Champions League: League Phase Review

Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City all secured a place in the Champions League Round of 16 after they all confirmed a top eight finish in the league phase on Wednesday evening.

The enthralling League Phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League came to a conclusion on Wednesday night, with clubs in the Premier League and across the continent of Europe learning their fate in this season’s competition now that all eight games have been played.

It was a very successful league phase campaign for all of the Premier League clubs, with all of them set to progress, with all but one making it straight through to the Round of 16 with a top eight finish overall.

The only English side to finish outside the top eight was Eddie Howe’s Newcastle, who came in 12th place with 14 points – just two adrift of 8th even after a 1 – 1 draw against reigning European Champions PSG.

Meanwhile, Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City all successfully make it to the Round of 16 automatically, successfully avoiding the knockout phase play-off matches, which would have had an impact on all of their schedules moving forward this season.

We start with Thomas Frank’s Spurs, who, after finishing in the top four, will have a home game in the second leg of their round of 16 and potential quarter-final ties.

The Lilywhites were excellent over the course of their 8 matches, winning five, drawing two, and losing just once. Their League Phase triumphs came against the likes of Villarreal (1 – 0), Copenhagen (4 – 0), Slavia Praha (3 – 0), Borussia Dortmund (2 – 0), and most recently German club Eintracht Frankfurt 2 – 0 away from home in their final game of this stage of the competition thanks to goals from Randal Kolo Muani (47’) and Dominic Solanke (77’).

As for their potential opponents in the Round of 16, Spurs are set to come face to face with one of the following clubs in a two-legged tie: Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge, or Galatasaray.

Moving on to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, they are the first club to win all eight of their League Phase matches since this new format was introduced for the UEFA Champions League.

The Gunners got the better of the likes of Athletic Club (2 – 0), Olympiacos (2 – 0), Atletico Madrid (4 – 0), Slavia Praha (3 – 0), Bayern Munich (3 – 1), Club Brugge (3 – 0), Inter Milan (3 – 1), and most recently Kazakh side Kairat Almaty, who they beat 3 – 2 at the Emirates on Wednesday.

After finishing in the top four, Arsenal will be at home in the second leg of the Round of 16 and the Quarter Finals, should they make it that far.

Their potential opponents for the Round of 16 include the likes of Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, and Greek giants Olympiacos.

Moving on to Liverpool, they ended up two places below their North London counterparts in third place in the end, with Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich the only other side to finish above them following all eight league phase games.

The Reds will also be at home in the second leg for the next two rounds, and in the round of 16, Arne Slot’s team will be facing one of Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge, or Galatasaray, with them aiming to become the champions of Europe for the seventh time this term.

Slot’s Liverpool had a superb League Phase campaign, winning 6 and losing just 2 of their 8 games, getting the better of Atletico Madrid (3 – 2), Eintracht Frankfurt (5 – 1), Real Madrid (1 – 0), Inter Milan (1 – 0), Marseille (3 – 0), and finally Qarabag, who they were able to beat in emphatic fashion at Anfield on matchday eight, winning 6 – 0.

Moving on to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, they finished in 8th place on 16 points, and narrowly above 15-time winners Real Madrid after Los Blancos lost 4 – 2 to Portuguese heavyweights and fellow former European Champions Benfica on Wednesday evening.

The Cityzens were able to beat Turkish giants Galatasaray at the Etihad Stadium, winning comfortably 2 – 0 after finding the net through Erling Haaland (11’) and Rayan Cherki (29’), who both scored in the first half.

City will now face one of the following clubs in the Round of 16: Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Bodo/Glimt, or Benfica.

Also finishing in the top eight is Liam Rosenior and his Chelsea team, who, in the end, secured their Round of 16 place on Matchday Eight, ending up on 16 points in 6th place after winning 5, drawing 1, and losing 2 of their games.

In the Round of 16, Chelsea could face the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle, AS Monaco, and one of the League Phase’s surprise packages, Qarabag.

Newcastle United, who are the only other Premier League club in this season’s competition, they will be facing either French Giants AS Monaco or Azerbaijan’s Qarabag in the play-offs, and if they get through they will be coming face to face with one of Barcelona or fellow English Club Chelsea in the Round of 16.

