UEFA Champions League 2014: Updated Groups and Qualified Teams for Last 16
The picture of what the knockout stages of the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League will look like has become a lot clearer following Matchday 5, with several teams booking their ticket to the next round.
Chelsea nabbed the top spot in Group G in style with a 5-0 thrashing of Schalke 04, while Shakhtar Donetsk qualified without even winning their fixture against Athletic Bilbao. On Wednesday, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid added their names to the list of teams paying in the last 16.
Manchester City kept their chances for progression alive with a sensational comeback against Bayern Munich, setting up a wild finish on the final matchday of Group E. The same can be said for Group B, where Liverpool will have to beat Basel to advance following their 2-2 draw against Ludogorets Razgrad on Wednesday.
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Here are the full results for Week 5:
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | CSKA Moscow | 1 - 1 | Roma |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Manchester City | 3 - 2 | Bayern Munich |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | APOEL Nicosia | 0 - 4 | Barcelona |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Paris Saint Germain | 3 - 1 | Ajax |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Schalke 04 | 0 - 5 | Chelsea |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Sporting CP | 3 - 1 | Maribor |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | BATE Borisov | 0 - 3 | FC Porto |
| Tuesday, Nov. 25 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0 - 1 | Athletic Bilbao |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Atletico Madrid | 4 - 0 | Olympiakos |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Malmo FF | 0 - 2 | Juventus |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Basel | 0 - 1 | Real Madrid |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | PFC Ludogorets Razgrad | 2 - 2 | Liverpool |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 1 - 0 | Benfica |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Bayer Leverkusen | 0 - 1 | Monaco |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Anderlecht | 2 - 0 | Galatasaray |
| Wednesday, Nov. 26 | Arsenal | 2 - 0 | Borussia Dortmund |
Here's a look at the current standings:
| Pos | Team | PL | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Atletico Madrid | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 12 |
| 2 | Juventus | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | Olympiakos | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 6 |
| 4 | Malmo FF | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 3 |
| 1 | Real Madrid | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 15 |
| 2 | Basel | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 6 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 4 |
| 4 | PFC Ludogorets Razgrad | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 4 |
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Monaco | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | Benfica | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 4 |
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 12 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | Anderlecht | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 5 |
| 4 | Galatasaray | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 15 | -12 | 1 |
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 5 |
| 3 | Roma | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 5 |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 5 |
| 1 | Paris Saint Germain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| 3 | Ajax | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 2 |
| 4 | APOEL Nicosia | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 1 |
| 1 | Chelsea | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 11 |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 5 |
| 4 | Maribor | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 12 | -8 | 3 |
| 1 | FC Porto | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 13 |
| 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 8 |
| 3 | Athletic Bilbao | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 4 |
| 4 | BATE Borisov | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 22 | -20 | 3 |
The list of teams that have already qualified for the knockout stages of the 2014-15 Champions League can be viewed below:
| Atletico Madrid | A |
| Real Madrid | B |
| Borussia Dortmund | D |
| Arsenal | D |
| Bayern Munich | E |
| Barcelona | F |
| PSG | F |
| Chelsea | G |
| Porto | H |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | H |
Arsenal Secure Qualification With Win Over Borussia Dortmund
Arsenal clinched their spot in the next round with a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, and the Gunners could still win the group if Die Schwarzgelben fail to get past Anderlecht on the final matchday.
Yaya Sanogo opened the score after just two minutes and Alexis Sanchez added a second with a beauty in the second half, as shared by Bleacher Report UK:
The German visitors, who had already qualified, didn't appear to be in the mood to turn the situation around, and Arsene Wenger's men comfortably held on for the win, grabbing one of Group D's tickets for the last 16 in the process.
Wenger was asked about his plans for the knockout stages, given the fact the Gunners have had some bad luck in the draw in the past few years. As reported by the London Evening Standard's James Olley, the French manager answered with a joke:
Anderlecht clinched the Europa League ticket by beating Galatasaray, 2-0, in Brussels, meaning both Arsenal and Dortmund will play opponents with nothing to gain or lose on the final matchday. Whether that impacts the results of those matches remains to be seen.
Atletico Madrid were the other team to qualify for the next round on Wednesday, beating Olympiakos, 4-0. Mario Mandzukic bagged a hat-trick as the Greeks were completely outplayed in the aerial game, and via ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan, the Spanish champions' form has been impeccable of late:
With the loss and Juventus' 2-0 win over Malmo, the gap between the Italians and Olympiakos is now three points. The Greeks can still qualify, but for that to happen, they must beat Malmo and hope the Bianconeri lose in Turin against Atletico.
