Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa have both secured their places in the Champions League last 16 knockout stage following Wednesday night’s final group matches while Manchester City have made it through to the play-offs after beating Club Brugge.
Arsenal claimed a 2-1 victory at Girona despite fielding a changed team to finish third in the table while Liverpool’s young side fell to a 3-2 defeat against PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
Despite losing to the Dutch side, Liverpool managed to finish top of the table ahead of Barcelona.
The matches were part of a busy evening of Champions League action, with all 36 teams in the competition playing simultaneously.
All four Premier League sides are through
REUTERS/PA
Both Arsenal and Liverpool clubs had already guaranteed their progression to the knockout phase before Wednesday’s matches got underway.
It was a different story for Villa, who faced off against a Celtic side hoping to boost their table position in the final game.
Unai Emery’s side left it late in a dramatic 3-2 win over the Scottish side to secure a top-eight finish, ensuring they skipped the play-off stage.
The story of the night was at the Etihad with City entering the evening needing to win to avoid a humiliating Champions League exit.
Pep Guardiola’s side had been woeful in Europe, winning just two of their previous seven matches to leave them outside the top-24 places.
Manchester City will have to go through the play-off
REUTERS
And Club Brugge threatened a huge upset after they took the lead against City heading into half-time.
City were able to mount a comeback in the second half, eventually running out 3-1 winners to book their place in the play-offs.
Finishing 22nd means City will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich when the draw for the play-offs is made on Friday.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa have all managed to skip the play-off stage after finishing inside the top eight.
Arne Slot’s side will face one of PSG, Benfica, Monaco or Brest in the last-16, depending on what happens in the play-offs.
Arsenal will go up against either AC Milan, PSV, Feyenoord or Juventus while Aston Villa could face one of Sporting Lisbon, Club Brugge, Atalanta or Borussia Dortmund.
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Liverpool finished top of the table
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Dinamo Zagreb agonisingly missed out on a spot inside the top-24 on goal difference despite beating AC Milan on Wednesday evening.
Stuttgart also missed out by just one point following their defeat to PSG.
Both Slovan Bratislava and BSC Young Boys failed to pick up a single point in their eight matches.
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