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Time to wrap up what was a very eventful blog. Thanks for your company and emails \u2013 goodnight!<\/p>\n
Quick GuideChampions League: draw dates and playoff pathsShow<\/p>\n
Playoff round<\/p>\n
The teams ranked 9th-24th will contest the playoff round, with Friday’s draw determining which team from each pair below will go into which path. There are no national exclusions so, for example, Monaco will be drawn against either PSG or Newcastle, with Qarabag playing the other team.<\/p>\n
Silver path:<\/p>\n
(21) Monaco or Qarabag (22) v (11) PSG or Newcastle (12)<\/p>\n
(19) Club Brugge or Galatasaray (20) v (13) Juventus or Atl\u00e9tico (14)<\/p>\n
(23) Bod\u00f8\/Glimt or Benfica (24) v (9) Real Madrid or Inter (10)<\/p>\n
(17) Dortmund or Olympiakos (18) v (15) Atalanta or Leverkusen (16)<\/p>\n
Blue path:<\/p>\n
(22) Qarabag or Monaco (21) v (12) Newcastle or PSG (11)<\/p>\n
(20) Galatasaray or Club Brugge (19) v (14) Atl\u00e9tico or Juventus (13)<\/p>\n
(24) Benfica or Bod\u00f8\/Glimt (23) v (10) Inter or Real Madrid (9)<\/p>\n
(18) Olympiakos or Dortmund (17) v (16) Leverkusen or Atalanta (15)<\/p>\n
Potential last 16 ties<\/p>\n
After the playoffs are completed on 24-25 Feb, the last 16 draw will take place on 27 Feb. It will work in a similar way, with each playoff winner paired with a team who qualified automatically by finishing in the top eight. The path to the final in Budapest on 30 May will then be set.<\/p>\n
Silver path:<\/p>\n
Monaco\/Qarabag\/PSG\/Newcastle v (5) Barcelona or Chelsea (6)<\/p>\n
Brugge\/Gala\/Juve\/Atl\u00e9tico v (3) Liverpool or Tottenham (4)<\/p>\n
Bod\u00f8\/Benfica\/Madrid\/Inter v (7) Sporting or Manchester City (8)<\/p>\n
Dortmund\/Olympiakos\/Atalanta\/Leverkusen v (1) Arsenal or Bayern (2)<\/p>\n
Blue path:<\/p>\n
Qarabag\/Monaco\/Newcastle\/PSG v (6) Chelsea or Barcelona (5)<\/p>\n
Gala\/Brugge\/Juve\/Atl\u00e9tico v (4) Tottenham or Liverpool (3)<\/p>\n
Benfica\/Bod\u00f8\/Madrid\/Inter v (8) Manchester City or Sporting (7)<\/p>\n
Olympiakos\/Dortmund\/Leverkusen\/Atalanta v (2) Bayern or Arsenal (1)<\/p>\n
Photograph: Mohammed Badra\/EPA<\/p>\n
Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.14 EST<\/p>\n Champions League round-up<\/p>\n Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a 98th-minute header as Benfica defeated Real Madrid 4-2 to secure a Champions League<\/a> knockout place on Wednesday and deny their opponents an automatic spot in the last 16.<\/p>\n Benfica were heading out despite leading 3-2 with seconds of stoppage time remaining before Trubin met a free-kick to score the goal they needed to get into the playoff round on goal difference.<\/p>\n Madrid had hoped to finish in the top eight and go straight into the last 16, but their 15 points from eight games was not enough and they finished the match with nine men as Ra\u00fal Asencio and Rodrygo were sent off.<\/p>\n Andreas Schjelderup scored two goals for Benfica and Vangelis Pavlidis netted from the penalty spot, while Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 netted twice for Real in a hugely entertaining, end-to-end contest.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Match report: Napoli 2-3 Chelsea The onus was on Chelsea to silence the jibes about their lack of experience. Behind to a goal from Rasmus H\u00f8jlund at half-time, they were facing the inconvenience of a two-legged playoff to reach the last 16 of the Champions League<\/a>. Another lead had been thrown away and the momentum was with Napoli after they cancelled out a penalty from Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez at a bouncing Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.<\/p>\n Yet the night ended with a humiliating early exit for Napoli and another failure for Antonio Conte in Europe. The former Chelsea<\/a> manager watched in despair as Cole Palmer came on to undo his depleted side with a devastating cameo. Palmer set up Jo\u00e3o Pedro for two outstanding goals as Liam Rosenior\u2019s Chelsea finished in the top eight thanks to their first away win at this level in over three years.