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The opening section of the 2025-26 Champions League season concluded Wednesday some 132 days after the primary spherical of fixtures kicked off.
Eighteen concurrent matches created an at-times overwhelming but entertaining finale, with 61 objectives scored and solely the dour draw between Monaco and Juventus providing nothing to the general depend.
Here is how the league section unfolded and what comes subsequent in Europe’s premier competitors.
Who’s in?
Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP, and Manchester Metropolis completed with one of the best eight information within the opening section, incomes byes to the Champions League spherical of 16.
However the story of the night time was Benfica’s 4-2 win over Actual Madrid. The Portuguese aspect’s goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin joined the assault for a late free-kick and scored a miraculous 98th-minute header, sending Jose Mourinho’s Benfica above Marseille and into the ultimate spot for the knockout playoffs (extra on that beneath) on purpose distinction.
The shock defeat had big implications for Actual Madrid. That consequence, together with Sporting CP’s Ninety fifth-minute winner at Athletic Bilbao, meant the Spanish membership fell outdoors the highest eight and should now undergo the playoffs.
Arsenal completed atop the opening section with an ideal file of eight wins from eight matches, together with notable victories over Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and Serie A desk toppers Inter Milan, plus a 4-0 rout of Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. Assertion made.
Bayern solely dropped factors to Arsenal, firmly establishing themselves among the many favorites to win the trophy. Liverpool and Tottenham discovered respite from their irritating home campaigns with a powerful set of ends in Europe.
Knockout playoffs
The following 16 groups within the league section desk enter the knockout playoffs, the place they’re going to battle for the remaining spots within the spherical of 16. Two-legged affairs will decide which eight golf equipment advance and be part of the eight groups that earned byes to the final 16.
The eight groups within the upper-half of the playoff positions – highlighted by Actual Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Italian giants Inter Milan and Juventus – will likely be seeded and due to this fact drawn towards the groups within the lower-half, which incorporates Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, and Benfica.
The seeded groups have the (theoretical) benefit of enjoying their respective second legs at residence.
Who’s out?
Little-known Kazakh aspect Kairat Almaty have been the primary staff formally eradicated from knockout competition after they misplaced 4-1 to Membership Brugge earlier this month on Matchday 7.
However smaller golf equipment weren’t the one ones to fall at this hurdle.
La Liga high-flyers Villarreal, who received the Europa League in 2021, have been surprisingly lackluster with an abysmal file of 1 draw and 7 defeats. The Spanish staff was eradicated with Ajax, Marseille, and all the best way down in thirtieth place, reigning Italian champions Napoli.
Napoli have been in nineteenth spot and headed for the knockout playoffs at halftime Wednesday, however a second-half brace from Chelsea’s Joao Pedro gave the Blues a 3-2 win and ended Napoli’s European journey.
And bear in mind: There isn’t any smooth touchdown within the Europa League for these groups since UEFA eliminated that security internet when the Champions League format was rejigged forward of the 2024-25 marketing campaign.
What’s subsequent?
The highest eight sides will not compete in Europe till the spherical of 16 kicks off on March 10.
The groups that completed ninth to sixteenth will tackle people who completed seventeenth to Twenty fourth in two-legged clashes that start Feb. 17. The draw for the knockout playoffs is Friday.
(Courtesy: UEFA)
The playoff bracket pairs golf equipment by their remaining place within the league section, so followers know their staff will face one among two potential opponents earlier than the draw. For instance, ninth-placed Actual Madrid or Tenth-placed Inter Milan may face Twenty third-placed Bodo/Glimt or Twenty fourth-placed Benfica.
One other massive showdown within the playoffs will likely be Victor Osimhen’s Galatasaray taking over both Juventus or Atletico Madrid.
