The Champions League round of 16 is now full, with all sides having qualified.
The group stages are done for another year and whilst three sides left it to the last matchday before securing qualification (Liverpool needing a dramatic last minute save to ensure their spot) we now have a field of 16 comprising of the Champions and league leaders of England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy as well as both of last year#s Champions League finalists.
We’ve had a look at the 16 qualified sides and ranked them by their performances so far this season. Obviously special weighting will be given to their performances in the Champions League, but their whole season is taken into consideration.
16. Schalke
Finished: 2nd
W/D/L: 3/2/1
Goals: 6
Conceded: 4
Schalke are a side made up of used pinball machine parts and the spectacular Amine Harit. They’ve had a topsy turvy road to qualification in the weird and wonderful world of Group D. Perhaps the best way to sum Schalke up is that they got slapped senseless by Porto, losing 3-1, and still qualified that very day.
15. Roma
Finished: 2nd
W/D/L: 3/3/0
Goals: 11
Conceded: 8
Last season’s surprise semi-finalists have sort of reverted to type in this year’s group stage where, on the one hand, they are obviously very good and better than most of the teams in the competition. But on the other hand any of the top tier sides are going to shove them aside without too much trouble (as Real Madrid have done twice this season). Their bottlejob in Plzen to knock CSKA Moscow out of Europe entirely even as the Russians won in Madrid was both hilarious and a sad indictment of UEFA rules.
14. Lyon
Finished: 2nd
W/D/L: 1/5/0
Goals: 12
Conceded: 11
Is it possible to qualify for the round of 16 by only winning one game? Lyon have proven that yes, it is. Admittedly that one win was opening night away to Manchester City; but their shoddy defence has left them incapable of building off that win. They’re fun to watch but so permeable that they’re unlikely to be a genuine threat in the next round.
13. Manchester United
Finished: 2nd
W/D/L: 3/1/2
Goals: 7
Conceded: 4
It’s hard to imagine a side qualifying from such a tricky group in quite such an unspectacular manner. United have had a difficult season on the domestic front as well as in Europe, but somehow their Champions League exploits have seen… success? Well, is that what you call getting outplayed in consecutive games but securing big wins through late hoofs to Marouane Fellaini? United are bad and should feel bad; any group winner will probably beat them to death in the round of 16.
12. Real Madrid
Finished: 1st
W/D/L: 4/0/2
Goals: 12
Conceded: 5
Los Blancos have been comically bad in La Liga this season, but that nonsense only really infected their campaign for a fourth consecutive Champions League win for a few games. They’ve have won four, the two against Roma quite handily, but they got absolutely hosed home and away by CSKA Moscow (the first time they’ve been doubled in the group stages since 2008). And whilst they had a B-side out in the home leg, the fact that the Russians so comprehensively dismantled them will be a huge cause for concern. Can they turn it on in the new year, as they have three seasons in a row? Right now it doesn’t look likely.
11. Bayern Munich
Finished: 1st
W/D/L: 4/2/0
Goals: 15
Conceded: 5
Much like Madrid, Bayern have turned to Europe to forget their domestic woes. They’ve powered their way through their group, sort of. Their unbeaten first place finish looks impressive until, upon closer inspection, you realise that their two draws were against the only other good side in the group. Then suddenly pummelling the chaff isn’t quite as impressive.
10. Spurs
Finished: 2nd
W/D/L: 2/2/2
Goals: 9
Conceded: 10
Qualifying from the group of death with negative goal difference shouldn’t be possible, but hey, never doubt Mauricio Pochettino. Spurs recovered from Spursing two of their opening three games (getting massacred by Barcelona at Wembley inbetween) to eek out two wins and a draw from their last three. The point they got against a Barcelona b-team at Camp Nou was just about enough as Inter bottled it at home to PSV. They’ve got more gears to go to; a tricky prospect.
9. Porto
Finished: 1st
W/D/L: 5/1/0
Goals: 15
Conceded: 6
Porto have blasted their way through to the knockout rounds with 15 goals. Only Paris Saint-Germain (17) and PSG (16) scored more than them. They made light work of Group D and anyone who thinks they’ll be a pushover in the round of 16 could be in for a rude awakening.