Malmo can still jump over Olympiakos in the standings with a win on the final matchday, while a victory by two goals or more would see Juventus clinch the top seed in Group A over Atletico.
The race for second remains wide open in Group B after Liverpool's 2-2 draw against Ludogorets Razgrad and Basel's 1-0 loss to Real Madrid, with the Swiss and English outfit battling it out on the final matchday.
Ludogorets can no longer qualify—Basel and Liverpool own the tiebreakers—but they can still make the Europa League, although it won't be easy to grab any points at the Estadio Bernabeu.
As for Liverpool, former England international Gary Lineker provided fans with the only possible scenario:
The Reds have to beat Basel—any other result will see the Swiss outfit progress. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti knows who his favourites are, via Barclays League:
Benfica are the only team mathematically eliminated in Group C, undoubtedly the closest group of them all. None of Bayer Leverkusen, Zenit St. Petersburg or AS Monaco have secured passage to the next round, with everything to be decided in one final fixture.
The final round of fixtures will be played Dec. 9-10.
Chelsea Demolish Schalke, Win Group G
A big 5-0 win over Bundesliga outfit Schalke sent a clear signal to the rest of the European continent—Chelsea mean business. The Blues won Group G in impressive fashion, with four different members of Jose Mourinho's squad registering on the scoresheet.
John Terry, Willian, Didier Drogba and Ramires all found the back of the net on Tuesday, with Jan Kirchhoff adding an own goal to complete the 5-0 result. Former England international Gary Lineker didn't hide his praise for the club:
Understandably, manager Jose Mourinho was very satisfied with the result, via the Blues' official Twitter feed:
Sporting Lisbon's 3-1 win over Maribor means Schalke now drop to third in Group G, and the Germans must hope the Blues decide to take the final match of the group stages seriously and not gift the Portuguese side the win.
Shakhtar Donetsk were the only other team to book their spot in the next round on Tuesday, despite an upset loss at the hands of Athletic Bilbao. The Basques leap over BATE Borisov in the standings and are now favourites for the Europa League ticket, with the two sides meeting in Bilbao on the final matchday.
BATE were the only team that could still stop Shakhtar from qualifying, but a 3-0 loss against FC Porto means the four-point gap between the two can no longer be bridged, via Fox Soccer:
Barcelona and Paris-Saint Germain had already qualified from Group F, and both clubs won their Tuesday fixture to set up a showdown for the top spot on Matchday 6.
The Blaugrana easily handled APOEL Nicosia 4-0, with Luis Suarez scoring his first goal in the iconic shirt. His accomplishment was overshadowed by Lionel Messi, however, who became the all-time leading scorer in Champions League history, per the tournament's official Twitter feed:
The Argentine would end up scoring a hat-trick, and for 78 minutes, it looked as if the Catalans would jump over PSG in the standings. Les Parisiens were drawing Ajax up until that point, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a fantastic volley to put his team back in front.
Edinson Cavani, who had scored the opener, added a third to ensure the French champions will travel to the Camp Nou with a one-point advantage on Dec. 10.
No group provided more drama than Group E, however, with both matches decided in the final minutes. Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick to give Manchester City a 3-2 win over 10-men Bayern Munich, and Vasili Berezutski's last-gasp equaliser for CSKA Moscow against AS Roma means anything is possible heading into the final match.
ESPN FC tried to make sense of what needs to happen for the Citizens to go through:
All three clubs have five points, with Roma currently holding the tiebreaker over City thanks to the away goals rule. The Giallorossi also hold the tiebreaker over CSKA, who in turn hold the tiebreaker over City.
City have the chance to turn the tables on Roma in their final match, and thanks to their advantage in goal differential, a 1-1 draw would hand the tiebreaker to the Premier League champions.
If Moscow beat the Bavarians, City are out, and Roma need to beat City to advance. A draw between CSKA and Bayern means the Citizens have to beat Roma, while a draw will do for the Giallorossi. If CSKA lose, the winner of City-Roma goes through, while a 0-0 draw favours Roma and any other draw will send the English side to the knockout stages.
With so many permutations in play, the final matchday will no doubt provide plenty of excitement within Group E, keeping fans of each club on their seats until the very last whistle.
