4️⃣ things we learned from Wednesday's high scoring Champions League action | OneFootball

The final four places in the Champions League knockout stage were up for grabs on Wednesday night.

Here's what we made of it all.

Mbappé runs riot over Guardiola's men

📸 OSCAR DEL POZO - AFP or licensors

The biggest story of the evening is undoubtedly Kylian Mbappé's performance for Real Madrid against Manchester City. With the tie on a knife-edge at 3-2 from the first leg, it seemed like it was all to play for, but the Frenchman had other ideas.

Scoring after just four minutes, he put the visitors on the back foot immediately, and completing his hat trick in just over an hour, Mbappé singlehandedly put this tie to bed.

He may have made it look effortless, but Madrid's superstar became the first player ever to put a hat-trick past a Pep Guardiola side in a Champions League knockout game.

Mbappé is certainly a big-game player, and tonight he cemented his position as one of the best players in world football.

Guardiola hits new low in horrible campaign

📸 Clive Brunskill - 2025 Getty Images

Before this match kicked off, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola told the press that there was only a 1% chance that they would advance to the next round of the Champions League, before backtracking on that statement in a subsequent interview.

But when Erling Haaland was named on the bench, their chances of advancing had certainly grown smaller, although few could've predicted just how bad it would get.

Pep's worst defensive record in Manchester was 60 goals conceded in 56 games during the 2016/17 campaign, but his side have already let in 60 this season in just 40 games played so far.

The last time Man City got knocked out at this stage of the competition was back in 2012/13, when Roberto Mancini was at the helm.

With John Stones having limping off the pitch with another injury, tonight's events lead to the question: just how bad can it get for City and Pep?

Brest are PSG's whipping boys

📸 JULIEN DE ROSA - AFP or licensors

PSG have stuffed a total of 18 goals past Brest this season - eight in Ligue 1 and a whopping 10 over two legs in the Champions League.

The Parisians also made history in the competition this evening, becoming the first team ever to have seven different goalscorers in a Champions League match.

And there were plenty of positives to take for Luis Enrique, as new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored his first Champions League goal for the club.

It's not all going to be plain sailing like this though, as Liverpool or Barcelona await them in the next round.

Ivan Perišić loves scoring against Juventus

📸 NICOLAS TUCAT - AFP or licensors

With a goal in both legs of PSV's tie against Juventus, 36-year-old Ivan Perišić became the oldest player ever to score in consecutive knock out games in the Champions League.

That strike helped his side – who were 2-1 down from the first leg – to extra time against the Italian giants, but there may have been an added incentive for him finding the back of the net.

Perišić spent seven years playing in Serie A with Inter, a team who are at the top of Juve's most hated list.

A hard-fought extra-time period saw PSV advance through, as Juve joined Milan and Atalanta as Italian sides knocked out in the playoff round.

That fact will have undoubtedly made the result even sweeter for a certain Croatian.

📸 David Ramos - 2025 Getty Images