Will PSG finally make the last four? Will Liverpool win away from Anfield? Will Lyon win another game?
Ajax: last-16
Ajax have qualified for the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in 13 years and almost did so as group winners. The four-time European Cup winners were eight minutes away from beating Bayern Munich on Wednesday, only to then come from behind and secure a 3-3 draw. Ajax are one of only five teams unbeaten in the competition, after three wins and three draws. They have been particularly successful in turning over the ball high up the pitch and that could be important in the knockout stage; only Manchester City (43) won possession in the attacking third more times than Ajax (39).
Porto: last-16
Porto made the most of their kind draw – Schalke, Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow – and secured their place in the knockout stages while barely breaking a sweat. They won more points (16) than any other team in the group stage, qualified unbeaten and scored 15 goals. They scored from 21.4 percent of their shots, making them the most ruthless side in the competition so far.
Lyon: last-16
Lyon are in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2012. They were the last team to secure qualification, after managing a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, and are the first side to progress with just one win in their group since Roma managed that unlikely feat in 2015. Lyon have the worst defensive record of the 16 teams left in the competition, having conceded 11 goals in their group, but they remain unbeaten and their 2-1 win in Manchester shows they should not be underestimated. They are the only team to have beaten City at the Etihad this season and they also outplayed the English champions in a 2-2 draw in France.
Manchester United: last-16
José Mourinho says progressing from a Champions League group is “a success, never a failure” but Manchester United missed a huge opportunity to top their group this week when Juventus lost to Young Boys. It’s a mark of how far United have fallen that any of the group winners would jump at the chance to face them in the last-16. Aside from an impressive 2-1 win away to Juventus, there are few positives. In fact, of the sides left in the competition, only Schalke (six) scored fewer goals than United (seven).
Roma: last-16
Roma were somewhat fortuitous to qualify, having lost half of their games in the group. They won the other three and finished two points above both CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen, doing just enough to go through. Edin Dzeko was their star again with five goals – only Lewandowski and Messi scored more.
Schalke: last-16
Schalke put their domestic woes to one side and qualified behind Porto in Group D. They picked up 11 points in six matches, three fewer than they have in 14 league games this season. They were solid defensively, conceding just four goals – all of which came against group winners Porto – but they scored fewer goals (six) than any other team left in the competition. Nevertheless, they gave their supporters something to cheer in what has been a disappointing campaign so far.
Atlético Madrid: last-16
Atlético Madrid will be kicking themselves. They only had to beat Club Brugge this week to win their group, but were held to a goalless draw in Belgium. They won four of their six matches, but also suffered the heaviest defeat of Diego Simeone’s tenure when they were thrashed 4-0 by group winners Borussia Dortmund. That defeat in Germany was a real anomaly. Simeone’s side kept four clean sheets in the group and conceded fewer shots than any other side. They did, however, struggle when going forward. They only had 70 shots – seven fewer than both CSKA Moscow and Locomotiv Moscow, who finished bottom of their groups.
Tottenham Hotspur: last-16
All hope looked lost for Tottenham after their 2-2 draw at PSV Eindhoven, but they pulled off mission impossible by picking up seven points from their last three games to secure a place in the knockout stages. There is room for improvement though, with Spurs the only team to progress with a negative goal difference.
Bayern Munich: quarter-finalists
Bayern left it late to clinch first place in their group. They are struggling in the Bundesliga, where they sit nine points behind Borussia Dortmund, but in Robert Lewandowski they boast the top scorer in the Champions League so far this season. Lewandowski scored his seventh and eighth goals in the group in a 3-3 draw against Ajax this week, taking his tally to 21 goals in as many games this season.
Real Madrid: quarter-finalists
Real Madrid have endured a fairly miserable start to the season, but they have won the competition in three of the last four seasons and can never be discounted. They suffered two humiliating defeats to CSKA Moscow – losing 1-0 away and a scarcely believable 3-0 at home, their biggest ever defeat in a European competition at the Bernabéu – but always looked likely to win the group. They had more possession than any other side (62 percent) in the group stage.
Borussia Dortmund: quarter-finalists
Borussia Dortmund were excellent when they needed to be, with their 4-0 win over Atlético Madrid in Germany a highlight. They secured top spot in the group this week with a solid 2-0 win over Monaco, another game that showed off their great defensive record. They only conceded two goals in the group and both of them came in the same match, a 2-0 defeat in Madrid. They also have an impressive defensive record in the Bundesliga, where they remain unbeaten this season.
Liverpool: quarter-finalists
After being drawn in the group of death alongside PSG, Napoli and Red Star Belgrade, Liverpool will be happy just to have progressed, though improvements are needed if they want to reach a second successive Champions League final. Liverpool won all three of their home matches, but cannot just rely on big European nights at Anfield to go all the way. Their 2-0 defeat in Belgrade was particularly galling. They only scored nine goals in the group, having scored 23 last season. They will need to rediscover their ruthless side after Christmas.
PSG: semi-finalists
PSG finished above Liverpool and Napoli in a whirlwind group. The French champions – who remain unbeaten in Ligue 1 this season – were facing elimination after four matches but made it to the knockout stages for the seventh straight season by beating Liverpool and Red Star Belgrade in their last two games. Thomas Tuchel’s challenge is to take the club into the semi-finals for the first time since the 1994-95 season, when goals from George Weah, Vincent Guérin and Raí helped them beat Barcelona in the quarter-finals. With Neymar and Kylian Mbappé to call upon, a repeat cannot be ruled out. Tuchel’s side are the top scorers in the competition this season, with 17 goals, and they also had more shots on target (48) than any other team.
Juventus: semi-finalists
Juventus came perilously close to giving up top spot in their group this week after a defeat to Young Boys but Manchester United’s ineptitude means they are still seeded for the last-16 draw. They lost twice and only scored nine goals in their six matches, but they can still rely on a great defense. Only Borussia Dortmund (two) conceded fewer goals than the Old Lady (four).
Manchester City: runners up
Manchester City topped their group convincingly and go through as the second highest goalscorers; only PSG scored more than City’s total of 16. City have previously struggled to transfer their blistering domestic form to Europe, but only Real Madrid and Barcelona (both 118) had more shots in the group stage than City (116) and they also hit the woodwork eight times – more than any other side. No one has more assists in the competition this season than Riyad Mahrez, who has settled well and could help City in the latter stages.
Barcelona: winners
As the first team to progress to the last-16, Barcelona took their foot off the gas in the second half of the group stage, drawing against Inter and Tottenham. They still remained unbeaten and did so with the luxury of dropping some key players towards the end of the group. Barcelona were the last team other than Real Madrid to win the competition and, with Los Blancos in stuttering form, this may be their year. They are top of La Liga and have not lost at home in the Champions League for more than five years, so will take some beating. And they have Lionel Messi, who scored six goals in his three starts.
The Guardian Sport
