Man City scrape through and eight other things you might have missed from the UCL league phase conclusion

The league phase of this season’s Champions League concluded with all 36 teams in action on Wednesday night. 

Liverpool and Barcelona were battling it out for top spot, while the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid, PSG and Juventus were scrapping to save their skins and reach the knockout rounds after an unconvincing league phase.

Those are just a few of the storylines on show so, without further delay, let’s have a look at what you might have missed.

1. Morgan Rogers makes history as Aston Villa win Battle of Britain

One of the games of the night came in the Midlands as Aston Villa took on Celtic, with the former looking to confirm their place in the top eight on their return to the elite and the latter already confirmed in the Champions League knockouts for the first time since 2013 and without an outside chance of reaching the top eight.

As ever with these England vs Scotland clashes, it was dubbed the ‘Battle of Britain’.

Early doors, it looked like Villa would stroll home against their UK neighbours, racing into a 2-0 lead within five minutes thanks to a Morgan Rogers double, with the England international becoming the first player in Champions League history to score twice in the opening five minutes of a match in the competition.

However, Celtic hit back with a quickfire double of their own, with Irishman Adam Idah netting in the 36th and 38th minutes to make it 2-2 at half-time. Incredibly, that brace ended a 13-match barren run for Idah.

That initially saw Villa slip outside the top eight but Unai Emery’s men were not to be denied, with Ollie Watkins putting Villa back ahead on the hour mark before comically missing a penalty just eight minutes later.

But Watkins was let off for his spot-kick miss, with Villa holding out for the winning to finish eighth in the table, booking their spot in the last 16.

2. Endangered giants scrape through

While the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal and Inter were secure at the top, it was a nervy night for some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, PSG and Manchester City all went into the final matchday with the possibility of slipping out of the top 24 and, thus, European competition entirely. However, they all got over the line.

Juventus were the least convincing, losing 2-0 at home to Benfica and needing other results to bail them out. For PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern, it was much more straightforward, with those sides beating Stuttgart 4-1, Brest 3-0 and Slovan Bratislava 3-1, respectively.

Manchester City also made it through but didn’t really make it easy for themselves…

3. Manchester City survive scare to reach knockouts

At one point, it really did look like Man City, champions of two years ago, would crash out of Europe at the earliest stage.

Pep Guardiola’s strangely unpredictable side went 1-0 down at home to Belgian side Club Brugge on Wednesday night in a result that saw them drop out of the top 24. It was Nigerian midfielder Raphael Onyedika who gave Brugge the lead on the stroke of half-time, rounding off a first half in which his side outshot City 7-6 to the tune of 0.77 – 0.32 on the xG stakes, despite having just 30% possession.

Of course, 45 minutes is a long time when you’re playing at the Etihad and in the second half, City tore Brugge apart with goals from Mateo Kovacic and Savinho either side of a Joel Ordonez own goal.

That lifted City to 22nd in the table, just barely scraping into the knockout rounds. Club Brugge, meanwhile, finished in the 24th and final qualification spot so it was smiles all around. Just.

4. Ricardo Pepi sinks Liverpool, but Reds remain top dogs

Wednesday night represented a huge opportunity for PSV’s American striker Ricardo Pepi.

The 22-year-old has been in stunning form this season, notching 16 goals in just 978 minutes across all competitions this season, while he’s the Eredivisie’s second-highest scorer with 11 goals, despite starting just five games.

Pepi was given the start against Liverpool and despite Arne Slot rotating, the US international was keen to prove himself.

He did just that with a smart chested assist for Johan Bakayoko in the 35th minute to draw PSV level after Cody Gakpo had put Liverpool ahead against his former club.

Harvey Elliott and Ismael Saibari then traded goals before Pepi got the slightest of touches on a ball into the box to give PSV a 3-2 half-time lead they would ultimately hold on to.

The only downside for Pepi was seeing him come off in the 76th minute with a potential knee injury but he wasn’t limping, so hopefully nothing serious.

