New Delhi: The UEFA Champions League returned for its first game of 2025 as matchday seven saw Liverpool and Barcelona book themselves a place in the last 16 rounds. The Reds took a 2-1 win against a Lille side that was reduced to a ten-man squad. Barcelona on the other hand had a narrow late 5-4 win against Benfica, after Vangelis Pavlidis hattrick in the first half had put Barca in a spot of bother. However, both Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha scored braces, with the Brazilian scoring the match-deciding goal in the 96th minute to take home all three points.
Atletico Madrid had gone into the break with a man less and a goal behind Bayer Leverkusen. However, Julian Alvarez’s brace ensured that they won 2-1 on matchday seven and took a crucial three points to climb to third place tentatively. Atlanta thrashed Sturm Graz en route to their 5-0 win and improved their shot at earning a spot in the top eight, improving their goal difference, which is crucial in this competition.
Matchday seven’s biggest upsets included Juventus playing a goalless draw against Club Brugge, which now makes their progression into the top eight complicated. Last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund were left reeling with a 2-1 defeat from Serie A side Bologna.
The remaining nine games of the penultimate matchday of the competition’s league stage have become exciting. Manchester City and Real Madrid will look to steer themselves away from the elimination zone and give themselves a chance with a place in the playoffs that will be played before the knockout stage.
⚽ 33 goals in one night 🤯 #UCL pic.twitter.com/4W3vyTMjr9
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 21, 2025
Points table
Straight to Round of 16
| Position | TeamTeam | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
| 1 | Liverpool | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 13 | 21 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 11 | 15 | 18 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 15 |
| 4 | Atalanta | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 14 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 13 |
| 6 | Bayer Leverkusen | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| 7 | Inter Milan | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
Knockout phase play-off position (seeded)
| 9 | Brest | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 13 |
| 10 | Monaco | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| 11 | Lille | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 13 |
| 12 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 12 |
| 13 | Borussia Dortmund | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 12 |
| 14 | Juventus | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 12 |
| 15 | AC Milan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| 16 | PSV Eindhoven | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 11 |
Knockout phase play-off position (unseeded)
| 17 | Club Brugge | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 11 |
| 18 | Benfica | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 10 |
| 19 | Sporting Lisbon | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 10 |
| 20 | Feyenoord | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 10 |
| 21 | Stuttgart | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 10 |
| 22 | Real Madrid | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 9 |
| 23 | Celtic | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| 24 | Manchester City | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 8 |
Elimination zone
| 25 | Dinamo Zagreb | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 8 |
| 26 | Paris Saint-Germain | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| 27 | Bologna | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 5 |
| 28 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | -8 | 4 |
| 29 | Sparta Prague | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 18 | -11 | 4 |
| 30 | Girona | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 3 |
| 31 | Crvena Zvezda | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 22 | -10 | 3 |
| 32 | Sturm Graz | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 14 | -10 | 3 |
| 33 | Red Bull Salzburg | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 18 | -15 | 3 |
| 34 | RB Leipzig | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 0 |
| 35 | SK Slovan Bratislava | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 24 | -18 | 0 |
| 36 | BSC Young Boys Bern | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 22 | -19 | 0 |
Liverpool took a 2-1 win against Lille to win seven out of seven games while Barcelona took a late win from Benfica as both teams enter the final 16 round in the UEFA Champions League. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
