Kraljevi Kvota - Champions League 8th round review
The group stage in the new format of the Champions League is over after eight rounds. Many favorites missed the opportunity to advance directly to the round of 16, so they will look for their way through the playoffs. You can follow all events within the Champions League on our website and Instagram account, which are described below.
Aston Villa and Celtic played a great match, with six goals, and in the end, the home team won 4:2. Villa took the lead 2:0, and the guests equalized by halftime. In the continuation, the home team regained the lead, and then scored a penalty, but scored the last goal in stoppage time. A great game and the first hat-trick was provided by midfielder Villa Rodgers. The team from Birmingham qualified for the round of 16 in eighth place, and Celtic will look for their chance through the play-offs.
There was no winner in Spain at the duel between Barcelona and Atalanta. The guests scored a goal towards the end of the first half, but it was disallowed for offside. At the beginning of the second half, Jamal brought his team into the lead, so the visitors equalized, so that the home team took the lead again, and Pasalic brought the equalizer and made the final score 2:2. Barcelona qualified for the round of 16 as second place, while Atalanta will seek their chance through the group stages.
As expected, Bayern beat Slovan Bratislava 3:1. The Bavarians took the lead quite early through Miller, but went into halftime with only one goal advantage. In the second part of the game, the home team stepped up and scored two more goals for the Slovakian team to score a goal to mitigate the loss. Bayern will have to go to the play-offs, and Slovan, along with Young Boys, is the only team with all eight defeats, AND no points.
Real Madrid roared at Gengamp, where Brest was visiting. Two goals by Rodrigo and one goal by Bellingham for the final 3:0, and secured a place in the play-off, and the same ranking was achieved by Brest players.
Dinamo Zagreb managed to pull off a miracle and beat Milan at home with 2:1, with another disallowed goal and a red card for the guests. This was the 11th point for Dynamo, the same as Manchester City, Sporting, and Club Breeze, but due to the worst goal difference, they remained below the line and ended their competition. Dynamo paid dearly for that 9:2 defeat in Munich in the first round.
Borussia Dortmund defeated Shakhtar 3:1 at a packed Westfalen, thanks to two goals from Zirasi. The Germans scored 15 points, which earned them a place in the play-offs. The Ukrainian team remained at seven points, and with this defeat, they said goodbye to the competition.
Arsenal took all three points away from Girona in a 2:1 win. The hosts were the first to take the lead, but after ten minutes, the "Tobdzije" equalized, and then a few minutes later, they turned the game around and the final result was revealed. Djirona scored an equalizing goal, but it was disallowed for offside, and Sterling did not take advantage of the penalty in the 93rd minute. With this victory, Arsenal reached 19 points, and as the third-ranked team went directly to the round of 16. Djirona remained at only three points and ended its participation.
Lautaro Martinez scored all three goals in his Inter's Giuseppe Meazza victory against Monaco. The guests also helped Inter to achieve an easy triumph because of the red card they earned in the 12th minute—the expected victory of the team from Milan, which brought them 19 points. As the fourth team in the table, they go directly to the round of 16. Monaco will have to look for their chance to pass through the play-offs.
Benfica beat Juventus in Turin in a great game with 2:0 goals from Pavlidis and Koktsu. With 13 points, the Portuguese overtook Juventus, who remained at 12, but both teams qualified for the play-offs.
The same result was celebrated by Bayer in Leverkusen against Sparta from Prague. This triumph brought the German champions 16 points and sixth place in the standings, which led them directly to the round of 16. Sparta remained on four points and finished their competition in the Champions League.
Lille completely demolished Feyenoord at home with 6:1. The home team led at halftime with 2:1, but in the second half, they stepped up and scored four more goals, two of which were own goals. Lille is playing great this season in the Champions League, and with this victory, they reached 16 points, which brought them seventh place in the table and direct placement in the round of 16.
After a lot of trouble, Manchester City defeated Belgian Breeze. The guests scored a goal and took the lead at the very end of the first half, and that seemed to startle the home team, who equalized through Kovacic, and then ten minutes later Ordonez turned the ball around with an own goal, for Savinho to make the final 3:1 for the celebration of the citizens and placement in play-off. Club Briz also made it to the play-off as the 24th team, i.e. from the last place leading to the play-off.
PSV and Liverpool played a great match at Phillips Stadium in which the home team won 3:2. Liverpool took the lead twice in the first half, but the home team turned it around and the final score was set, which took them to 14 points and a place that leads to the play-offs. Liverpool passed into first place and after the first With eight wins, this is their only defeat in the Champions League.
Atlético Madrid already solved the question of the winner against Salzburg away in the first half. The Madrid players were already 3:0 at halftime, thanks to two goals from Griezmann, and in the sequel, they scored another one, so Salzburg reduced the advantage at the end of the match. Atlético scored 18 points, which earned them fifth place in the table and direct placement in the playoffs. Salzburg finished the competition with three points.
Sporting and Bologna shared the points in a 1:1 draw. The guests took the lead in the middle of the first half and had the lead until the 77th minute when the home team equalized and set the final score, it turned out to be a goal worth its weight in gold as the home team qualified for the play-offs from 23rd place, second to last leading in the play-offs. Bologna reached the sixth point and ended the competition.
On the farewell from the Champions League, Sturm beat Leipzig at home with a minimum score of 1:0. The only goal was scored by Malic towards the end of the first part of the game. The home team scored another goal in the second half, but it was disallowed due to a foul. This match had no competitive significance, and Sturm finished in 30th place with six points, and Leipzig finished the competition in 32nd place with three points less.
PSG visited Stuttgart in the most important match for both teams. The Parisians easily achieved a 4:1 triumph, thanks to Dembele's hat trick. Already in the first half, the question of the winner was decided because PSG was leading with 3:0. With this victory, PSG reached the leading place in the play-offs, while Stuttgart finished the competition with 10 points.
Crvena Zvezda came to a minimum triumph of 1:0 over Young Boys in Bern with a great game. A beautiful goal was scored by Gaylor Kanga, which brought his team the sixth point, so the red and whites slightly improved the impression of Iakos and ended the competition. Young Boys recorded their eighth defeat and took last place in the table.
To summarize, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, and Liverpool secured direct passage to the round of 16.
The teams that will seek passage to the round of 16 through the play-offs are Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Benfica Brest, Celtic, Club Breeze, Feyenoord, Juventus, Manchester City, Milan, Monaco, PSG, PSV, Real Madrid and Spotting.
The draw for the play-off matches will be held tomorrow, January 31. starting at 1 p.m. CET. The first matches are scheduled for the 11th/12th, and the return matches seven days later on the 18th/19th. February.
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