8. Ajax
Finished: 2nd
W/D/L: 3/3/0
Goals: 11
Conceded: 5
Despite being behind Bayern in their group, Ajax are ahead of them on the list because their achievement is far more impressive. In their first season back in the Champions League since 2015, Ajax have been bold and organised. They’ve used a balance of veterans and youngsters to put in a series of impressive displays, led by Dusan Tadic’s brilliance, and reach the knockout rounds for the first time in 12 years!
7. Atlético Madrid
Finished: 2nd
W/D/L: 4/1/1
Goals: 9
Conceded: 6
For five of their games, Atlético Madrid have looked very much like the side that has managed to make two finals in five years under Diego Simeone (beating the two best teams in the world en route to the 2016 final which they inexplicably lost) but their place in this list is conditioned by the fact that they were eviscerated in Germany by Borussia Dortmund.
6. PSG
Finished: 1st
W/D/L: 3/2/1
Goals: 17
Conceded: 9
PSG have scored more goals than anyone else in the group stages (again) but this time they really had to work for their qualification. They’re running away with things domestically and should rank higher for topping a tricky group but the simple fact of the matter is two of their three wins were against group whipping boys Red Star Belgrade. Against the actual good sides they won once, drew twice and lost once. Can they raise their level and actually perform in the knockout rounds? Let’s see!
5. Liverpool
Finished: 2nd
W/D/L: 3/0/3
Goals: 9
Conceded: 7
Sir Alex Ferguson used to say you can qualify from the Champions League by winning your home games and picking up one point somewhere on the road. Well, Liverpool did even better by not even needing a point on the road. Dominant at home, dire away. Liverpool’s excellent domestic season and Anfield form pushes them up this list. They’ll need their massive home advantage to cover for Virgil Van Dijk’s suspension in the first leg of the next round, because you can’t rely on them to travel well for the return fixture!
4. Juventus
Finished: 1st
W/D/L: 4/0/2
Goals: 9
Conceded: 4
Juventus cruised through their first three games but the reverse fixtures have been less than impressive and have cast doubts on their ability to go all the way. They got Second Half FC’d at home where Valencia gave them a real game too, and then Young Boys slapped them around in the group’s final game. No, seriously, they went to Switzerland resting only Giorgio Chiellini, and got spanked by PSG legend Guillaume Hoarau. They’re good, but it’s worth remembering they have Wojciech Szczesny in goal.
3. Borussia Dortmund
Finished: 1st
W/D/L: 4/1/1
Goals: 10
Conceded: 2
Dortmund are taking Germany and Europe by storm this season. Their persistence and ability to find goals off the bench from Paco Alcacer or the prodigal Jadon Sancho is just delightful. They won their group in impressive style, keeping five clean sheets. Whilst they lost 2-0 away to Atlético Madrid that was balanced out by destroying them 4-0 at home, inflicting the biggest loss in Diego Simeone’s time there. Nobody wants any of this smoke in the next round.
2. Manchester City
Finished: 1st
W/D/L: 4/1/1
Goals: 16
Conceded: 6
Manchester City played some sublime football in their group games. They were failed to beat the volatile Lyon, however, losing at home before drawing away. Their dominance on the domestic front is hard to overlook as is the fact that they played magnificent football without their best player (Kevin de Bruyne) for much of the season. They’ve not been flawless, but there’s genius in there for sure. You wouldn’t wanna face them.
1. Barcelona
Finished: 1st
W/D/L: 4/2/0
Goals: 14
Conceded: 5
Barcelona were placed in the group of death but have handled it so comfortably you may as well have called it the group of mild skin irritation. Resplendent at Wembley when they demolished Spurs, they also took four points from closest rivals Inter without their talisman Leo Messi who missed the matches through injury.
The Argentine is the club’s top scorer in Europe with six goals (having played just 297 minutes) and is playing at an absurdly high level – his display at Wembley is the tournament standout so far. They’ve been inconsistent in La Liga this season, but almost note perfect in the Champions League (the draw in Milan was a game they controlled and the Spurs draw a dead rubber to them). The gold standard so far and definitely the team to avoid in the next round.
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