Manchester City survived quite a scare Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League, and secured a place in the knockout rounds with a come-from-behind victory over Club Brugge.
As fellow European superclubs advanced with ease on a chaotic final day of the “league phase,” City, in a must-win game at home, conceded late in the first half, then charged back to win 3-1.
Elsewhere, PSG smashed Stuttgart to qualify comfortably.
Dinamo Zagreb upset AC Milan, and nearly snuck into the top 24, but perished along with Stuttgart when Sporting Clube de Portugal snatched a late goal to draw Bologna and advance.
At the other end of the single table, which fluctuated constantly throughout 18 simultaneous games, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa won and clinched byes to the Round of 16, joining Barcelona and Liverpool.
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund also won, but fell short of the top eight, and will enter the playoff round — which will feature the teams placed 9-24.
After all was said and done, the final Champions League table spared every title contender, but set up a few potential clashes of giants early in the knockout rounds:
1. Liverpool
2. Barcelona
3. Arsenal
4. Inter Milan
5. Atlético Madrid
6. Bayer Leverkusen
7. Lille
8. Aston Villa
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9. Atalanta
10. Borussia Dortmund
11. Real Madrid
12. Bayern Munich
13. AC Milan
14. PSV Eindhoven
15. PSG
16. Benfica
17. Monaco
18. Brest
19. Feyenoord
20. Juventus
21. Celtic
22. Manchester City
23. Sporting CP
24. Club Brugge
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Eliminated: Dinamo Zagreb, Stuttgart, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bologna, Sparta Praha, RB Leipzig, Girona, Red Star Belgrade, Sturm Graz, RB Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava, BSC Young Boys
A blow-by-blow recap of all the frantic action is below. (The knockout phase draw will be Friday.)
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The top-eight race
With Villa leading, and Atalanta equalizing at Barcelona, here’s the shape of the top-eight race with 20 minutes to go:
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The live table with 25 minutes to go…
After City’s goal, and Christian Pulisic’s equalizer for AC Milan in Croatia, here’s how things stand on the bubble:
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Kovavic’s equalizer couldn’t have come at a better time
Manchester City’s Mateo Kovacic scores their side’s first goal of the game during the UEFA Champions League, league stage match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Picture date: Wednesday January 29, 2025. (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images) -
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