The final matchday of the league phase of the Champions League is over. Arsenal play the perfect group stage. Defending champions Paris have to make the play-offs, as do Real Madrid, who even conceded a goal.
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- Arsenal, Bayern, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting and Manchester City go straight through to the round of 16.
- Real Madrid, Inter Milan and defending champions PSG, among others, did not make it into the top 8 and will all have to go through to the play-offs.
- Instead, FK Bodö/Glimt (2:1 against Atlético Madrid) and Benfica Lisbon sensationally reached the play-offs - thanks to a goal by Anatoliy Trubin against Real Madrid in the 98th minute (4:2).
- By contrast, Italian champions Napoli (2:3 against Chelsea) were among those eliminated.
Arsenal played a perfect group stage in the Champions League. Arsenal won 3:2 against Qairat Almaty and thus also won their eighth game. FC Barcelona also advanced directly to the round of 16. Coach Hansi Flick's team turned the game around against Copenhagen after trailing at half-time and went on to win 4:1.
Real Madrid, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United, on the other hand, all slipped out of the top eight on the final matchday and will have to play for a place in the round of 16 in the intermediate round.
The duels in the play-offs
- Real Madrid/Inter Milan will play either Bodö/Glimt or Benfica Lisbon
- Paris Saint-Germain/Newcastle will play either Monaco or Qarabag
- Juventus Turin/Atlético Madrid will play either Club Brugge or Galatasaray
- Atalanta Bergamo/Bayer Leverkusen will play either Dortmund or Olympiakos
Real Madrid and Paris must enter the playoffs
Real Madrid suffered a deserved 4-2 defeat at Benfica Lisbon - with goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scoring the fourth goal for the Portuguese side in stoppage time to secure Benfica's place in the play-offs.
Kylian Mbappé scored both goals for Madrid and set a new Champions League record for a group stage with 13 goals. In the heated final phase, Real lost two more players - Raul Asencio and Rodrygo - to yellow cards.
For PSG and Newcastle, the 1-1 draw in the direct duel was not enough for direct qualification. World footballer Ousmane Dembelé failed to score a penalty for Paris early on in the game, before Vitinha gave the hosts the lead shortly afterwards. Joe Willock equalized for Newcastle.
Liverpool also secured a place in the top eight with a clear 6-0 win against Qarabag Agdam. With six wins, the Reds finished third behind Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
Napoli fail to reach the group stage
Italian champions Napoli, on the other hand, were among those eliminated. Coach Antonio Conte's team lost 3-2 to Chelsea, with Joao Pedro scoring a brace in the second half to seal Napoli's elimination and send Chelsea through to the last eight.
FK Bodö/Glimt sensationally reached the play-offs with a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid.
Draw on Friday
The play-off matches will be drawn on Friday(live from 12 noon on blue Sport) at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon. They will be played on February 17/18 and 24/25. The final will take place on May 30 in Budapest.
Champions League knockout phase
- Play-offs of the knockout phase: February 17/18 & 24/25
- Draw for round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals: February 27
- Round of 16: March 10/11 & 17/18
- Quarter-finals: April 7/8 & 14/15
- Semi-finals: April 28/29 & May 5/6
- Final: May 30, 2026 (Budapest)
How does the draw for the Champions League knockout stage play-offs work?
The pairings for the play-offs of the knockout phase are determined by a draw based on the following principles:
- Clubs will be split into four seeded pairs (clubs ranked 9th and 10th, 11th and 12th, 13th and 14th, and 15th and 16th) and four unseeded pairs (17th and 18th, 19th and 20th, 21st and 22nd, and 23rd and 24th) based on their rankings at the end of the league phase.
- The clubs in each seeded pair will be drawn into the knockout stage, where they will play the clubs in each unseeded pair: Clubs 9 or 10 against Clubs 23 or 24, 11 or 12 against 21 or 22, 13 or 14 against 19 or 20 and 15 or 16 against 17 or 18.
National duels possible
In the play-offs of the knockout phase, teams can face other teams from the same national association. Teams could also face opponents they have already played in the league phase.
