Matchday 8 of the UEFA Champions League was a wild ride, the top 24 were settled, with eight teams directly advancing to the last 16 of the tournament. It was England’s representatives from the Premier League that shone during the league phase of the tournament.
Arsenal Tops The Table, Five Premier League Sides in Top 8
Going into the night without anything in doubt, Premier League leaders Arsenal topped the Champions League table, a 3-2 win over Kairat Almaty completing their league campaign, as the Gunners scored three first half goals.
Four Premier League clubs have joined them in the all-important top 8, Liverpool’s 6-0 rout of Qarabag ensured they finished third, Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Frankfurt confirmed a 4th place finish, despite the struggles in the Premier League for Spurs, and a lengthy injury list. Randal Kolo Muani scored against his former club despite a recent dry spell. Thomas Frank has likely extended his time at Tottenham Hotspur stadium with how well his side have played in Europe, despite the Premier League table.
Manchester City were also unbothered, second in the Premier League, they slipped into the final top 8 place with a 2-0 win over Galatasaray as Erling Haaland found the scoresheet. Chelsea’s win 3-2 away over Napoli, where Joao Pedro was the second half difference maker, confirmed a top 8 finish.
The only Premier League club that didn’t finish top 8 is Newcastle, who were 12th on the table after a solid draw against PSG that kept PSG from finishing top 8 themselves. Joe Willock scored a goal against the run of play to close out the first half, and PSG will rue missing an early penalty. PSG had 2/3rds of possession and 25 shots vs 10, but the points were shared all the same.
Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon said in the pre-match presser regarding differences between the Premier League and the Champions League
“I think in the Champions League teams are much more open. They all try and play, it’s less transitional. I think, in the Premier League, it’s become more physical than I’ve ever known it to be. It’s like a basketball game sometimes; it’s so relentless physically.
“There is not much control, it’s a running game, and sometimes it’s about duels: who wins the duels, wins the game. The Champions League is a bit more of an older style of game, it’s a bit more football-based.
“Teams come and try to play proper football. In the Premier League now, you have seen a lot more long throw-ins, set-pieces. It’s become a lot slower and a lot more set-piece based, I would say,”
Barcelona Magic, and Good Night For Sporting CP
The remaining top 8 teams are Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga leaders, La Liga leaders FC Barcelona, and Sporting CP. Sporting needed a 94th minute goal scoring winner from Alisson Santos to go top 8 over Bilbao. Lamine Yamal inspired a second half comeback with a golazo as Barcelona finally got the upper hand against Copenhagen.
Bayern Munich continued their run of workmanlike performances, a 2-1 win over PSV wasn’t dominant, but Harry Kane again found the scoresheet to deny PSV a point.
Late Magic Pushes Benfica Into The Top 24
Benfica’s goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin came forward on the last kick of the game and his header put Benfica in over Marseille in the final match to finish on the day. Jose Mourinho’s men put together an inspired performance to defeat Real Madrid 4-2 in Madrid. Kylian Mbappe scored twice, but Real Madrid were a defensive disaster, Andreas Schjelderup scored twice, and Vangelis Pavilidis converted a penalty. Benfica were already set to win 3-2, but they needed the 4-2 margin to secure their position in the table.
Real Madrid was red carded twice in extra time, and Benfica had “7 big chances” in the match at home, a backline of Alvaro Carreras (ex-Benfica), Dean Huijsen, Raul Asencio, and Federico Valverde was defensively suspect.
Joining Benfica as the “last teams in” were minnows Bodo/Glimt and Qarabag. Qarabag benefited from the results around them, as they were helpless against Liverpool and finished on a -8 goal differential, the worst of any qualified team.
Bodo-Glimt stunned Atletico Madrid on a difficult night for La Liga clubs overall, as Bayern Leverkusen thumped Villarreal 3-0.
PSG and Real Madrid in UCL Playoffs
The UCL playoffs are set to feature some big-name clubs, PSG compiled 14 points and a +10 goal difference but missed the top 8 as they try to retain their Champions League title. Real Madrid (15 points and +9) were 9th on the table.
More European giants in the playoffs include Juventus and Atletico Madrid (13 points), defending finalists Inter Milan (15 points), and Borussia Dortmund (11 points).
The other teams who will be placed into the playoffs are AS Monaco, Galatasaray, Club Brugge, who thumped Marseille to move into the playoff places, Greek Champions Olympiacos who triumphed over Ajax, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, and Newcastle, the only Premier League side to miss the top 8. It will be an exciting draw when those teams are placed.
Champions League Campaign Ends for PSV, Napoli and Marseille
The cutting room floor of teams finishing 25th-36th in the table includes Marseille, who spent big on players only to miss a deeper run in Europe, Dutch champions PSV, Athletic Club Bilbao, Italian champions Napoli, and legendary Dutch club Ajax. Ajax, the Bundesliga’s Eintracht Frankfurt, and La Liga’s Villarreal were the most disappointing teams in the Champions League this season. Villarreal spent significantly on signings only to finish with 1 point in 8 games and they committed numerous errors during their campaign.
Napoli will turn their eyes towards the pursuit of a Serie A title.
On January 30th, the draw for the knockout phase play-offs will be made, those matches are two-legs in February, before the round of 16 begins in March. That means five Premier League sides, along with Barcelona, get a break from Champions League football for over a month, allowing them to rest and train.
Main Photo Credit: IMAGO / AFLOSPORT