Liverpool, Manchester City, and Barcelona secured their places in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday, while holders Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid failed to make it into the top eight.
Premier League champions Liverpool dominated Qarabag with a 6-0 victory at Anfield during the eighth and final round of league-phase matches, finishing third in the 36-team table behind already-qualified Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
Tottenham, Barca, Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon, and Manchester City also joined them in the last 16.
Holders PSG will have to navigate the knockout play-off round, as they did last season, following a 1-1 draw at home with Newcastle.
Record 15-time winners Real Madrid missed out on direct last-16 qualification after a dramatic
4-2 loss to former coach Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, who clinched the final play-off spot thanks to a 98th-minute goal from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.
Liverpool opened the scoring against Qarabag with a scrappy goal from Alexis Mac Allister, followed by a second from Florian Wirtz. Mohamed Salah added to the tally with a curled shot from the edge of the box after Dominik Szoboszlai laid off a free-kick early in the second half. Hugo Ekitike then raced clear to make it four. Mac Allister completed his brace, and substitute Federico Chiesa rounded off the scoring.
“Hopefully (we can reach) the final,” Mac Allister told uefa.com. “We know what we’re capable of.”
Champions League winners in 2023, Manchester City, secured eighth place with a 2-0 win over Galatasaray at the Etihad, courtesy of goals from Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki.
Barcelona, semi-finalists last season, came from behind to defeat FC Copenhagen 4-1 at the Camp Nou, finishing fifth in the table. Barca were initially stunned by a fourth-minute goal from 17-year-old Viktor Dadason, but Robert Lewandowski equalised shortly after half-time. Lamine Yamal put Barca ahead with a deflected shot, followed by Raphinha’s 69th-minute penalty and a late free-kick from Marcus Rashford, securing their place in the last 16.
Tottenham overcame already-eliminated Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in Germany, with goals from strikers Randal Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke, earning them fourth place.
Chelsea ensured five English teams progressed straight to the last 16, eliminating Serie A title holders Napoli with a 3-2 victory. Enzo Fernandez gave Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot, but Antonio Vergara’s first goal for Napoli revived his team’s hopes. Napoli completed the first-half turnaround with a close-range shot from Rasmus Hojlund. However, Joao Pedro’s second-half double, including a thumping strike and a cool finish on the counter, knocked Napoli out of the top 24.
Sporting Lisbon were the surprise top-eight finishers, coming from behind twice to win 3-2 at Athletic Bilbao.
Real Madrid took the lead against Benfica with a header from Kylian Mbappe, his 12th Champions League goal of the season. However, Benfica responded before the break through Andreas Schjelderup and Vangelis Pavlidis’s penalty. Schjelderup added his second early in the second half. Although Real pulled one back through Mbappe, Benfica needed another goal to edge out Marseille for the final play-off spot. Both Raul Asencio and Rodrygo were sent off, leaving Real with nine men in injury time. Anatoliy Trubin then sensationally headed home a free-kick with the last touch of the game.
Real Madrid will face either a rematch with Benfica or a tie with Bodo/Glimt, who won 2-1 at Atletico Madrid, in the next round.
Newcastle and PSG will enter the play-offs against either Qarabag or Monaco after their 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes. Nick Pope made an excellent save to deny Ousmane Dembele’s penalty, but PSG soon took the lead through Vitinha’s low strike from the edge of the box. Newcastle equalised in first-half added time, with Joe Willock heading in a Dan Burn flick-on.
“It’s always difficult when you have expectations to be in the top eight,” PSG coach Luis Enrique told TNT Sports. “Newcastle is a very good side… But we need to improve.”
Inter Milan failed to secure a top-eight spot despite a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund, as did Juventus after their goalless draw with Monaco.
Atletico, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund, Olympiacos, Club Brugge, and Galatasaray are the other teams advancing to the play-off round.
Arsenal completed eight wins from eight to top the table with a 4-1 victory over Kairat Almaty, while Bayern Munich knocked PSV Eindhoven out of the competition with a 2-1 win, courtesy of a goal from Harry Kane.
