POPULAR SEARCHES <br> BROWSE BY <br>The <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/champions-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UEFA Champions League</a> adopted a new format ahead of the 2024-25 season, and that switch was front and center on Tuesday as, for the first time, the first round of the world's most prestigious club competition spilled into the new year.<br>The first Matchday 7 in tournament history didn't disappoint. <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/liverpool-team">Liverpool</a> picked up right where it ended 2024, with a win that kept the Reds perfect heading into the final round of the novel "league" phase. <br>Last year's runner-up, <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/borussia-dortmund-team">Borussia Dortmund</a>, entered the day with a chance to jump as high as second place in the 36th team table only to squander a 1-0 halftime lead in Italy and lose to <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/bologna-team">Bologna</a>, while <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/barcelona-team">Barcelona</a> stormed back from a multi-goal second half deficit to take all three points in rain-soaked <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/benfica-team">Lisbon</a>.<br>Here are three big takeaways from Tuesday's nine matches.<br>It says plenty about Barcelona's play in the Champions League this season that even with a defeat on Tuesday, the five-time European champs would have stayed in second place in the 36-team standings no matter the results on Wednesday, when the back half of Matchday 7 wraps up.<br>For much of Tuesday's game away to Benfica, defeat seemed inevitable. The visitors fell behind less than two minutes after kickoff. It was 3-1 before the first half was even finished.<br>Barça made it 3-2 after the break, only for the hosts to regain their two-goal advantage with only 22 minutes of regular time remaining. Then all hell broke loose.<br>In what will surely go down as one of the most memorable non-knockout endings in competition history, Hansi Flick's side stormed back to tie on goals by <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/eric-garcia-2-player">Eric Garcia</a> and <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/robert-lewandowski-player">Robert Lewandowski</a>. And with Benfica desperately pressing forward for a late winner, Barcelona sprang a lightning quick counterattack spearheaded by the fleet-footed <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/raphael-2-player">Raphinha</a>. The Brazilian forward took the chance himself, sending Barça's fifth tally of the evening past home keeper <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/anatolii-trubin-player">Anatoliy Trubin</a> to complete the remarkable comeback.<br>New year, same old story for the Reds. While Arne Slot's previously unstoppable side has a merely so-so record of 2W-1L-2T across all competitions since the beginning of January — including ties in two of their last three Premier League outings — Liverpool has been lights out in the Champions League all season. That continued at Anfield on Tuesday with a 2-1 triumph over French outfit <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/lille-team">Lille</a>.<br>That's not to say it was easy. While <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/mohamed-salah-player">Mohamed Salah</a> put the hosts ahead with the opening goal about 10 minutes before halftime, Lille's star Canadian striker <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/jonathan-david-player">Jonathan David</a> canceled it out against the run of play and the momentum just after the hour mark; the visitors had been reduced to 10 men moments earlier, when right back Aïssa Mandi was shown his second yellow card of the contest.<br>But as they've done all season in European play, Liverpool found a way to win. The decisive strike came from youngster <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/harvey-elliott-player">Harvey Elliott</a> in the 67th minute.<br>After that, the hosts expertly killed off the game to improve to 7-0. Already qualified for the round of 16, the Reds conclude the first round away to Dutch power PSV Eindhoven on Jan. 29.<br>The Champions League has served as a retreat from the Black & Yellow's struggles in the German Bundesliga this season. Sure enough, a morale-boosting victory over Bologna in Italy seemed to be in the cards on Tuesday with the visitors still leading 1-0 in the 70th minute thanks to <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/sehrou-guirassy-player">Serhou Guirassy's</a> first half strike from the penalty spot.<br>Then everything changed in the blink of an eye. First, Bologna leveled through <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/thijs-dallinga-2-player">Thijs Dallinga</a>. Less than 60 seconds later, the hosts pulled ahead for good when <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/samuel-iling-junior-player">Samuel Iling-Junior</a> converted his chance with a fine left-footed finish:<br>The defeat is the latest setback for under-fire BVB boss Nuri Şahin, who might not be around when Dortmund meets Shakhtar Donetsk later this month in its first round finale.<br>As for Bologna, while the victory won't be enough to boost the Italians into the playoff places no matter what happens at Sporting Lisbon on Matchday 8 (they have just five points from seven games), the triumph over 2023-24's losing finalist <i>was</i> enough to make history: It marked the club's first ever Champions League win.<br><i>Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports who has covered the </i><a href="https://www.foxsports.com/soccer/united-states-men-team"><i><u>United States</u></i></a><i> men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him at </i><a href="https://twitter.com/ByDougMcIntyre" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i><u>@ByDougMcIntyre</u></i></a><i>.</i><br><i>Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? </i><a href="https://www.foxsports.com/newsletter"><i><u>Create or log in to your FOX Sports account</u></i></a><i>, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!</i><br><br><a href="https://news.google.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?oc=5">source</a>
