Paris, France/Champions League – Manchester City faces a potential early exit from the Champions League after a shocking 4-2 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Paris on Wednesday. Despite leading by two goals, City couldn’t hold off a resurgent PSG, who now have a fighting chance to progress.
City, the 2023 champions, now sit in 25th place in the expanded 36-team format but can still qualify for the knockout playoffs with a win against Club Brugge next week. “We will do everything there and if we don’t do it we don’t deserve it,” said Pep Guardiola, Manchester City’s manager, acknowledging the importance of their final group game.
PSG, with the win, moved to 22nd place, setting up a crucial match against Stuttgart, who are in 24th and in need of a victory to advance.
Madrid Secures Spot in Knockout Phase Meanwhile, Real Madrid, fresh from their 15th European title last season and bolstered by Kylian Mbappé’s signing, moved into 16th place with a convincing 5-1 victory over Salzburg. Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior each netted twice, with Mbappé also scoring, ensuring Madrid’s place in the next round. They will face Salzburg again in the FIFA Club World Cup later this year.
Other Notable Results:
- Arsenal dominated Dinamo Zagreb 3-0, and Inter secured a 1-0 win at Sparta Prague, both teams rising to third and fourth place respectively.
- AC Milan moved to sixth with a 1-0 victory against Girona, thanks to a powerful strike from Rafael Leão.
Bayern Munich’s Stumble Bayern Munich’s campaign hit a snag with a 3-0 loss to Feyenoord, dropping them to 15th. They face a potentially tough path ahead, needing a win against Slovan Bratislava to avoid the lower playoff rounds.
Other Matches:
- Celtic clinched a knockout stage spot with a 1-0 victory over Young Boys.
- Leipzig broke their losing streak with a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon, while Shakhtar Donetsk kept their hopes alive with a 2-0 win against Brest.
Looking Ahead: The final round of matches next Wednesday will be pivotal, with all 36 teams playing simultaneously at 9 p.m. CET. The top eight teams will advance directly to the round of 16, while teams from ninth to 24th will enter the knockout playoffs. The playoff draw is scheduled for January 31 at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
This week’s results have set the stage for a dramatic conclusion to the group stage, with several top teams still fighting for their Champions League survival.
Current Standings (Partial Overview):
- Liverpool (assured top 8, direct to round of 16)
- Barcelona (assured top 8, direct to round of 16)
- Arsenal (3rd, 16 points)
- Inter Milan (4th, 16 points)
- AC Milan (6th, points not specified but moved up with win)
- Real Madrid (16th, after beating Salzburg)
- Bayern Munich (15th, after loss to Feyenoord)
- Manchester City (25th, after loss to PSG)
- PSG (22nd, after win against Manchester City)
- Stuttgart (24th, needs win to advance)
- Club Brugge (position not specified but needs draw to advance)
- Slovan Bratislava (position not directly mentioned but has lost 7 games)
- Young Boys (last place, after losing to Celtic)
- Leipzig (position not specified but ended losing streak)
- Sporting Lisbon (favored to advance despite loss to Leipzig)
- Shakhtar Donetsk (still in contention)
- Brest (will be in knockout phase)
- Salzburg (position not specified but lost heavily to Madrid)
- Celtic (secured knockout spot)
- Dinamo Zagreb (lost to Arsenal)
- Sparta Prague (lost to Inter)
- Girona (lost to AC Milan)
- Feyenoord (beat Bayern Munich)
