The UEFA Champions League Group stage came to a close Wednesday as all 32 clubs played their final group match. Headed into Matchday 6 at the beginning of this week, there were still knockout round spots to be played for. There were four matches headed into the two-day match schedule that had certain group qualification implications. With the conclusion of those matches, the 16 teams going through to the next stage of the competition are confirmed.
The Round of 16 Knockout stage matches will take place in the middle of February. The remaining clubs will learn who their next opponent is on November 7, when the Round of 16 drawing takes place. It is important to remember, from this stage until the final, every matchup will have two fixtures so both clubs have the opportunity to play at home.
The Champions League competition is historically known for being dominated by Europe’s top six leagues and history is repeating itself. The clubs moving on this campaign almost exclusively come from those six leagues (15/16). Before the drawing takes place next Monday, here is a breakdown of who is going through to the knockout rounds of the UCL by the domestic league, respectively, they belong to.
Premier League (England)
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City
Chelsea
Liverpool
The English Premier League sides have shown again through their champions league results this campaign why they are the consensus best domestic league in the world. Time and time again English-sides are legitimate contenders in this competition. Manchester City and Liverpool both made it through their respective groups rather easily. City finished 1st in Group G, while Liverpool took 2nd in Group A behind only Napoli, whom they were tied on points with. Graham Potter’s new look Chelsea took 1st in Group E rather convincingly, as they only suffered one defeat throughout the group stage. That was a 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb which happened to be former gaffer Thomas Tuchel’s last game in charge of the blues. Lastly, the only side that had trouble getting through the group stage, Tottenham. Tottenham’s qualification hopes came down to the final matchday, in which they needed to avoid defeat. After trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Spurs roared back at Marseille to score two goals, winning the fixture 2-1 and clinching a knockout stage spot. All 4 of these teams will pose a legitimate threat to their opponents in the Round of 16.
Bundesliga (Germany)
Bayern Munich
Borussia Dortmund
RB Leipzig
Eintracht Frankfurt
The only other domestic league to put four teams into the knockout stage is the Bundesliga. The top German league is also the only league that put five total teams in the competition. The EPL, Bundesliga and La Liga automatically get four slots into the Champions League competition. On top of the four that were auto-qualified from the Bundesliga, the German league also boasted the Europa League winner. The Europa League is Europe’s second-best European competition behind the UCL. Bayern Munich, the most well-known and dominant club in the history of German football, was the first team to clinch a knockout stage spot. Bayern did not suffer a defeat nor did they play to deadlock in any of their six group-stage matches. In every one of them, the UCL Champions of 2019-2020 were victorious. They are one of the heavy odds-on favorites to win the competition. Unsurprisingly, the next most successful club in German football, Borussia Dortmund, also advanced. Dortmund made it out of Group G 2nd in the table behind Man City. The Yellow and Black have the potential to spoil some of Europe’s largest clubs’ hopes. The third team to qualify that came from the Bundesliga, RB Leipzig, is another club that can make serious noise in this competition. Led by stars Timo Werner and Christopher Nkunku, RB Leipzig are no strangers to this stage of the competition in recent memory. Finally, one of the most unlikely qualifiers of all, Eintracht Frankfurt. Frankfurt was only originally in this competition because of their Europa League title from the end of last season. Going into this UCL campaign, many saw them as a club that would just be thankful to make it to the competition. Now, they are into the final 16 and have momentum.
Serie A (Italy)
Napoli
Inter Milan
AC Milan
One of the big surprises of this year’s UCL group stage was the poor form of the historical Italian super-giant, Juventus. They were the only Italian side not to make it through to the next round of the competition, but Italy still holds hope. The other three clubs to qualify that come from Italy’s top league are some of the most well-known across European football. The first team to clinch a spot in the knockout rounds was Napoli. The blues of Italy were unbeaten across all competitions until their 2-0 defeat at Anfield on Tuesday. But, even with that result, they still finished atop Group A above Liverpool. Napoli is one of the toughest teams to play at in European competition and they will be one of the toughest opponents in the Round of 16. The other two teams to qualify for the Round of 16 from Serie A are AC Milan and Inter Milan. These two giant football clubs each hold their own successful and passionate history, but have done it in the same stadium, San Siro. Inter Milan made it through what many proclaimed ‘the group of death’, which included Bayern Munich and Barcelona. AC Milan only needed to avoid defeat in the final matchday and were ultimately victorious against RB Salzburg at home. These two very respected Italian sides play in one of the toughest stadiums in the world to visit. No one will be excited to see a matchup with either of these clubs, respectively, in the Round of 16.
La Liga (Spain)
Real Madrid
The single biggest storyline of the UCL Group Stage this season was the poor results from La Liga-sides (other than Real Madrid). Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are all out of the competition, meaning the only Spanish-side safe through the group stage is the defending champions. Real Madrid showed early and often in this season’s group stage why they are poised to go on another Champions League title run. Carlo Ancelotti and his men, led by Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, are a feared matchup no matter the side across from them.
Ligue 1 (France)
Paris Saint Germain
French side Paris Saint Germain have looked as good this season as ever. Led by their dangerous front three in attack – Lionel Messi, Neymar and Mbappe – PSG have hopes to win the competition for the first time in club history. The French giants are second all-time in UCL wins for a club that has not won the competition. In their domestic league, Ligue 1, PSG usually handles the table with ease. That is far from good enough for them now with the talent they have. For every year this world football supergiant does not take the UCL trophy back with them to Paris, complaints and disdain will continually be thrown.
Primeira Liga (Portugal)
FC Porto
Benfica
Portugal’s top league gets 2 of their 3 participants in the UCL into the knockout stage. FC Porto, a usual suspect in the Champions League recently, finished 1st in Group B. They impressed often throughout their 6 matchdays, in a group that was seemingly wide-open at the start of the season. The other portuguese-side into the final 16, Benfica, has been one of the most successful clubs in world football this season. They are unbeaten across all competitions, the only team in Europe’s top leagues to still boast that accolade. In a very surprising turn of events, Benfica overtook PSG on top of the table in Group H after they defeated Maccabi Haifa 6-1 on the final match day. It took 6 tie-break rules to determine the 1st and 2nd place finish in the group, which was ultimately Benfica.
Belgian Pro League (Belgium)
Club Brugge
Finally, the only non-top league-side to make it through to the knockout stage, Club Brugge. The Belgian side have turned heads so far this season, as they were one of the less-likely teams to clinch a spot into the round of 16. Through the first four matchdays, Club Brugge did not concede a single goal. That was enough to see them through to the knockout stage even after the 4-0 drubbing they took to FC Porto in Matchday 5.
All eyes are on the November 7 Round of 16 fixture draw to determine the future fate of these clubs in the UEFA Champions League.
Featured Image Courtesy of UEFA
Stay Connected!
You can find more pieces like “UCL Knockout Stage – Breakdown by Domestic League” and you can “Like” The Game Haus on Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Harvey !
“From Our Haus to Yours”