Sparta bows out of Champions League with defeat to Leverkusen
Sparta Prague closed out their Champions League campaign with a 0-2 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the final match of the competition's eighth round. Returning to Europe's elite tournament after a 19-year absence, Sparta struggled throughout their journey, suffering their sixth consecutive defeat. Even before this match, their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage had already been dashed. In the new-format Champions League, they finished 31st out of 36 teams, collecting just four points.