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Match report: Man City 2-0 Galatasaray Pep Guardiola often bemoans the schedule so for Manchester City<\/a> to enter the last 16 directly and miss the home-and-away knockout play-off round will please.<\/p>\n The manager, though, was clearly unhappy with the team performance that set up the victory and progression due to a troubling sluggishness and doing what annoys him most: failing to play the high-octane way that he drills into his players.<\/p>\n Erling Haaland\u2019s opener – only a second in the striker\u2019s last eight matches – and Rayan Cherki\u2019s second, each before the interval, were slickly taken but they derived from slack Galatasaray<\/a> defensive work.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Match report: Liverpool 6-0 Qarabag Liverpool are having to stomach \u201ca very bad cocktail\u201d of cheap goals against and wasted chances in the Premier League, according to Arne Slot. To extend the mixologist\u2019s analogy, his team are enjoying life with a few margaritas in the Champions League<\/a>.<\/p>\n Slot\u2019s team cruised into the last 16 for the second successive season with a demolition of Qarabag at Anfield. Mohamed Salah was among the goalscorers for the first time since accusing Liverpool<\/a> of throwing him under the bus in December, while Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz, the influential Hugo Ekitik\u00e9 and Federico Chiesa were also on the scoresheet.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Match report: PSG 1-1 Newcastle On a chilly, fun, boisterous night in Paris, with the Champions League<\/a> mega-table scrolling away in the background throughout a breathless 90 minutes, Newcastle produced a fine away performance at the home of the European champions.<\/p>\n A 1-1 draw means Eddie Howe\u2019s team will now enter the knockout phase in February, as had always seemed likely. Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> will now join them there after some late score-ticker malarkey sent the reigning champions into the playoffs.<\/p>\n Howe will take huge heart from this performance, as a weakened team recovered from a start that suggested the ceiling might be about to fall in. As for PSG, the rest of Europe will look at this team with a little less fear of the furious full-court press that marked last season\u2019s post-Christmas run. Newcastle were compact, powerful in the challenge, and really could have won this game in the second half.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Match report: Arsenal 3-2 Kairat Arsenal\u2019s challenge for the Premier League title may be showing some signs of wobbling<\/a> but there are no such problems in the Champions League. An eighth successive victory means Mikel Arteta\u2019s side have become the first team to end the league phase with a 100% record since it was introduced last season.<\/p>\n Whether that can translate into silverware in a competition that Arsenal<\/a> have infamously never won and in which they only reached one final \u2013 way back in 2006 under Ars\u00e8ne Wenger \u2013 remains to be seen. But even with a second-string side that once again showed the strength in depth at Arteta\u2019s disposal, completing the job against the bottom side was never in doubt even when Kairat equalised after an early goal from Viktor Gy\u00f6keres.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.01 EST<\/p>\n Match report: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur Randal Kolo Muani was lucky to be on the field. The Tottenham striker had suffered a moment of indescribable panic when the front right tyre on his Ferrari blew out on the motorway on Tuesday as he drove to Stansted airport for the team flight to Frankfurt.<\/p>\n The car was a write-off but Kolo Muani walked away from it<\/a>. He had to take a later flight to make this Champions League game and he was plainly determined to make his mark on it.