Champions League 2025-26 Final Standings, Bracket, Knockout Stage Format, Draw Info

Wednesday provided some twists and turns as the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League drew to a close.

Eight teams are through to the round of 16: Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP and Manchester City.

The teams that finished between ninth and 24th await Friday's play-off draw. The event will stream live on UEFA's official site at 6 a.m. ET.

Olympique de Marseille, PSV, Athletic Club and Napoli were among the notable sides that could've qualified for the knockout play-off on the final day but finished outside of the top 24.

In a fun bit of irony, Sporting owes a debt of gratitude to one of its hated rivals for a top-eight finish.

Alisson Santos scored a goal in the fourth minute of second-half injury time to lift the reigning Primeira Liga champion to a 3-2 win over Athletic.

Benfica, meanwhile, handed Real Madrid a 4-2 loss. That result left the Spanish giant on 15 points, one below Sporting when the dust settled.

The Benfica match also showcased the drama the new Champions League format can provide on the final day.

With a 3-2 lead in the waning moments, Benfica was already assured of victory, yet it still sat behind Marseille for the final play-off berth. Throwing caution to the wind, manager José Mourinho had goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin go up for a free kick in the eighth minute of stoppage time. Trubin rose to the occasion — quite literally — and ensured Benfica overtook Marseille on goal differential.

An otherwise meaningless goal had a significant impact on how the rest of the season will unfold for two clubs.

Looking ahead, the continental dominance of Premier League clubs will be among the subplots to follow in the knockout stages.

Five of the six English clubs in the competition finished in the top eight, while Newcastle finished a respectable 11th. Arsenal ran the table as the Gunners' 3-2 victory over Kairat Almaty was their eighth straight.

The UCL performances of Spurs and Liverpool in particular have contrasted sharply with how they've fared domestically. The pressure on their managers is only intensifying, yet either one has the opportunity to make a deep run in Europe.

The new Champions League format gives the biggest teams in Europe a bigger margin for error in order to advance out of the initial phase. The knockout play-off can make for a perilous journey, though.

Manchester City, AC Milan and Juventus all failed to make it out last year. Bayern needed a 94th-minute winner from Alphonso Davies to avoid extra time against Celtic.

Looking at who the group includes, there's bound to be at least one or two prominent clubs that will see their Champions League campaign end before the round of 16.