Manchester City snuck their way into the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds on Wednesday, avoiding elimination on a dramatic final day of the competition's first-ever league phase.
Elsewhere, Liverpool's perfect record in Champions League play came to an end after a 3-2 loss at PSV, though they still finished top of the table as Barcelona drew Atalanta 2-0. They earned direct passageway to the round of 16, as did Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa. Paris Saint-Germain also avoided elimination with a commanding 4-1 win at Stuttgart.
Standings
CBS Sports
Who can play who in the knockout playoffs?
CBS Sports
Atalanta's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Sporting, Club Brugge
Borussia Dortmund's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Sporting, Club Brugge
Real Madrid's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Celtic, Manchester City
Bayern Munich's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Celtic, Manchester City
Milan's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Feyenoord, Juventus
PSV's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Feyenoord, Juventus
PSG's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Monaco, Brest
Benfica's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Monaco, Brest
Monaco's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: PSG, Benfica
Brest's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: PSG, Benfica
Feyenoord's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Milan, PSV
Juventus' possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Milan, PSV
Celtic's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich
Manchester City's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich
Sporting's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund
Club Brugge's possible opponents in knockout playoffs: Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund
Round of 16 bracket fixtures
CBS Sports
Who advanced to round of 16 with top-eight finish?
Liverpool
Barcelona
Arsenal
Inter
Atletico Madrid
Leverkusen
Lille
Aston Villa
Possible opponents for round of 16 teams
Liverpool's possible opponents in round of 16: PSG, Benfica, Monaco, Brest
Barcelona's possible opponents in round of 16: PSG, Benfica, Monaco, Brest
Arsenal's possible opponents in round of 16: Milan, PSV, Feyenoord, Juventus2
Inter's possible opponents in round of 16: Milan, PSV, Feyenoord, Juventus
Atletico Madrid's possible opponents in round of 16: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Celtic, Manchester City
Bayer Leverkusen's possible opponents in round of 16: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Celtic, Manchester City
Lille's possible opponents in round of 16: Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting, Club Brugge
Aston Villa's possible opponents in round of 16: Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting, Club Brugge
Updates
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Key takeaways
City, PSG avoid elimination: Manchester City may have done things the hard way, but they climbed out of 25th place and reversed a 1-0 deficit to book a spot in the knockout phase playoffs. Paris Saint-Germain did the same, though got their business done quickly -- Ousmane Dembele's hattrick allowed them to rise from 22nd to 15th with a 4-1 win over Stuttgart.
Lille, Villa sneak into top eight: Lille's commanding 6-1 over Feyenoord (complete with three own goals from the Dutch side) ensured they would sneak into the top eight after starting Matchday 8 in 12th place. The same is true for Aston Villa, who kept things a bit more dramatic with a 4-2 win over Celtic but still finished eighth after starting the day in ninth.
Milan, Atalanta slip out of top eight: AC Milan and Atalanta started the day in sixth and seventh place, respectively, but ended Matchday 8 outside the top eight. Atalanta's schedule did not favor them and they will probably not complain with a 2-2 draw against Barcelona, but a 10 man Milan picked up a surprise defeat to Dianmo Zagreb, who were in the mix to make the top 24 but ended up in 25th despite winning. The Italian sides will now have to play in the knockout phase playoffs next month instead of ensuring direct passageway to the round of 16.
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Final scores
PSV 3, Liverpool 2
Bayern Munich 3, Slovan Bratislava 1
Borussia Dortmund 3, Shakhtar Donetsk 1
Bayer Leverkusen 2, Sparta Praha 0
Girona 1, Arsenal 2
Barcelona 2, Atalanta 2
Brest 0, Real Madrid 3
Manchester City 3, Club Brugge 1
Young Boys 0, Crvena Zvezda 1
Lille 6, Feyenoord 1
Juventus 0, Benfica 2
Aston Villa 4, Celtic 2
Dinamo Zagreb 2, AC Milan 1
Inter 3, Monaco 0
Sturm Graz 1, RB Leipzig 0
RB Salzburg 1, Atletico Madrid 4
Sporting Lisbon 1, Bologna 1
Stuttgart 1, Paris Saint-Germain 4
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Morgan Rogers with the hattrick
90'+1 Morgan Rogers completes a hattrick for Aston Villa to give them a 4-2 lead over Celtic, strengthening their case for the top eight.
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Red for Liverpool!
87' Amara Nallo picks up a red card for Liverpool, who will most likely finish in first place but are currently down a goal and a player to PSV.
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Madrid, Bayern, Dortmund bag a third
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich now have 3-0 leads over Brest and Slovan Bratislava, respectively, while Borussia Dortmund are up 3-1 on Shakhtar. Dortmund are in 10th, Bayern are in 11th and Madrid are 12th as things stand.
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Benfica with a second!
80' Benfica finally double their lead against Juventus thanks to Orkun Kokcu, bringing them up to 16 and Juventus down to 20th.
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Atalanta equalize again!
79' Mario Pasalic scores to make things 2-2 between Atalanta and Barcelona. Barcelona slip back down to second and Atalanta are in ninth.
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Two more for Lille
76' Lille are now up 5-1 over Feyenoord, with Jonathan David bagging one of those goals. Gernot Trauner, though, has completed the most unlikely of braces by scoring two own goals. Lille are in seventh place right now and Feyenoord are 19th.
