The UEFA Champions Leagues: Group Stage’s Results and Round of 16’s Draws
The group stage of the UEFA Champions League was done last year. A lot of unexpected results made the next round more interesting. This also marked the last group stage of the tournament. The Round of 16 draws was done last year as well. The results were not as interesting, but will still give us great entertainment. Now, the Round of 16 will commence soon.
Before we talk about the Round of 16, we should also review some of the obvious and unexpected results in the group stages. So, without further due, let’s get into this long (and overdue) review!
The Group Stage’s Results
The group stage was exciting with lots of fights until the end. Some might think it’s boring because of some obvious results but it was giving highlights to a lot more clubs, which was nice. However, this format will not last until next season. So, let’s possibly talk about this for the last time.
Group A
Group A consisted of Bayern München, Manchester United, FC København, and Galatasaray. This group was one of the most entertaining.
With their form last year, Bayern München was winning five games out of six. These results made them topped the group. Surprisingly, they only drew once against FC København, which had the second-best results in this group with 8 points. Galatasary got 5, meanwhile Manchester United was last with 4 points. This was unexpected, but Manchester United’s form was not good at the time. So, it becomes understandable.
Group B
Group B consisted of Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, and RC Lens. It nearly became an even match-up if it wasn’t for Sevilla.
Yup, Sevilla had really bad games which did not even result in them getting their nearly annual Europa League ticket. Meanwhile, Arsenal got 13 points to top the group, as predicted by a lot of people. With their nice form, PSV Eindhoven got second as well after getting 9 points. RC Lens was close with 8 points, but they need to settle for third.
Group C
Group C consisted of Napoli, Real Madrid, SC Braga, and Union Berlin. It’s as obvious as people thought.
Real Madrid had great form last year and made it 18 points out of 18 in the group stage. Meanwhile, Napoli got 10 points and made it to second. The surprise is coming from SC Braga which managed to secure a Europa League spot over Union Berlin. If you follow the Bundesliga, it probably wasn’t a big surprise.
Group D
Group D consisted of Benfica, Inter Milan, RB Salzburg, and Real Sociedad. All right, this was a surprising result even if we don’t get exciting match-ups on paper.
Surprisingly, Inter Milan was second in this group after losing to Real Sociedad in terms of goal difference. Yup, Real Sociedad topped this group unexpectedly but the way they played at the time was good. The race for the Europa League was also determined by goal difference in this group. As a result, Benfica got the ticket over RB Salzburg.
Group E
Group E consisted of Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, and Celtic. This wasn’t as exciting as the others and with a half of obvious results.
Atletico Madrid topped this group with 14 points. Meanwhile, Lazio surprisingly got second with 10 points over Feyenoord, which got the Europa League spot. As this suggests, Celtic’s final standing was dead last in this group.
Group F
Group F consisted of Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, and Newcastle United. This is exciting and unexpected until the end. It was genuinely a roller coaster to follow.
AC Milan, the one that is backed by most people, got dethroned to the Europa League. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund managed to top this group with 11 points. The second spot was for Paris Saint-Germaint who got it over AC Milan because of their goal difference. Lastly, Newcastle United’s European journey comes to an end with only a win.
Group G
Group G consisted of Manchester City, RB Leipzig, FK Crvena Zvezda, and Young Boys. As the group suggests, it’s not exciting on paper nor did it have unexpected results.
Of course, Manchester City came first with perfect results. RB Leipzig came second and only lost to Manchester City (In Pep’s voice, “Twice!”). Meanwhile, the one who gets the Europa League ticket is Young Boys instead of FK Crvena Zvezda, which got the worst results in the entire Group Stage.
Group H
Group H consisted of Barcelona, FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Royal Antwerp. The results were obvious but it wasn’t as straightforward as people might thought.
Barcelona and FC Porto had the same points. Only goal difference edged out Barcelona over FC Porto for the top spot. Shakhtar Donetsk got the Europa League ticket as a lot of people think will happen. But, hey, Royal Antwerp got a win and it was against Barcelona.
The Round of 16’s Draws
With these results, we got a bit of a surprising Round of 16. In this round, La Liga got the most clubs with 4. Meanwhile, for the other top five leagues, the Bundesliga and Serie A got 3, the Premier League got 2, and Ligue 1 got 1. As for the other 3, they were from Liga Portugal, Eredivisie, and Danish Superliga.
And, after the draw, we got these results:
Arsenal — FC Porto
Barcelona — Napoli
Paris Saint-Germain — Real Sociedad
Atletico Madrid — Inter Milan
Borussia Dortmund — PSV Eindhoven
Bayern München — Lazio
Manchester City — FC København
Real Madrid — RB Leipzig
As you can see, there’s not much excitement on paper. However, Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid vs Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund vs PSV Eindhoven, and Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig will be an interesting watch. With their current form, Barcelona vs Napoli and Bayern München vs Lazio could be interesting as well. As for the other two, Arsenal vs FC Porto and Manchester City vs FC København will not be as interesting. However, it could still be a good match to watch if you plan to do so.
When’s The Round of 16?
Well, the Round of 16 will start today! The first match-ups will be Manchester City vs FC København and Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig. As for the entire schedule, the first leg will be on 13, 14, 20, and 21 of February. Meanwhile, the second leg will be on 5, 6, 12, and 13 of March.
For today, there’s going to be two matches per day at the same time. So, unless you only want to watch one match, you could watch one from the TV and one from your phone. Otherwise, I think you should watch these games when you have time because it could be great but chances are it’s not as interesting as the possible Quarterfinal. Of course, watching these games will help you understand what’s possibly happening in the Quarterfinal. So, it’s good to watch for future reference. Well, unless you have your favorite group in it (like me), good luck, and may the best team win!
Final Thought: I genuinely really don’t have much time to analyze. So, sorry if this one feels like I was rushing it. Nonetheless, I will try to watch as many match-ups as I can because it feels like it’s been a long time since a UCL night. Genuinely can’t wait to start watching again tonight while salvaging the last of this current format.