<\/p>\n Kolo Muani was once a hero to the Eintracht fans, scoring prolifically for them in the 2022-23 season. They were not happy to see him back and booed his every touch. The best one was that with which he broke the deadlock just after half-time to set Spur<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.21 EST<\/p>\n The moment of the night, with nary a scintilla of doubt, was the Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin\u2019s 98th-minute header against Real Madrid. Jose Mourinho Benfica were already 3-2 up, but they needed a fourth to qualify for the playoffs \u2013 where they will play either Real Madrid or another of Jose\u2019s old clubs, Internazionale.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.19 EST<\/p>\n The draw for the rest of the tournament takes place on Friday. This, if I\u2019ve read the brackets correctly, is what could happen to the English sides<\/p>\n Arsenal will face one of Atalanta, Leverkusen, Olympiacos and Dortmund in the last 16.<\/p>\n Liverpool will face one of Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge or Galatasaray in the last 16.<\/p>\n Tottenham Hotspur will also face one of Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge or Galatasaray in the last 16.<\/p>\n Chelsea will face one of Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle, Monaco or Qarabag in the last 16.<\/p>\n Manchester City will face one of Real Madrid, Internazionale, Bodo\/Glimt or Benfica in the last 16.<\/p>\n Newcastle will face Monaco or Qarabag in the playoff round, then Chelsea or Barcelona in the last 16 if they get through.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The final Champions League tableShare<\/a>Full-time scores<\/p>\n Ajax 1-2 Olympiacos<\/p>\n Arsenal 3-2 Kairat Almaty<\/p>\n Athletic Club 2-3 Sporting CP<\/p>\n Atletico Madrid 1-2 Bodo\/Glimt<\/p>\n Barcelona 4-1 Copenhagen<\/p>\n Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Villarreal<\/p>\n Benfica 4-2 Real Madrid<\/p>\n Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Inter<\/p>\n Club Brugge 3-0 Marseille<\/p>\n Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur<\/p>\n Liverpool 6-0 Qarabag<\/p>\n Man City 2-0 Galatasaray<\/p>\n Monaco 0-0 Juventus<\/p>\n Napoli 2-3 Chelsea<\/p>\n Pafos 4-1 Slavia Prague<\/p>\n Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Newcastle<\/p>\n PSV Eindhoven 1-2 Bayern Munich<\/p>\n Union SG 1-0 Atalanta<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Full time: Benfica 4-2 Real Madrid<\/p>\n Benfica are through at Marseille\u2019s expense \u2013 and they could meet Real in the playoffs! It was a fabulous downward header from Trubin, and Jose Mourinho was off down the touchline to celebrate with a ballboy. That is wonderful.<\/p>\n The sprinting one. Photograph: Armando Fran\u00e7a\/APThe hugging one. Photograph: Armando Fran\u00e7a\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.33 EST<\/p>\n GOAL! Benfica 4-2 Real Madrid (Trubin 90+8)<\/p>\n Real are down to nine men after Rodrygo is sent off. And now Benfica have scored! The goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin has put them into the playoffs with a fantastic header!<\/p>\n Benfica\u2019s keeper Anatoliy Trubin uses his head to put his side through. Photograph: Pedro Nunes\/ReutersA view of Trubin\u2019s header from the other end of the pitch. Photograph: Miguel A Lopes\/EPAAbsolute scenes. Photograph: Pedro Nunes\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.22 EST<\/p>\n 90+4 min: Benfica 3-2 Real Madrid Benfica need another goal to make the playoffs; Real need a goal to finish in the top eight.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Full time: Man City 2-0 Galatasaray<\/p>\n City have avoided the playoffs by virtue of a comfortable win at home to Galatasaray.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Full time: Athletic Club 2-3 Sporting<\/p>\n Sporting have gatecrashed the top eight! It\u2019s not a done deal \u2013 a Real Madrid equaliser would knock them down to ninth, but that looks less likely given Raul Asencio has just been sent off.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Full time: Napoli 2-3 Chelsea<\/p>\n A fine win for Chelsea, who qualify automatically as one of the top eight. Joao Pedro scored two goals, the first a screamer, to inspire a fightback from 2-1 down. Napoli go out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Full time: PSG 1-1 Newcastle<\/p>\n PSG and Newcastle have knocked each other out of the top eight. They are currently 11th and 12th, which would mean a tie against Qarabag or Monaco.