Tuesday, August 25, 2026, produced a packed soccer schedule across Europe and North America. Three UEFA Champions League playoff ties were decided, two Leagues Cup quarterfinals sent Liga MX clubs into the semifinals, Real Betis earned an important La Liga road win, and 17 Carabao Cup second-round matches were played in England.
LASK 5, Celtic 1 — After Extra Time
LASK advances 5-4 on aggregate
The biggest shock of Tuesday came in Austria, where LASK completed an extraordinary comeback to eliminate Celtic from the Champions League. Celtic entered the second leg with a 3-0 advantage and then went ahead through Callum McGregor in the 21st minute, giving the Scottish club a seemingly overwhelming 4-0 aggregate lead. Instead, LASK scored five unanswered goals. Moses Usor began the comeback in the 32nd minute, Robert Ljubičić scored shortly after halftime, and Samuel Adeniran made it 3-1. Florian Flecker’s stoppage-time goal forced extra time before Adeniran struck again in the 109th minute to send LASK into the Champions League league phase for the first time. Celtic drops into the Europa League.
Sabah 5, Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2 — After Extra Time
Sabah advances 6-4 on aggregate
Sabah also reached the Champions League league phase for the first time after a wild 5-2 extra-time victory over Hapoel Beer-Sheva in Azerbaijan. Hapoel twice took the lead, first through Igor Zlatanović and later through Guy Mizrahi, but Christian Nwachukwu and Umarali Rahmonaliyev answered for Sabah. Tellur Mütallimov scored deep into second-half stoppage time to put Sabah ahead on aggregate, and Patrick Orphé M’Bina and Joy-Lance Mickels added goals in extra time. Hapoel finished the match with nine players after D. T. Diop and Eden Peretz were sent off.
Bodø/Glimt 3, NEC Nijmegen 0
Bodø/Glimt advances 6-1 on aggregate
Bodø/Glimt comfortably finished its Champions League playoff against NEC Nijmegen with a 3-0 home victory and a 6-1 aggregate win. NEC’s task became much more difficult when goalkeeper Gonzalo Cretazz was sent off in only the third minute. Fredrik Bjørkan and Sondre Auklend scored during first-half stoppage time before an own goal by Dirk Proper’s defensive unit effectively ended any remaining hope for the Dutch side. Bodø/Glimt qualified for the Champions League league phase for a second consecutive season.
The three winners joined the 29 clubs that qualified automatically or through earlier rounds, with the final four Champions League league-phase places scheduled to be determined Wednesday. The league-phase draw takes place Thursday, August 27.
Monterrey 2, Chicago Fire 1 — Leagues Cup Quarterfinal
Chicago Fire’s Leagues Cup run ended with a 2-1 loss to Monterrey at SeatGeek Stadium. Víctor Guzmán gave Monterrey the lead with a header in first-half stoppage time after Lucas Ocampos had earlier missed a penalty. Philip Zinckernagel equalized for Chicago in the 59th minute, but Orbelín Pineda delivered the decisive moment in the 83rd with a spectacular volley. Monterrey advanced to the semifinals, where it will meet the winner of Wednesday’s Club América-Columbus Crew quarterfinal.
Club León 3, Real Salt Lake 0 — Leagues Cup Quarterfinal
Club León remained perfect in the 2026 Leagues Cup with a convincing 3-0 victory over Real Salt Lake. Díber Cambindo opened the scoring in the 21st minute and later completed a two-goal performance in the 72nd. Sebastián Vegas headed in León’s second goal from a corner in the 66th minute. Real Salt Lake created chances but could not beat goalkeeper Óscar García. León advanced to face the winner of Wednesday’s Toluca-Austin FC match in the semifinals.
The Tuesday results mean Liga MX has already placed two teams in the Leagues Cup semifinals. Three teams from the tournament will ultimately qualify for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Real Betis 1, Valencia 0 — La Liga
Real Betis collected three more points with a late 1-0 victory at Valencia. The match remained scoreless until the 83rd minute, when 20-year-old academy product Pablo García scored with a volley only minutes after entering as a substitute. Fran García supplied the assist. Betis moved to six points from its opening two matches, while Valencia remained without a victory.
