Following the round of 16, AC Milan, Bayern München, Nantes, Mainz, who made their debuts, Real Madrid, Porto, who defeated holders AZ Alkmaar, Copenhagen, and Olympiacos have all secured spots in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Youth League.
The eight winners of the play-offs between the domestic champions path winners and the Champions League path group runners-up faced off against the eight UEFA Champions League path group winners in this round.
All of the ties were played as one-off matches, with penalties applied if the scores were tied after ninety minutes. The semifinals and championship game in April will take place at one location, much like in prior years.
After overturning a two-point deficit to halt Lens’s inaugural run on penalties, Olympiacos emerged as the first Greek quarterfinalist. After the visitors’ third and fourth attempts at a kick were missed, Konstantinos Tanoulis scored the winning kick.
Rayan Fofana extended Lens’s advantage early in the second half after Ayanda Sishuba’s free kick gave the team the lead in the 19th minute. Stavros Pnevmonidis pounced to equalize, forcing a shoot-out, but Charalampos Kostoulas grabbed one back from the penalty spot in a five-minute span either side of the hour.
AC Milan versus Braga 2-2 (2 pens)
Milan is just one win away from making it to the semifinals for the second consecutive season, having overcome a late equalizer to defeat Braga on penalties. Diego Sia was awarded a penalty kick in the twelfth minute, but he missed it.nevertheless gave Milan the lead midway through the first half when he headed in a cross from Filippo Scotti.
Dinis Rodrigues tied the score at 66 minutes after some excellent work by Rúben Furtado, but Kevin Zeroli’s spectacular back-heeled volley was in response to a cross from Milan substitute Davide Bartesaghi. Rúben Furtado headed an equalizer deep into additional time, resulting in penalties, but Zeroli still managed to score the winning kick.
