Champions League round-up: Imperfect Liverpool top, Man City comeback & more

The inaugural ‘league phase’ of the revamped Champions League concluded after Matchday 8 unfolded across Europe last night.

Despite their first European defeat under Arne Slot, Liverpool finished top of the 36-team table.

While the Reds slumped at PSV Eindhoven, the three remaining Premier League clubs emerged triumphant from their final league-phase games.

Liverpool pay the price for fringe line-up

Slot made Champions League history with a 2-1 home win against Lille in the penultimate round, becoming the second-ever manager to win their first seven games in charge of a club at Europe’s top table.

The Reds sealed automatic last-16 qualification with a game to spare, and Slot handed his key players a much-needed breather ahead of the league-phase finale.

Already through to the round of 16, Slot had the luxury of leaving 12 first-team stars out of his travelling squad for Wednesday’s trip to the Philips Stadion to meet PSV.

Liverpool’s depleted line-up broke the deadlock midway through the first half through Cody Gakpo before Johan Bakayoko drew Peter Bosz’s side level.

Harvey Elliott restored the visitors’ lead in the 40th minute, only for Ismael Saibari and Ricardo Pepi to turn the game on its head before the half-time interval.

Little did anyone in Eindhoven know it would be the final score.

Despite relinquishing their 100% Champions League record, Liverpool kept hold of the top spot as runners-up Barcelona shared the spoils with Atalanta in a 2-2 draw.

Nwaneri helps Arsenal lock down round-of-16 berth

Unlike Liverpool, Arsenal had everything to play for in Spain as their top-eight hopes hung by a thread heading into the final round of fixtures.

However, Mikel Arteta’s charges entered proceedings in high spirits after winning three previous Champions League outings via at least a three-goal margin.

Facing an out-of-sorts Girona should’ve been a walk in the park for the Gunners, with Michel’s team already out of contention for a top-24 finish.

When Arnaut Danjuma fired the Catalan outfit in front just before the half-hour mark, it looked like the Premier League title hopefuls could surrender an eight-match unbeaten away run in all competitions.

Jorginho’s penalty only ten minutes later gave Arsenal a quick response before up-and-coming Ethan Nwaneri completed the turnaround on the stroke of half-time.

Nwaneri’s maiden Champions League goal would eventually settle a dramatic encounter at Estadio Municipal de Montilivi as Raheem Sterling squandered a penalty in second-half stoppage time.

Manchester City squeak into the play-offs

Manchester City’s worst Champions League campaign under Pep Guardiola was potentially 45 minutes away from ending in the group phase for the first time in over a decade.

Stuck beneath the qualification zone before the kick-off, Guardiola’s side needed three points against Club Brugge to secure a play-off berth.

Raphael Onyedika stunned the Etihad Stadium second before the break, powering home a thunderous first-time effort to put the Belgian visitors in front.

However, the perennial Premier League champions took less than ten minutes into the second half to draw level through Mateo Kovacic’s superb mid-range strike.

Guardiola breathed a sigh of relief when Joel Ordonez accidentally put the ball into his own net to turn the tide in his side’s favour minutes after the 60-minute mark.

Second-half substitute Savinho sealed Club Brugge’s fate in the 77th minute, propelling Man City to a 22nd-placed finish, courtesy of a superior goal difference to 25th-placed Dinamo Zagreb.

Aston Villa join Champions League elite

Not even the bravest Aston Villa supporters could’ve imagined the team in the Champions League round of 16 upon their return to the most prestigious club competition after more than two decades.

But Unai Emery lived up to his tag as a ‘European specialist,’ guiding the Birmingham-based side to a remarkable eighth-placed finish with a 4-2 home win against Celtic.

One of the most enthralling Champions League results this season saw Morgan Rogers’ first-ever European hat-trick catapult Emery’s team to a breathless win at Villa Park.

Adam Idah scored twice for the Hoops before half-time, but Ollie Watkins re-established a one-goal cushion for Villa early in the second half.

Rogers landed a hammer blow in the second-half added time, sending a sold-out Villa Park into raptures.