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Sporting equalize!
77' Sporting's long search for an equalizer against Bologna is officially complete, with Conrad Harder scoring his eighth goal of the season. Lisbon rise up to 23rd, knocking Brugge down to 24th -- and Dinamo into 25th and out of the knockouts picture.
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City score again!
77' Savinho gets the job done as a substitute, and now City have a 3-1 lead over Brugge. City are 22nd place and are set to advance as things stand, but Brugge are still in the knockout picture in 23rd place.
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Barcelona restore their lead!
72' Barcelona are now up 2-1 on Atalanta courtesy of Ronald Araujo, also bringing them back to first place. Atalanta are in 13th as things stand.
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Zagreb are in front!
60' Dinamo Zagreb take the lead again against AC Milan, this time with Marko Pjaca scoring. They have the final knockout berth, while Milan are in 12th.
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Inter with a third
67' Lautaro Martinez scores his first Champions League hattrick and gives Inter a 3-0 lead over a 10 man Monaco. Inter are in fourth place, Monaco are in 18th.
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Crvena Zvezda with a banger
69' Crvena Zvezda and Young Boys might already be eliminated, but that did not stop Guelor Kanga from scoring a golazo and giving the Serbian side the lead.
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Atalanta equalize!
67' It's 1-1 between Barcelona and Atalanta, courtesy of Ederson. His strike takes Barcelona down from first place to second, putting Liverpool back in top spot.
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Mixed fortunes for Ollie Watkins
67' Ollie Walkins restores Aston Villa's lead over Celtic but seven minutes later, slips while taking a penalty and is unable to convert the spotkick. They're up 3-2 and sit in seventh, while Celtic are in 21st.
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Leverkusen double the lead!
64' Nathan Tella now has a goal of his own, and Bayer Leverkusen are up 2-0 on Sparta Praha. The German champions are in sixth and are very much on their way to the round of 16.
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Four for Atletico
63' Marcos Llorente scores Atletico Madrid's fourth against RB Salzburg, and they are cruising their way to a top eight berth -- they're currently in fifth.
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A second for Bayern!
63' Bayern take a 2-0 lead over Slovan, courtesy of -- no surprise -- Harry Kane. They're now in 10th place.
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A third for Lille!
57' Lille now have a 3-1 lead over Feyenoord, who have scored their second own goal of the game. Lille are clinging onto eighth place as things stand, while Feyenoord are in 18th.
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Two for Real Madrid!
56' Jude Bellingham scores his 10th goal of the season and gives Real Madrid a 2-0 lead over Brest, putting the reigning champions in 11th place and leaving Brest in 19th.
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City in front!
62' The lead Manchester City have needed all day has finally come, courtesy of an own goal from Joel Ordonez. The 2023 European champions are now, at long last, in 22nd place while Brugge are in 23rd. City have not been great and are perhaps lucky that they have the lead, but they will definitely take it at this point.
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Christian Pulisic scores!
53' The always reliable Christian Pulisic delivers again for AC Milan, scoring their equalizer against Dinamo Zagreb. Milan slide back into the top eight and are currently in seventh, while Zagreb are in 26th.
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Ousmane Dembele with the hattrick!
54' Ousmane Dembele's impressive form is not slowing down anytime soon -- he now has his first Champions League hattrick. PSG are cruising to a 4-0 victory over Stuttgart, keeping them in 15th place while Stuttgart are still in 24th.
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Shakhtar on the board!
50' Marlon Gomes scores to cut Borussia Dortmund's lead in half, but it doesn't help Shakhtar Donetsk much -- they're still 28th. Dortmund, though, sit in eighth place.
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City equalize!
53' Manchester City have their equalizer courtesy of Mateo Kovacic, but it's not enough -- they're still in 26th place and need a win to make it through to the next round. Perhaps, though, this is the start of a comeback.
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Barcelona in front!
47' Lamine Yamal scores to give Barcelona the lead a few minutes into the second half against Atalanta and also shakes things up at the top of the table -- they are now atop the table since PSV have a 3-2 lead over Liverpool. Atalanta are in 12th place, by the way.
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Yunus Musah sent off!
AC Milan are down a goal and a player at the break, with USMNT's Yunus Musah picking up two quick yellows shortly before the break.
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As things stand
Biggest development: Manchester City shockingly trail at home 1-0! Club Brugge have taken the lead!
What does it mean: As things stand, Manchester City are out! They were out entering the day and needed a victory, but a 1-0 deficit at home is a shocker!
Key result: Manchester ity trailing 1-0 to Brugge.
Antoine Griezmann completes his brace to give Atletico Madrid a 3-0 lead over RB Salzburg, while Ousmane Dembele does the same for PSG over Stuttgart. Those two teams are cruising -- even if most of their counterparts aren't.
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PSV in front!
45'+6 it's back and forth in Eindhoven, where Ismael Saibari notched PSV's second equalizer and now it's 2-2 with Liverpool. A few short minutes later, though, the USMNT's Ricardo Pepi pulls thorugh to give PSV the lead over Liverpool.
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Aston Villa Hosts Arsenal In EPL Top 4 Clash! - Scoreline