As for Slot and Liverpool, Barcelona’s 2-2 draw with Atalanta means they still topped the Champions League table, just as they top the Premier League table.

5. Jude Bellingham joins Mbappe and Haaland in new generation

After a slow start to the season, Jude Bellingham has well and truly rediscovered his best form and on Wednesday, he was key in making sure Real Madrid made it to the knockout rounds.

The England international oozed class on the ball away at Brest, completing 49 of his 52 passes — including five into the final third — while creating one chance and having three touches in the opposition box. He also chipped in with plenty of defensive work, making five tackles, six recoveries, one clearance and one interception.

Of course, it was in front of goal where he made the biggest difference, netting from close range to put Real Madrid 2-0 up in the 56th minute after some stubborn resistance from their French hosts.

In doing so, Bellingham moved behind only Kylian Mbappe (20 years and 306 days) and Erling Haaland (21 years and 139 days) as the third-youngest player to reach 25 goal involvements in the Champions League, doing so at 21 years and 214 days old.

6. Christian Pulisic makes USMNT history

Christian Pulisic is absolutely loving life at AC Milan, finding there a club that loves him and where he can thrive.

The USMNT icon had already scored three goals in six Champions League appearances this season ahead of Wednesday night — with that record extending to 11 goals in 26 appearances across all competitions. And he was in no mood to slow down, with the former Chelsea forward netting in the 53rd minute of what would eventually be a 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.

The loss would prove to be quite costly for Milan, who dropped out of the top eight and must now contest the first knockout round. But for Pulisic, he made a nice bit of personal history as the first USMNT player to score four goals in a single Champions League campaign.

7. Ethan Nwaneri continues rise 

The rise of Ethan Nwaneri has been one of the undoubted high points of Arsenal’s season so far and he turned the lights around his name up just a little further on Wednesday night.

The 17-year-old’s cut inside and finish in the 42nd minute was enough to see Arsenal complete a 2-1 comeback win away at Spanish side Girona, leaving the Gunners third in the table and level on points with second-place Barcelona.

But more than that, it showcased everything great about Nwaneri, from dynamic dribbling to precision finishing. It was pure class.

Nwaneri now has five goals to his name in 21 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal this season and without putting too much pressure on him, it won’t be long until he becomes part of the England set-up with this form, even at his tender age.

8. Golden Boot race hots up in final round of games

The upper reaches of the Champions League Golden Boot race have a very Spanish feel to them, with five La Liga players figuring in the top six.

Robert Lewandowski is the familiar man at the top with a stunning nine goals, joined on that total by Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy. Below them, Lewandowski’s Barcelona teammate Raphinha is on eight goals, followed by seven for Vinicius Jr and seven players on six goals. That clutch includes Atletico Madrid duo Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez, alongside the likes of Erling Haaland, Florian Wirtz, Harry Kane, Viktor Gyokeres and Jonathan David.

There are plenty of other players in excellent form in this season’s UCL, including Lautaro Martinez, who scored a hat-trick in Inter’s 3-0 win over Monaco to take his total to five, and Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez, who has netted five goals in his last five appearances in the competition.

Sit back and enjoy as the Golden Boot race hots up in the knockout rounds.

9. The final Champions League table and knockout round draw details  

The likes of Liverpool, Barcelona and Arsenal are not shocking names to see at the top of the Champions League table. However, it’s quite a surprise to see clubs like Real Madrid and Man City struggle to get over the line and into the knockout rounds. But that is the beauty of the new format.

Also spare a thought for the likes of RB Leipzig, Stuttgart, Bologna and Girona who, despite coming from a ‘top five league’, have crashed out at the first hurdle. Likewise Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys, who are the only sides to fail to pick up a single win or point.

Qualifying automatically for the round of 16 are Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa.

The teams who must contest the playoff round are as follows:

Keep a note in your diaries for the playoff round draw, which takes place on Friday at 11am (UK time), with the knockout rounds taking the following format:

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