THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AFTER THE GROUP STAGE:
Copenhagen joined Bayern Munich, Napoli joined Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain joined Dortmund, and Porto joined Barcelona to complete the list of the 16 teams that are advancing from the group stage into the knockout round.
The most clubs to advance to the Round of 16 are from La Liga, with four. All four of these clubs advanced as group winners. The German Bundesliga will have three representatives, two of which were group winners. The English Premier League has two representatives, both of which qualified as group winners. The two clubs representing the Italian Serie A both advanced as runners-up from their group. The French Ligue 1, the Dutch Eredivisie, the Danish Superliga, and the Portuguese Primeira Liga each have one representative, all of which advanced from the group as runners-up.
INTO THE ROUND OF 16:
GROUP A: Bayern Munich / Copenhagen
GROUP B: Arsenal / PSV Eindhoven
GROUP C: Real Madrid / Napoli
GROUP D: Real Sociedad / Inter Milan
GROUP E: Atlético Madrid / Lazio
GROUP F: Borussia Dortmund / Paris Saint-Germain
GROUP G: Manchester City / RB Leipzig
GROUP H: Barcelona / Porto
INTO EUROPA LEAGUE:
GROUP A: Galatasaray
GROUP B: Lens
GROUP C: Braga
GROUP D: Benfica
GROUP E: Feyenoord
GROUP F: AC Milan
GROUP G: Young Boys
GROUP H: Shakhtar Donetsk
ELIMINATED:
GROUP A: Manchester United
GROUP B: Sevilla
GROUP C: Union Berlin
GROUP D: Red Bull Salzburg
GROUP E: Celtic
GROUP F: Newcastle United
GROUP G: Red Star Belgrade
GROUP H: Antwerp
DECEMBER 12.
0-1 : MANCHESTER UNITED vs. BAYERN MUNICH
1-0 : COPENHAGEN vs. GALATASARAY
2-1 : LENS vs. SEVILLA
1-1 : PSV EINDHOVEN vs. ARSENAL
2-0 : NAPOLI vs. BRAGA
2-3 : UNION BERLIN vs. REAL MADRID
0-0 : INTER MILAN vs. REAL SOCIEDAD
1-3 : RED BULL SALZBURG vs. BENFICA
GROUP A: Bayern Munich (16), Copenhagen (8), Galatasaray (5), Manchester United (4)
Copenhagen qualified alongside Bayern Munich by beating Galatasaray. Bayern Munich secured a win at Old Trafford, leading to the elimination of Manchester United at the bottom of the table.
GROUP B: Arsenal (13), PSV Eindhoven (9), Lens (8), Sevilla (2)
Sevilla lost the decisive match for third place, missing the chance to re-enter the Europa League and defend their title there. The team endured a six-game winless streak, exiting continental cup football at the bottom of the group with a ‘2-1’ defeat at Lens. The Champions League run for both teams came to an end, but Lens will advance to the Europa League, a tournament that Sevilla loves to play in. PSV Eindhoven secured a point at home through a ‘1-1’ draw to advance with Arsenal.
GROUP C: Real Madrid (18), Napoli (10), Braga (4), Union Berlin (2)
It’s a perfect run for Real Madrid, winning all six matches in the group. Despite failing to secure the point they needed against Napoli to secure third place in Group C, Braga managed to hold on to the third spot because Union Berlin was beaten by Real Madrid.
GROUP D: Real Sociedad (12), Inter Milan (12), Benfica (4), Red Bull Salzburg (3)
In the decisive game to determine the winner of Group D, and Real Sociedad secured the point they needed through a goalless draw with Inter Milan to hold on to the top spot and win the group. Despite Inter Milan’s home advantage, it couldn’t give them the edge.
It took until the last game of the group stage for Benfica to secure their first victory, and it proved crucial. Salzburg only needed a draw at home to secure a spot in the Europa League, while Benfica had to win by a 2+ goal margin to leapfrog Salzburg. The match ended in a ‘3-1’ win for Benfica, eliminating Salzburg from continental cup football for the year.
DECEMBER 13.
2-0 : ATLÉTICO MADRID vs. LAZIO
2-1 : CELTIC vs. FEYENOORD
1-1 : BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
1-2 : NEWCASTLE UNITED vs. AC MILAN
2-1 : RB LEIPZIG vs. YOUNG BOYS
2-3 : RED STAR BELGRADE vs. MANCHESTER CITY
5-3 : PORTO vs. SHAKHTAR DONETSK
3-2 : ANTWERP vs. BARCELONA
GROUP E: Atlético Madrid (14), Lazio (10), Feyenoord (6), Celtic (4)
Atletico Madrid beat Lazio to win the Group E, while Celtic made sure to leave the group with a win by beating Feyenoord.
GROUP F: Borussia Dortmund (11), Paris Saint-Germain (8), AC Milan (8), Newcastle United (5)
Apart from seeking revenge for their defeat to PSG in the reverse fixture, Dortmund had nothing to play for in the final round of the group. PSG couldn’t afford a defeat if there had been a winner from the Newcastle vs. AC Milan fixture. Only an AC Milan win would allow PSG to advance with a point.
Everything worked out in PSG’s favor as they came from a goal down to secure a ‘1-1’ draw in Dortmund, while AC Milan also came from a goal down to pick up a ‘2-1’ win in Newcastle.
GROUP G: Manchester City (18), RB Leipzig (12), Young Boys (4), Red Star Belgrade (1)
Group G’s positions were determined after the fifth round, and the teams at the top half secured wins to add to their point tally in the final round. Manchester City maintained their perfect win record with a ‘3-2’ win against Red Star Belgrade, while RB Leipzig also secured a ‘2-1’ victory at home against Young Boys.
GROUP H: Barcelona (12), Porto (12), Shakhtar Donetsk (9), Antwerp (3)
An eliminated Antwerp avoided a 100% losing record in their group by beating Barcelona, while Porto secured qualification with Barcelona through a 5-3 win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
