The Champions League play-off round has now concluded and we know the 16 teams that are through to the next round. The top eight teams from the league phase are joined by the eight play-off winners from the ties that concluded on Tuesday the 18th and Wednesday the 19th of February. The draw for the round of 16 will take place on Friday the 21st of February, and will see each of the seeded teams who made the initial top eight learn which of the play-off winners they will face.
In each case, however, as we shall explain, the bracket system used for this year’s Champions League means that there are just two possible opponents for each team. Before we look at that, however, let us first take a look back at the results from the eight two-legged play-off clashes.
Champions League Play-Off Results
Brest 0-10 (agg) PSG (First leg: 0-3, Second leg: 0-7)- Club Brugge 5-2 (agg) Atalanta (First leg: 2-1, Second leg: 3-1)
- Man City 3-6 (agg) Real Madrid (First leg: 2-3, Second leg: 1-3)
- Juventus 3-4 (agg) PSV Eindhoven (First leg: 2-1, Second leg: 1-3 AET)
- Feyenoord 2-1 (agg) Milan (First leg: 1-0, Second leg: 1-1)
- Celtic 2-3 (agg) Bayern Munich (First leg: 1-2, Second leg: 1-1)
- Sporting 0-3 (agg) Borussia Dortmund (First leg: 0-3, Second leg: 0-0)
- Monaco 3-4 (agg) Benfica (First leg: 0-1, Second leg: 3-3)
Mbappé the Real Deal as Man City Outclassed in Madrid
Struggling Manchester City were soundly beaten by Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid, the Spanish side scoring three in each leg, winning both. The result means that Pep Guardiola exits the competition before the last 16 for the first time in 16 years.
The surprise was not this result, in truth, but rather the fact that these two giants, City and Madrid, both failed to finish in the top eight of the league phase. Prior to the competition starting both were among the favourites to lift the trophy but both stuttered badly in the league stage. However, whilst Real started this season badly and got stronger, City have been going the other way and whilst there has been some improvement in recent weeks, they remain miles short of the levels we expect from them.
As such it was no real shock that defending Champions Real eliminated the 2023 champions City. The tie befitted a final, on paper at least, and it was the big guns who scored the goals. Erling Haaland got two in the first leg at the Etihad, but strikes from Kylian Mbappé, ex-City man Brahim, and Jude Bellingham gave Real the win. In Spain it was all about Mbappé, the French ace bagging a hat-trick to put the tie well and truly to bed.
Competition Continues to Surprise
It was a huge surprise that so many massive sides failed to make the top eight, with Real, City, Bayern, PSG, Dortmund, Juventus and Milan all hoping or expecting to automatically make the last 16 with varying degrees of surety. That none of that magnificent seven made the top eight was a seismic shock, with most pundits and fans expecting two of them to do so at the very, very least.
The surprises kept coming in the play-off round, with the biggest – in theory at least – not even concerning any of those massive sides. Atalanta finished ninth in the league phase, only just missing out on an automatic last 16 spot. They came up against Belgian outfit Club Brugge, who only just sneaked into the play-offs in 24th place, and so were firm favourites to make the next round.
However, they lost both legs, 2-1 in Belgium and 3-1 in Italy, an incredible result for Brugge, who are eight points off top spot in their domestic league. Atalanta were actually one of three Italian sides to suffer upsets, with Dutch duo PSV and Feyenoord getting the better of Serie A giants Juve and Milan respectively.
Dutch football is strong at the moment but even so, few would have expected both Eredivisie teams to progress. Both were very tight affairs, with PSV’s tie the only one of the eight to require extra time. Both sides won their home legs 2-1 but then Dutch defender Ryan Flamingo got the key goal in extra time in Eindhoven.
As for Feyenoord, they too won their home clash, 1-0 in the first leg, before shrugging off the concession of a first-minute goal in the return to nick a 1-1 draw. That saw them progress 2-1 on aggregate and condemn Milan, seven times European champions, to exit at the last-32 stage.
Celtic Almost Pulled Off the Shock of the Round
.jpg){kind=link}
There was no fairytale for Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic but they gave mighty Bayern Munich a real fright. Celtic lost the home tie 2-1 but a late goal gave them a sliver of hope for the return in Munich. They repelled the hosts with a mix of bravery, determination and good fortune and then, after 63 minutes, stunned the home fans by scoring to level the tie overall. However, Munich broke the hearts of the travelling Bhoys by coring with almost the very last kick of the game in the 94th minute.
Routine Wins for PSG and Dortmund, and Benfica Just Good Enough
PSG were by far the most convincing winners of the play-off round and made a statement that they could yet figure at the business end of this competition. They thrashed Brest 7-0 in the second leg in Paris to complete a 10-0 aggregate victory. All seven goals in the return leg were recorded by different players, with eight individuals getting the 10 over both legs.
If that was the most one-sided tie, the clash between Monaco and Benfica always looked like being very close. The teams met in the league phase, with Benfica scoring two late goals to win 3-2, whilst they both took 13 points from their eight games, the Portuguese one place above Monaco on goal difference. Benfica won 1-0 in Monaco before a thrilling 3-3 draw in Lisbon was just about enough to see them through.
Benfica’s rivals from the Portuguese capital, Sporting, had no such luck, and having lost the first leg on home soil, 3-0, they were essentially out at the halfway stage of the tie. They earned a valiant 0-0 draw in Germany against Dortmund but it is Niko Kovac’s men who progressed.
Draw Awaits
The final meaningful draw of this season’s Champions League takes place on the 21st of February. It decides which of the two unseeded sides face which of the two seeded ones, with a pre-determined bracket fixing the route through the tournament each team has after that. The pairs of clubs are as follows:
- PSG or Benfica v Barcelona or Liverpool
- Club Brugge or Borussia Dortmund v Lille or Aston Villa
- Real Madrid or Bayern Munich v Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen
- PSV Eindhoven or Feyenoord v Arsenal or Inter Milan
For the sake of clarity, PSG do not play Benfica and Barca do not play Liverpool. Instead, PSG will be drawn against either the Catalans or the Merseysiders, with Benfica then playing the other of the seeded sides (Liverpool or Barcelona). It will all become very clear after the draw’s been made!