Champions League: Bayern Munich advances to the round of 16, Barcelona delivers and Liverpool is a step away

Bayern Munich sealed their place in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, following in Arsenal's footsteps a day after they became the first team to qualify. A path that could not be followed by Barcelona, who will have to look for their ticket on the last matchday, in a week's time.

The German club had a tougher time than anticipated in defeating Belgium's Union St. Gilloise, only securing the win in the second half. According to AFP, the breakthrough came with a pair of goals from Harry Kane in the 52nd and 55th minutes, the second of which was a penalty kick.

Kane had another penalty to score a hat-trick, but hit the woodwork when the German club was already down to 10 men after South Korean center-back Min-jae Kim was sent off for a double yellow card. "We scored at the right times, were a bit unlucky with the red card but even after that when we went down to 10 men we controlled the game well and earned the three points," Kane explained.

With this win, Bayern have 18 points, enough to go straight into the round of 16.

Liverpool storm Marseille

The English club was very close to the round of 16 after winning 3-0 in Marseille on Wednesday. All they need is a win at Anfield against Qarabag of Azerbaijan next Wednesday to qualify for the last 16.

Dominik Szoboszlai (45'+1), an own goal by Geronimo Rulli (72') and Dutchman Cody Gakpo (90+3') were the scorers for the Reds. Liverpool manager Arne Slot said his team deserved victory, and the difference with previous games was simply a lack of bad fortune. 

Barca win, but lose Pedri

Barca won 4-2 away to Slavia in Prague, but again showed signs of defensive weakness and, more worryingly, Pedri left the field injured. He could be out for at least three weeks, according to the Spanish press.

Missing the suspended Lamine Yamal, Barcelona faced a spirited Slavia Praha side. The teams entered halftime level after a lively back-and-forth: Fermín López scored twice for Barça (34', 42'), while Slavia's goals came from Kusej (10') and an own goal from Robert Lewandowski (44').

Dani Olmo (63') and Lewandowski himself (70') sealed the win for the LaLiga leaders in the second half.

"We have seen today how tough the Champions League is. The most important thing is to win and next Wednesday all will be decided - we have to get three points and then see what happens," stressed Barcelona coach Hanis Flick.

Atletico disappoint, Athletic do just enough

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, could only manage a 1-1 draw in their visit to Galatasaray, hurting their chances to stay in the Top 8. They must now win their match on Wednesday at the Metropolitano against Bodø/Glimt. The Norwegian side pulled off a surprise 3-1 victory over Manchester City on Tuesday.

"What we saw was a spectacular first half, creating chances, continuous attacks, plays that we didn’t finish off as we should have. We took the lead and they equalized when we could have sealed the victory. In the second half, they put five at the back and were more comfortable, they also had chances and could have won it in the end, but Marcos saved us," summed up Colchonero coach Diego Simeone, according to Into the Calderon.

The bad news for Atleti is that Julián Álvarez's goal drought will be extended one more game. The Argentine striker has not scored since Dec. 9.

The other Spanish team that played on Wednesday, Athletic Bilbao, maintains its chances of finishing in the top 24 and playing in the playoff for the round of 16 after beating Atalanta 3-2 in Bergamo.