Brentford 6, Birmingham City 1 — Carabao Cup
Brentford produced the largest Premier League-club victory of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup action, crushing Birmingham City 6-1 at St Andrew’s. Callum Wilson scored only six minutes into his first competitive start for Brentford. Demarai Gray temporarily equalized for Birmingham, but Aaron Hickey restored Brentford’s lead and Nathan Collins scored twice. Mikkel Damsgaard and Igor Thiago also found the net as Brentford comfortably advanced to the third round.
Leeds United 2, Nottingham Forest 0 — Carabao Cup
Leeds United defeated Nottingham Forest for the second time in four days, following up its Premier League victory at the City Ground with a 2-0 Carabao Cup win at the same stadium. Dan James opened the scoring in the 50th minute, and James Justin added the second in the 75th. Leeds controlled much of the match and advanced to the third round while Forest suffered another disappointing result early in the season.
West Ham United 4, Southampton 1 — Carabao Cup
Southampton scored first through Leo Scienza in the 10th minute, but West Ham answered with four consecutive goals to win 4-1 at St Mary’s. Young forward Josh Ajala, making his first senior start, scored twice to turn the match in West Ham’s favor. Taty Castellanos and Jarrod Bowen then added second-half goals after coming off the bench, sending the Hammers comfortably into the next round.
Ipswich Town 3, Leicester City 1 — Carabao Cup
Marcelino Núñez produced one of Tuesday’s most memorable goals as Ipswich defeated Leicester City 3-1. Sindre Walle Egeli put Ipswich ahead before Olebade Aluko equalized for Leicester. Núñez restored the lead in the 71st minute and then scored an extraordinary second goal from near the halfway line during stoppage time after spotting goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk away from his goal. Ipswich advanced while Leicester’s difficult start to the season continued.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2, Sheffield Wednesday 0 — Carabao Cup
Wolves advanced with a 2-0 victory at Hillsborough. Sheffield Wednesday defender Sil Swinkels put the ball into his own net just three minutes into the game, giving Wolves an immediate advantage. Academy defender Saheed Olagunju then scored on his senior debut in first-half stoppage time. Wolves protected the lead throughout the second half to move into the third round.
Peterborough United 5, Watford 1 — Carabao Cup
Peterborough produced one of the night’s notable lower-league results with a 5-1 victory at Watford. Watford fielded a youthful lineup, and Peterborough took full advantage, scoring five times away from home to book a place in the third round. It was one of several results Tuesday in which clubs from lower divisions eliminated or heavily defeated higher-profile opposition.
Coventry City 4, Plymouth Argyle 2 — Carabao Cup
Coventry City survived a six-goal contest at Home Park, beating Plymouth Argyle 4-2 to move into the next round. The match was among the highest-scoring ties of the evening and continued a strong night for several Championship and Premier League clubs in the competition.
Other Carabao Cup Results
Norwich City defeated Cardiff City 2-1, Middlesbrough beat Doncaster Rovers 3-1, Barnsley edged Crewe Alexandra 3-2 and Sheffield United won 2-1 at Blackburn Rovers. Lincoln City recorded a 4-1 victory over Blackpool, Millwall beat Cambridge United 1-0, Fleetwood Town defeated Shrewsbury Town 4-0 and Reading won 3-0 at Stevenage.
Two matches required penalty shootouts. Stoke City and Hull City finished 1-1 before Hull advanced 5-4 on penalties. Walsall and Leyton Orient played to a scoreless draw, with Leyton Orient winning the shootout 6-5.
A Dramatic Tuesday Across Soccer
Champions League qualifying supplied the most remarkable storyline of the day. Celtic appeared virtually certain to advance when it moved four goals ahead on aggregate, only for LASK to produce one of the most dramatic European qualifying comebacks in recent memory. Sabah’s extra-time victory gave Azerbaijan another major European success story, while Bodø/Glimt continued Norway’s growing presence in continental competition.
In North America, Liga MX enjoyed a perfect Tuesday in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals as Monterrey eliminated Chicago and León comfortably defeated Real Salt Lake. Meanwhile, the Carabao Cup brought the usual mixture of Premier League clubs, lower-division challengers and surprise results, with Brentford, Leeds, West Ham, Wolves and Ipswich among the teams moving forward.
Wednesday’s schedule will decide four more Champions League qualifiers and the remaining two Leagues Cup semifinalists, making this one of the busiest midweek stretches of the early 2026-27 soccer season.