New Delhi: As the UEFA Champions League enters its sixth game week, there is almost a certainty as to what the qualification and elimination will look like. The new format of the tournament involves a league phase table rather than being divided into groups of four where the top two teams would move into the knockout stage. It is slightly more difficult to figure out who has a better chance of qualifying.
The first eight teams in the table will qualify directly for the knockout stage of the tournament. Teams placed between ninth and 16th will play a two-legged knockout-stage playoff in a seeded form. The teams between 17 and 24 will play unseeded and will be drawn against bigger teams. The teams from 25th will be disqualified from the European tournament and, unlike last season, won’t feature in leagues in the lower tier.
The team that is safest in the whole equation is Liverpool, having collected 15 points from five matches. A win against Girona almost confirms their place in the final-16. In any which way, the Reds will finish in the top 24 of the table. If Inter Milan hadn’t opened their tournament with a draw, they, too, would have been looking at a definite place in the knock-out stages.
How the elimination zone looks
Amidst the below-ranked team, the defending champions Real Madrid and Paris-Saint Germain are the big names in trouble. Real are currently ranked 24th and are hanging on the final spot from elimination by the skin of their teeth. So far, they have managed only two wins, and after their 2-0 loss to Liverpool, they desperately need to win their remaining fixtures.
🎙️ @LukaModric10: “There are still three games left and we have to improve”#UCL pic.twitter.com/ARHtGDtEKk
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) November 27, 2024
PSG are placed 25th in the table, having collected just four points in five games. RB Leipzig made their debut in the 2017-18 season and have been one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. However, so far, they have not picked up any points and are most likely to get eliminated from the tournament. Win in the next three games and other permutations could just make them reach above the elimination point. Along with Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys, they are at the bottom of the table without points.
Premier League champions Manchester City have been in a slump for a while, though they managed to break their defeating streak on match day five. So far, they have taken two wins, two draws, and a loss to Sporting CP. Along with City, Celtic and Juventus are all on eight points, just two points from the top-eight spot but just four points ahead of the elimination zone. In their debut season in the Champions League, Girona are placed 30th, with just one win so far.
As Champions League heads towards the end of the league phase, here are some of the teams that are close to elimination zone. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today