Berlin, 6 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Bayern Munich defeated Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday, while Barcelona won 1-0 at Benfica with only 10 men.

In the other late game, Liverpool were second best all night but Harvey Elliott's late goal secured them a 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain.

Earlier, Inter Milan took charge of their tie against Feyenoord with a 2-0 win.

Bayern finally defeat Leverkusen

Leverkusen ended Bayern's run of 11 straight Bundesliga titles last season and were unbeaten against them in six matches since Xabi Alonso became Leverkusen coach in October 2022.

But that run came to an end on Tuesday as Bayern put themselves in a great position to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

Harry Kane used his head to complete Michael Olise's cross and give the Bavarians the lead early in the game.

Bayern had to wait until after the break to score a second and were helped by goalkeeper Kovar.

Joshua Kimmich swung a harmless cross into the box and Kovar was in good position to make a save. But he let the ball slip through his hands and dropped it on the path of Jamal Musiala, who poked it inside the goal in the 54th.

Trailing by two goals, things only got worse for the German champions as Nordi Mukiele was given his marching orders after a heavy challenge on Kingsley Coman.

There was another foul that was costly to Leverkusen, this one when Edmond Tapsoba grabbed Kane in the box and Bayern were awarded a penalty. Kane himself converted the spot-kick to put the game to bed in the 75th.

"This really is a big step in the right direction. The job is half done, now we're looking forward to next week," Kane told broadcasters DAZN.

There will be concerns for Bayern, however, as Manuel Neuer picked up an injury just after the second goal. Neuer had to be subbed off and winter singing Jonas Ubrig made his Bayern debut.

Raphinha rescues Barcelona

Barcelona's game plan suffered a huge blow when Pau Cubarsi saw a straight red card in the 22nd for a last-man foul on Vangelis Pavlidis.

But Benfica were unable to make their numerical advantage count in and were punished by Raphinha.

The Brazilian international intercepted a Benfica pass in the hosts' half, took a couple of touches and unleashed a powerful drive from outside the area. The ball deflected off Nicolas Otamendi and spun into the net in the 61st.

Benfica thought they could make amends and at least get a draw once referee Felix Zwayer awarded them a penalty in the 83rd. But after video review, Zwayer overturned his decision because Andrea Belotti was offside.

"We had a great chance today, especially after the red card, so it's a very frustrating result. We created a lot of chances, but unfortunately we didn't score," Benfica midfielder Fredrik Aursnes told UEFA.com.

Wasteful PSG punished

PSG's opener through Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the 20th minute was disallowed for offside but the French team can't complain about not having enough chances to take the lead.

They had a total of 28 goal attempts, but still failed to find the target as Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson had a strong performance to keep his side on the game.

The Premier League leaders, meanwhile, had only two goal attempts. One of them from Elliott in the 87th minute and that was enough to give them the win.

The substitute needed only one minute on the pitch to make the difference, firing the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma after a clever play by Darwin Nunez.

"They were creating many chances but thanks to this man (Alisson) and the defence we did it. It was down to me to put the opportunity away and thankfully it went in," Elliott told TNT Sports.

Inter also with first-leg advantage

The Italians took the lead against Feyenoord in the 38th minute with a nicely constructed goal completed by Marcus Thuram.

Lautauro Martinez added a second in the 50th with a lovely finish after collecting Piotr Zieliński's assist.

Zieliński, however, had a spot-kick saved by Timon Wellenreuther in the 65th and missed the chance of giving Inter a bigger advantage ahead of next week's second leg.

On Tuesday, Real Madrid took a narrow 2-1 win in the derby against Atletico Madrid, Arsenal thrashed PSV 7-1, Aston Villa defeated Club Brugge 3-1 and Borussia Dortmund was held to a 1-1 draw by Lille.

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