premier League power, against AC Milan, the current Serie A leader. Milan had not won any of their previous seven matches against English clubs, but that never seemed to be a concern for the hosts in the first leg. They struck first just 15 minutes in when Kevin-Prince Boateng scored. Brasilian forward Robinho found the net twice in a eleven minute frame to give Milan complete control of the match. Arsenal never seemed to get into a rhythm. Zlatan Ibrahimovic sealed off an impressive win by AC Milan with a penalty kick goal in the 79th minute. There appears to be no way back from this defeat for Arsenal. It seems certain that AC Milan will advance to the quarterfinals.
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