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.56 EST<\/p>\n GOAL! Athletic Bilbao 2-3 Sporting (Santos 90+4)<\/p>\n The Sporting bench are all on the pitch! Alisson Santos\u2019s goal has put Sporting into the top eight \u2013 and Real Madrid are currently in the playoffs as a result.<\/p>\n Sporting’s Ivan Fresneda (front) celebrates after Alisson Santos (centre) scoring their third goal, much to the chagrin of the Athletic Bilbao fans. Photograph: Miguel Oses\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.04 EST<\/p>\n GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Inter (Diouf 90+4)<\/p>\n Andy Diouf\u2019s late goal doesn\u2019t change anything for Inter, who are currently in ninth place.<\/p>\n Inter’s Andy Diouf tucks the ball home to double the visitors lead at Dortmund. Photograph: Leon Kuegeler\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.06 EST<\/p>\n That Copenhagen goal has been ruled out by VAR. Liverpool and Spurs have both won their games, 6-0 and 2-0 against Qarabag and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively, and go straight into the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n GOALS!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 87 min: PSG 1-1 Newcastle Harvey Barnes has just missed a glorious chance for Newcastle, hitting the side netting from six yards after great work from Gordon. That would have lifted them into the top eight at the expense of Real Madrid.<\/p>\n Newcastle United’s Harvey Barnes shins the ball wide. Photograph: Sarah Meyssonnier\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.56 EST<\/p>\n Pafos are now 4-1 up against Slavia Prague. That goal lifts them into the playoff places ahead of Athletic Club.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Barcelona 4-1 Copenhagen (Rashford 85)<\/p>\n A free-kick from Marcus Rashford confirms Barcelona\u2019s victory \u2013 and probably a place in the top eight.<\/p>\n Marcus Rashford curls home a free-kick for Barcelona\u2019s fourth goal of the game. Photograph: Judit Cartiel\/Getty ImagesRashford celebrates with his teammates. Photograph: Joan Monfort\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.54 EST<\/p>\n As things stand, PSG will face either Real Madrid or Manchester CIty in the last 16 if they get through the playoff round.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n GOALS! PSV 1-2 Bayern (Kane 84); Pafos 3-1 Slavia Prague (Anderson Silva 84)<\/p>\n Harold Kane Esq., who started the night on the bench, has finished majestically to put Bayern back in front.<\/p>\n Harry Kane celebrates after scoring Bayern Munich\u2019s second goal. Photograph: Wart Brinkerhof\/MTB-Photo\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.51 EST<\/p>\n GOAL! Napoli 2-3 Chelsea (Joao Pedro 82)<\/p>\n Chelsea are back in the top eight! Joao Pedro has scored his second of the night to put them back in front in Naples.<\/p>\n Joao Pedro (bottom) celebrates with teammate Alejandro Garnacho after scoring his second, and Chelsea\u2019s third. Photograph: Chris Lee\/Chelsea FC\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.49 EST<\/p>\n MORE GOALS!<\/p>\n Ajax 1-2 Olympiacos (Hezze 79)<\/p>\n Club Brugge 3-0 Marseille (Stankovic 79)<\/p>\n Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Inter (Dimarco 81)<\/p>\n That last goal, a cracking free-kick from Federico Dimarco, is a biggie \u2013 it moves Inter into the top eight at PSG\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n![\"Jacob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769643849_503_Jacob-Steinberg,-L.png\")
Jacob Steinberg<\/p>\n![\"Jamie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769643850_261_Jamie-Jackson,-L.png\")
Jamie Jackson<\/p>\n![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Andy_Hunter.png\")
Andy Hunter<\/p>\n![\"Barney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769643850_198_Barney_Ronay.png\")
Barney Ronay<\/p>\n![\"Ed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769643851_37_Ed_Aarons,_L.png\")
Ed Aarons<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769643851_102_David_Hytner,_L.png\")
David Hytner<\/p>\n