The league stage of the 2025/26 season of the UEFA Champions League concluded this midweek. And with that, the fate of the 36 teams has now been sealed. Of all the clubs that featured in the league phase, the bottom 12 clubs have been eliminated.
Among the 24 remaining clubs, the top eight clubs have secured a straight qualification in the round of 16. These clubs are:
1. Arsenal (Premier League): The Premier League giants aced the league phase of the competition as they won all eight games and topped the league table. Their qualification in the round of 16 was never in doubt.
2. Bayern Munich (Bundesliga); The German champions suffered only one loss in the league phase. It came at the hands of PSG in matchweek 5. The six-time winners of the Champions League finished second on the points table.
3. Liverpool (Premier League): The reigning Premier League champions have somehow managed to produce good performances in the Champions League despite their struggles in the domestic competitions. The Reds won six league stage matches and finished third on the points table.
4. Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League): Like Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur are struggling in the Premier League but have produced good results in the Champions League. Spurs won five games, lost one and two matches ended in a draw. They finished fourth.
5. Barcelona (La Liga) Barcelona are the only La Liga club who have managed a direct qualification in the round of 16. The Catalans won five matches, drew once and lost twice. They are placed fifth.
6. Chelsea (Premier League): Off-field issues hardly affected Chelsea’s performances in the league phase. Like Barca, Chelsea won five matches, drew once and lost twice. However, they finished below Barcelona due to a slightly inferior goal difference.
7. Sporting CP (Liga Portugal): Sporting CP have surprised everyone by finishing in the top eight. The Portuguese club are having a spectacular season, as along with securing a direct qualification in the round of 16, they are second in the Portuguese Primeira Liga table. The club finished seventh on the Champions League points table, ahead of Manchester City, Real Madrid, and defending champions PSG.
8. Manchester City (Premier League): With Manchester City securing the eighth spot, all five Premier League clubs are through to the round of 16. Like Barca, Chelsea and Sporting, Man City too won five games, lost twice and drew once. However, a goal difference of plus six has put them in eighth place.
Clubs ranked from 9 to 24 will progress to the playoff stages. The clubs that have finished from 9 to 16 are seeded clubs and will be drawn against the teams ranked from 17th to 24th, the unseeded clubs. Teams from 9th to 24th are – Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Olympiacos, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, AS Monaco, FK Qarabag, Bodo/Glimt, and Benfica respectively.
These playoff matches will be played over two legs, with the seeded clubs having the benefit of playing the second leg at their home ground. Once the playoff stage is over, the eight winning teams will be drawn against the teams that have secured straight qualification to the round of 16. After that we will have the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the final at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
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