Man City and PSG Face Unexpected Early Exit from Champions League in Dramatic Round of 18 Games 

Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique addresses for a press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League football match against Stuttgart on January 28, 2025 at the Stuttgart Arena in Stuttgart. (AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique addresses for a press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League football match against Stuttgart on January 28, 2025 at the Stuttgart Arena in Stuttgart. (AFP)
TT
20

Man City and PSG Face Unexpected Early Exit from Champions League in Dramatic Round of 18 Games 

Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique addresses for a press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League football match against Stuttgart on January 28, 2025 at the Stuttgart Arena in Stuttgart. (AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique addresses for a press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League football match against Stuttgart on January 28, 2025 at the Stuttgart Arena in Stuttgart. (AFP)

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain each face a shocking early exit from the Champions League for the first time in more than a decade when the final round of games Wednesday decide the new 36-team standings.

When the 18 games kick off at the same time, 9 p.m. Central European Time (2000 GMT), to complete the inaugural league-phase format, Man City is outside the top-24 places that advance to the knockout stage and 22nd-place PSG risks dropping out.

Man City must beat Club Brugge at home to rise safely from 25th place. A draw for PSG at 24th-place Stuttgart should be enough for both teams — barring a freakish big win for Dinamo Zagreb over AC Milan to take the tiebreaker on goal difference among teams that end on 11 points.

A PSG loss in Germany risks ending a run of 12 straight years playing in the knockout stage.

The final-day jeopardy also was unexpected for Man City, the Champions League winner two years ago, which let a two-goal lead slip in a 4-2 loss at PSG last week.

The English Premier League champion advanced 11 years in a row from the old group stage since going winless in the 2012-13 edition.

It is the kind of scenario Champions League organizer UEFA hoped for when approving the new format under severe pressure from storied clubs who demanded more lucrative games and more of them against high-end opponents.

Those same influential clubs -- including the super-wealthy state-backed pair of Man City and PSG - hardly imagined they would miss out on the knockout phase that brings global brand-building attention and tens of millions of euros in extra prize money from UEFA.

Real Madrid had to play just 13 games to win the Champions League last season, and now faces playing 17 to retain the title.

Madrid is 16th in the standings before going to play unheralded Brest after losing three of its seven games, including on its previous trip to France against Lille.

The record 15-time European champion can still rise to a top-8 finish — earning direct entry to the round of 16 in March — by beating 13th-place Brest, though needs other results to go its way.

Teams that finish from ninth to 24th enter Friday’s draw for the two-leg knockout playoffs played on back-to-back midweeks in February.

That shapes as an unwanted burden in the congested calendar for teams also chasing domestic titles, rather than bonus games to earn more revenue.

Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich is in 15th place, also on 12 points with Madrid, before hosting Slovan Bratislava, which has been overmatched losing seven straight games.

A 15-point tally, with a strong goal difference, could be enough to take eighth place currently held by Bayer Leverkusen, which heads a group of six teams on 13 points. Leverkusen hosts already eliminated Sparta Prague.

Bayern and Madrid can be helped by the tough schedule for teams ahead in the standings: Atalanta in seventh goes to Barcelona, 10th-place Monaco is at Inter Milan, while Lille and Feyenoord — 12th vs 11th — cannot both reach 15 points.

League-leading Liverpool has let most star players skip the trip to 19th-place PSV Eindhoven because it is one of the few teams with certainty.

Seven wins guaranteed Liverpool a top-two seeding in the tennis-like bracket for the knockout rounds. That draw will be made Feb. 21 after the playoffs round, setting up pairings through to the May 31 final in Munich.

Only Liverpool and Barcelona have already sealed their top-8 places, though Arsenal and Inter — both on 16 points — likely will join them. Atletico Madrid and Milan start Wednesday’s games on 15 points.



Salah Scores, Sets Up Equalizer as Liverpool Draws 2-2 at Villa to Lead Premier League by 8 Points

19 February 2025, United Kingdom, Birmingham: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is tackled by Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at the Villa Park. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa
19 February 2025, United Kingdom, Birmingham: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is tackled by Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at the Villa Park. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa
TT
20

Salah Scores, Sets Up Equalizer as Liverpool Draws 2-2 at Villa to Lead Premier League by 8 Points

19 February 2025, United Kingdom, Birmingham: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is tackled by Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at the Villa Park. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa
19 February 2025, United Kingdom, Birmingham: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is tackled by Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans (R) during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at the Villa Park. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa

Mohamed Salah scored one goal and set up the equalizer by Trent Alexander-Arnold in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa that stretched its lead in the Premier League to eight points on Wednesday.
Salah tucked away with his league-leading 24th goal of the campaign to put Liverpool ahead at Villa Park in the 29th minute, only for the leaders to fall behind by halftime following a volley by Youri Tielemans and a header from Ollie Watkins.
Alexander-Arnold ran onto an inside pass from Salah and drove in a shot that deflected past Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez in the 61st as Liverpool salvaged a point from an end-to-end game, avoiding what would have been just a second league defeat of the season, The Associated Press reported.
It remains to be seen whether this was a good point for Liverpool in one of the toughest away fixtures in the league or two more dropped points, a week after a 2-2 draw at local rival Everton.
“We desired more,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said, "and that is the only thing we can blame ourselves for a few times now — we did not get what we deserved. We must not make a habit of that.”
Liverpool has now played a game more than second-place Arsenal, which appears to be the only other realistic challenger for the title, and has another tough away game on Sunday at Manchester City.
Arsenal plays first out of the top two at the weekend — at home to West Ham on Saturday — and has the chance to trim the lead to five points before Liverpool meets City.
Liverpool is seeking a 20th top-flight championship to tie the record of Manchester United.
Salah is spearheading Liverpool's title charge. Not only is the Egypt forward the league's top scorer, with five more than nearest challenger Erling Haaland of Manchester City, he has more assists than anyone else with 15.
Should Arsenal wind up reeling in Liverpool, the Reds may regret a big miss from Darwin Nunez after the Uruguay striker came on as a substitute. Dominik Szoboszlai ran through a squared the ball to Nunez, who had an open goal at which to aim with a left-footed shot.
Nunez blazed the finish high and wide, with Slot on the touchline barely believing what he had seen.
Villa then had chances to win it, with Morgan Rogers shooting over when well-placed and substitute Donyell Malen driving a low shot just wide with one of the last kicks of the game.
“We had some good chances to make it 3-2 and then we could even have lost it,” Slot said. “It was a great game but I am not happy with the result.”
Villa, which has lost just once at home all season in the league, stayed in ninth place and is four points off fifth. A fifth-place finish looks set to be enough to qualify for next season's Champions League.