Group A
THE REDS BOOK THEIR LAST 16 SPOT IN STYLE
Liverpool beat Ajax Amsterdam on a 3-0 score-line, thanks to goals from Salah, Nunez and Elliott.
The Reds silenced the Amsterdam Arena at the end of the first half as Mohamed Salah (42nd min) opened the scoring with an amazing first-time shot, assisted by a wonderful outside-the-foot cross by the skipper, Jordan Henderson. Liverpool then had their lead extended after their Uruguayan striker, Darwin Nunez (49th min), finished Andrew Robertson’s cross from a corner in the back of the net, with a bullied header. Two minutes later, Harvey Elliott (51st min) ended the contest as his top-corner finish killed Ajax’s all hopes of coming back.
With this victory, Liverpool have now qualified for the Champions League knockouts for sixth season in a row. This 3-0 victory has now become the 10th away victory that the Reds have won by 3+ goals, where eight of those ten came under the Jurgen Klopp reign.
FT Ajax 0-3 Liverpool
NAPOLI MAINTAIN THEIR SPOT AS TOP OF THE GROUP AFTER COMFORTABLE WIN
Having the best attack and best defence of Group A, Napoli have maintained their spot as group leader, after inflicting Glasgow Rangers’ fifth Champions League defeat in a row.
The Parthenopeans got themselves a two-goal lead within the first 16 minutes, thanks to a brace by Giovanni Simeone (11th and 16th minute. In control of the match, Napoli had nothing to worry as The Gers were silenced from the minute Simeone completed his brace. Napoli finished the game in style as Leo Skiri Ostigard (80th min) got his name on the score-sheet after scoring a late winner.
With this victory, Napoli became the first Italian side to win their five opening Champions League games since the 2004/05 season. The last Italian team to achieve this feat was Fabio Capello’s Juventus side, in 2004.
FT Napoli 3-0 Rangers
| # | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Napoli | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 16 | 15 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| 3 | Ajax | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 15 | -7 | 3 |
| 4 | Rangers | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 19 | -18 | 0 |
Group B
A WALK IN THE PARK FOR PORTO
FC Porto has stunned Group B’s leader as they beat Club Brugge on a resounding 0-4 score-line.
The Portuguese giants dominated the Belgian side in almost every department, except for possession as they went with a more direct approach, with the objective to outscore their opponent. Porto took the lead during the first half, thanks to Mehdi Taremi’s goal in the 33rd minute. They then increased their lead in the second half 3 more goals within 13 minutes (57th, 60th and 70th minute) as Eustaqui and Evanilson got their name on the score-sheet while Taremi closed the scoring-party with his second.
The Portuguese side got the perfect revenge over Club Brugge, who defeated them on the same score-line in their first confrontation, earlier in the competition. Before this match, Club Brugge had a run of 392 minutes without conceding a goal. As it stands, the Belgians are still the group leader but by only a point.
With this victory, FC Porto secured themselves a spot in the Champions League last 16 as in the other game of Group B, Atletico Madrid shared points with Bayer Leverkusen.
FT Club Brugge 0-4 FC Porto
ATLETICO MADRID FAIL TO QUALIFY FOR THE LAST 16
A contest with no winners between Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen as they nullify each other in Madrid.
Despite dominating the game in every department, Atletico Madrid have failed to book themselves a spot in the Champions League last 16 as they draw against Bayer Leverkusen. Leverkusen stunned the Spanish giants within the first 10 minutes of the game as Moussa Diaby (9th minute) opened the scoring. After the goal, in the search of an equaliser, Atletico Madrid kept pushing forward and was then rewarded in the 22nd minute as Yannick Carrasco got them the equaliser. The joy of the equaliser was however short-lived as 7 minutes later, Callum-Hudson-Odoi (29th minute) restored Leverkusen’s lead.
After that goal, Diego Simeone’s side put on a great performance, as they dominated the game with the most possession and clear-cut chances, where they were again rewarded with an equaliser in the second half by Rodrigo De Paul (50th minute). However, the equaliser was not enough for the Colchoneros to qualify for the Last 16 of the Champions League as in the other match of the group, FC Porto beat the group leader to book their last 16 ticket.
As it stands, both Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen can still save their season by qualifying for the Europa League Final Stage in their last game.
FT Atletico Madrid 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen
| # | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Club Brugge | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | FC Porto | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 5 |
| 4 | Bayer Leverkusen | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 4 |
Group C
FC BARCELONA SINK IN THE EUROPA LEAGUE AS BAYERN AND INTER GO THROUGH THE LAST 16
Barcelona started their match against Bayern Munich with absolutely no hopes of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League as the other match of their group ended with Inter Milan securing their second spot with a comfortable 4-0 victory against Viktoria Plzen.
With no hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages, Barcelona had the opportunity to at least give their fans something to cheer for, by beating group leader, Bayern Munich. Things however did not go as planned as Sadio Mane silenced the Camp Nou by scoring at the 10th minute. After that goal, Barcelona failed to show their desire to turn it around as Bayern Munich went on to win the game on a 0-3 score-line as Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard added their names on the score-sheet.
With four points in the group, Barcelona have failed to qualify for the last 16 of the competition and fell back in the Europa League for a second season in a row.
FT Inter 4-0 Viktoria Plzen
FT Barcelona 0-3 Bayern Munich
| # | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 15 |
| 2 | Inter | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 3 | Barcelona | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 4 |
| 4 | Viktoria Plzen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 20 | -17 | 0 |
Group D
ALL TO PLAY FOR IN THE FINAL MATCH WEEK OF THE GROUP STAGE
With Frankfurt’s victory and Tottenham’s draw, Group D remains the only open group that can re-shuffle in the final match week of the Champions League as there are only 2 points separating the leader and the last of the group. All of the four teams have everything to play for, be it to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League or to secure a place in the Europa League Final Stage.
If Marseille beats Tottenham Hotspur in their final game of the group stage, they will have the opportunity to either progress to the last 16 of the Champions League or go to the Europa League Final Stage, depending on the outcome of the match between Sporting and Frankfurt. In case of a victory over the Spurs, the French giants will hope for a draw between Sporting and Frankfurt as this scenario will make them finish the group stage as group leader.
All of these teams have their destinies in hand as they would all push for a win. The final match week of this season’s Champions League group stage will decide who will be the group leader, who will qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, who will secure a spot in the Europa League Final Stage and who will be the losers of the Group D. One to watch!
FT Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Marseille
FT Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Sporting CP
| # | TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 7 |
| 4 | Marseille | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
