The UEFA Champions League closed its final matchday of the regular phase on Wednesday, January 28, with a unified matchday in which all matches were played at the same time, a format that raised the tension and kept millions of fans watching every goal and every result.
The final date did not disappoint. There were surprises, goals, key draws and unexpected eliminations, which ended up defining the fate of the 36 participating teams: the eight direct qualifiers to the next round, the clubs that will have to play in the playoffs and those that were eliminated from the tournament.
The eight direct qualifiers
After completing the Champions League matchday, Arsenal finished top of the table with 24 points, confirming its consistency.
They were followed by Bayern Munich with 21 and Liverpool with 18.
Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City completed the group of the top eight, all with solid campaigns that allow them to avoid the playoffs.
These teams advance directly to the next round, a key advantage in a tournament as demanding as the Champions League.
Playoffs: giants forced to fight
One of the main focuses of attention is on the teams that will have to play in the playoffs, where several heavyweights of European soccer appear.
Real Madrid and Inter, both with 15 points, failed to make it into the top eight of the Champions League and will have to play an extra round to stay alive.
Also in this zone are PSG, Newcastle, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen.
In addition to clubs such as Borussia Dortmund, Benfica and Galatasaray, which anticipates high-level clashes with no margin for error.
Surprising eliminations
The list of eliminated teams left several surprises.
Historic clubs such as Ajax, Napoli, Villarreal and PSV were left out of the tournament.
As did Athletic Club and Marseille, showing how competitive this phase was.
The final matchday did not disappoint
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The final day was full of excitement, with scores such as Liverpool’s 6-0 drubbing of Qarabag and Barcelona’s 4-1 win over FC Copenhagen.
As well as Benfica’s 4-2 win over Real Madrid and Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Galatasaray.
Also noteworthy were the victories of Chelsea against Napoli and Inter against Borussia Dortmund, results that ended up being decisive in the table.
With this, the Champions League enters its most intense stage, where every game will be a final and mistakes will have no margin for correction.
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