Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham have all secured places in the Champions League last 16 after the final league stage matches and discovered the potential opponents they could face in the knockout round
Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City have all joined Liverpool and Arsenal in the Champions League last-16. The latter duo had all but confirmed top-eight spots the previous matchday; however, there was still jeopardy for the Blues, Spurs, Pep Guardiola’s side and Newcastle United.
The Magpies needed a win at the home of reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain to avoid the play-off round, but could not manage that while the other three English sides did. A 2-0 win over Galatasaray for Pep Guardiola’s side saw them finish eighth in the standings and thus only just make it.
Despite sealing a spot in the last-16, City face the prospect of a very tough draw. One of Bodo/Glimt, Real Madrid, Inter or Benfica will await them in the knockout rounds, with the latter only just qualifying on goal difference courtesy of a last-minute strike from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin. Defeat in Portugal for Real saw them finish ninth, with Barcelona the only Spanish side in those seeded positions.
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It is a very different story for the Premier League teams, though, with Chelsea staging a second-half comeback against Napoli to finish sixth. One of Monaco, Qarabag, PSG or Newcastle awaits in the round of 16.
The latter find themselves in the play-offs through finishing 12th after their 1-1 stalemate at the Parc Des Princes. Eddie Howe will discover which of those three teams his side will play over two legs in mid-February on Friday, January 30, which is when the play-off draw takes place.
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Thomas Frank’s side, meanwhile, have avoided that by beating Eintracht Frankfurt to finish fourth in the final league standings, and that will see them face one of Galatasaray, Club Brugge, Atletico Madrid or Juventus.
The same set of opponents can be applied to Liverpool, who finished one place higher, following a 6-0 win over Qarabag.
Arsenal had already qualified in the top eight but officially confirmed themselves as league stage winners with a 3-2 win over Kairat Almaty at Emirates Stadium.
In doing so, Mikel Arteta’s side knew they would face one of the teams finishing 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th. Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiacos, Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta have since been confirmed as their potential opponents.
For Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester City and Chelsea, it represents a significant fixture relief with two fewer matches to navigate during a congested February schedule.
All five of those clubs will be watching the play-off draw on Friday closely to discover their potential last-16 opponents.
In terms of big shocks, it is certainly a surprise to see Real and PSG not in the top eight while Sporting snuck into those positions after beating the latter and Athletic Bilbao in the last two matchdays.
European heavyweights Juventus and Atletico have also missed out after dropping points to Monaco and Bodo/Glimt, respectively. The Norwegian outfit have made it through to the play-off stage courtesy of that win, but are unseeded, with Borussia Dortmund, another team finishing outside of the top 16.
