Key events
Jonathan Wilson
Has there been a great game in the Champions League group stage this season? Probably not. Even if there had been, it almost certainly didn’t mean all that much. But that’s the way of the modern game: an extremely protracted clearing of the throat before the real business begins.
Uefa will proudly tell the world that only six teams have nothing to play for in the final round of games on Wednesday, but whether it was worth 126 games to get to the mild peril of Napoli or Club Brugge possibly going out, or the questionable thrill of finding out whether Tottenham or Atalanta will have to endure the playoff round, is debatable.
The permutations
Look, it’s really complicated. But Billy Munday and Michael Butler have put together this very useful guide to what the 36 teams (well, 32, as four of them are out) need to do tonight.
The Champions League table (as it stands)
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, goal-by-goal coverage of matchday eight in the Champions League. It’s the last night of the league phase, which means all 36 teams are playing simultaneously and every football fan on planet earth has the phrase “as it stands” on their lips.
This is the sophomore season of the Champions League’s Swiss model, so we’re still getting used to the unique chaos of this final round of fixtures. For those unfamiliar with the new format, let’s get down to brass tacks.
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The top eight teams go straight through to the round of 16.
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The teams finishing between ninth and 24th go into the playoff round, the draw for which takes place on Friday. Each team goes into a particular bracket based on their position: for example, with the current positions, Manchester City (11th) and Atletico Madrid (12th) would play either Monaco (21st) or PSV Eindhoven (22nd). The winners of those ties would then play Spurs (5th) or Paris Saint-Germain (6th) in the last 16.
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The teams who finish between 25th and 36th get nada. Zilch. Bugger all. Not even a Conference League parachute.
City are the only English team outside the top eight going into tonight’s games, but the table is Spandex-tight: there are only two points separating Real Madrid in third and Atalanta in 13th. Arsenal and Bayern Munich have qualified for the last 16; the rest all have work to do.
We’ll attempt to keep across all 18 matches but neurological and physical restrictions may preclude this, so our main focus will be the six English teams. Here’s the full fixture list, all 8pm kick-offs.
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Arsenal v Kairat Almaty
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Athletic Club v Sporting CP
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Atletico Madrid v Bodo/Glimt
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Ajax v Olympiacos
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Barcelona v Copenhagen
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Bayer Leverkusen in Villarreal
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Benfica in Real Madrid
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Borussia Dortmund at Inter
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Club Brugge v Marseille
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Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham Hotspur
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Liverpool v Qarabag
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Man City v Galatasaray
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Monaco in Juventus
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Napoli at Chelsea
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Paphos v Slavia Prague
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Paris Saint-Germain v Newcastle
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PSV Eindhoven in Bayern Munich
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Union SG v Atalanta