Joining Eddie Howe’s Magpies in the knockout phase play-offs are: Real Madrid (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), PSG (France), Juventus (Italy), Atletico Madrid (Spain), Atalanta (Italy), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Olympiacos (Greece), Club Brugge (Belgium), Galatasaray (Turkey), AS Monaco (France), Qarabag (Azerbaijan), Bodo/Glimt (Norway), and finally Benfica (Portugal).

The aforementioned Benfica, who are led by former Manchester United and Chelsea Head Coach Jose Mourinho, retained their place in this season’s competition on goal difference after their remarkable 4 – 2 victory over Real Madrid which saw their Ukrainian Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin score the goal to secure them safe passage into the next phase of the competition deep into stoppage time in the second half (90+8’).

The clubs that were eliminated from this season’s UEFA Champions League following all eight matches of the League Phase are: Marseille (France), Pafos (Cyprus), Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium), PSV (Netherlands), Athletic Club (Spain), Napoli (Italy), Copenhagen (Denmark), Ajax (Netherlands), Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany), Slavia Praha (Czech Republic), Villarreal (Spain), and finally Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan).

Below are all of the results on matchday eight of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League, which decided the fates of clubs in this season’s competition.

·         PSG 1 – 1 Newcastle United (Vitinha 8’; Joe Willock 45+2’)

·         Manchester City 2 – 0 Galatasaray (Erling Haaland 11’ & Rayan Cherki 29’)

·         Liverpool 6 – 0 Qarabag (Alexis Mac Allister 15’ & 61’, Florian Wirtz 21’, Mohamed Salah 50’, Hugo Ekitike 57’, and Federico Chiesa 90’)

·         Borussia Dortmund 0 – 2 Inter Milan (Federico Dimarco 81’ & Andy Diouf 90+4’)

·         Barcelona 4 – 1 Copenhagen (Robert Lewandowski 48’, Lamine Yamal 60’, Raphinha 69’ Penalty, & Marcus Rashford 85’; Victor Dadason 4’)

·         Arsenal 3 – 2 Kairat Almaty (Viktor Gyokeres 3’, Kai Havertz 15’, & Gabriel Martinelli 36’; Jorginho 7’ Penalty & Ricardinho 90+4’)

·         Bayer Leverkusen 3 – 0 Villarreal (Malik Tillman 12’, 35’ & Alejandro Grimaldo 57’)

·         Atletico Madrid 1 – 2 Bodo/Glimt (Alexander Sorloth 15’; Fredrik Sjovold 34’ & Kasper Hogh 59’)

·         Benfica 4 – 2 Real Madrid (Andreas Schjelderup 36’ & 54’, Vangelis Pavlidis 45+5 Penalty, & Anatoliy Trubin 90+8’; Kylian Mbappe 30’, 58’)

·         Eintracht Frankfurt 0 – 2 Spurs (Randal Kolo Muani 47’ & Dominic Solanke 77’)

·         Club Brugge 3 – 0 Marseille (Mamadou Diakhon 4’, Romeo Vermant 11’, & Aleksandar Stankovic 79’)

·         PSV Eindhoven 1 – 2 Bayern Munich (Ismael Saibari 78’; Jamal Musiala 58’ & Harry Kane 84’)

·         Ajax 1 – 2 Olympiacos (Kasper Dolberg 69’ Penalty; Gelson Martins 52’ & Santiago Hezze 79’)

·         Napoli 2 – 3 Chelsea (Antonio Vergara 33’ & Rasmus Hojlund 43’; Enzo Fernandez 19’ Penalty & Joao Pedro 61’, 82’)

·         AS Monaco 0 – 0 Juventus

·         Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 1 – 0 Atalanta (Anan Khalaili 70’)

·         Athletic Club 2 – 3 Sporting CP (Oihan Sancet 3’ & Gorka Guruzeta 28’; Ousmane Diomande 12, Francisco Trincao 62’, & Alisson Santos 90+4’)

·         Pafos 4 – 1 Slavia Praha (Vlad Dragomir 17’, Bruno Felipe 53’, Anderson Silva 84’, & Mislav Orsic 87’; Stepan Chaloupek 44’)

Excitement is building for the knockout stages of this season’s UEFA Champions League, with some of the biggest clubs and the best players in the world competing to win the biggest prize in club football and become Champions of Europe this term.

There is no better way of watching world-class football than with an Eventmasters VIP Hospitality Package. Book now to avoid disappointment!