New Delhi: Matchday eighth confirmed the final eight spot which until the start of the gameweek, only Barcelona and Liverpool were confirmed for a place in the final 16. The new format ensured that the competition remained interesting until the last match in the league stage, with very few teams playing a dead rubber. Many teams were looking desperately for a win in order to stay alive in the competition rather than earning an automatic qualification to the next round.
Manchester City’s 4-0 loss against PSG on the seventh day left them on 25th in the table. City’s poor performance in the tournament had left the side out of the top-eight race very early in the competition despite starting the competition with two big-margin wins in three games and ending the league stage in 22nd place.
The league phase is complete ✅#UCL pic.twitter.com/8Ix7MvcqI4
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 29, 2025
Even defending champions Real Madrid were in a spot of bother, having lost three of their games in the competition. Still, Real were able to recover their campaign early and missed the automatic qualification by just one point.
Previous edition’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund ended the league phase in tenth place with 15 points, on equal with Atlanta, Bayern Munich and AC Milan. PSG at one point were in the relegation zone as well and had almost crashed out of the competition until winning their last three fixtures and ensuring a spot in the seeded part of the knockout playoffs.
Team exits that shocked everyone
It was RB Leipzig and VFB Stuttgart’s elimination from the tournament that came as the biggest shock. For a while, Leipzig has been a strong contender in the knockout stages while Stuttgart are currently placed in the top four in the Bundesliga. Both sides failed to win in crucial fixtures and won’t be playing in the lower tier of the European Championship due to new rules.
The new format has made it pertinent that teams perform throughout the eight games to confirm their place in the top eight. Placed below the automatic qualification zone means the teams have to play two fixtures more in an already crowded football calendar.
The new edition of UEFA Champions League kept many teams fighting for an automatic qualification into the knockout stage until the end of the league phase. Here’s a look into the big teams who missed a top-eight finish. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
