RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt have a good chance of reaching the round of 16 in the Champions League. After all, the Europa League is still possible for Bayer Leverkusen. An overview of these and other decisions that will be made on the final day of the preliminary round.
In the days leading up to the decisive game, Kevin Trapp traveled back in time. Trapp, 32, is a goalkeeper at Eintracht Frankfurt. If he flies through the penalty area, there is little for the opponent to get. This time he didn’t fly, not through his penalty area and not with the plane. He also didn’t take the train or the car, it was a journey that only took place in his head.
Trapp remembered May 18, the day he won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt. So now, a good five months later, Trapp said with some conviction: “We can play finals.”
As Europa League winners, Eintracht is allowed to play in the Champions League this season, and they are doing so quite successfully. The sixth and last preliminary round game in the group stage will now be a particularly important game. It’s one of the endgames that Trapp was talking about.
Eintracht just has to win, then it’s through
With a win on Tuesday evening (November 1st, 2022) at Sporting Lisbon (7 points), Eintracht Frankfurt (7 points) would qualify for the round of 16 in their first Champions League participation. But it won’t be easy, Eintracht lost the first leg by three goals. Losing would not be a good idea this time, and a draw would also complicate matters.
Both scenarios, i.e. draw and defeat, have in common that they would mean the end of the Frankfurt Champions League trip. For Eintracht, it would then continue in the Europa League at most – or not at all, if so Olympique Marseille contemporaneous Tottenham Hotspur defeated. But finals, as they know in Frankfurt, are there to be won.
| team | Points | Gates |
|---|---|---|
| Tottenham Hotspur | 8th | 6:5 |
| Sporting Lisbon | 7 | 7:7 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 7 | 5:7 |
| Olympique Marseille | 6 | 7:6 |
A draw and Leipzig is a round of 16
They also have some endgame experience at RB Leipzig, at least that’s how Timo Werner sees it. He will not necessarily have been thinking about winning the DFB Cup final this summer, but about Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid. These were Leipzig’s first group opponents this Champions League season and RB lost both games.
From then on, every game was a final – and Leipzig won the first three. So why, says Werner, 26, should it “doesn’t work out even the fourth time.” When they meet Donetsk again, RB on Wednesday evening in Warsaw is enough to reach the round of 16. Of course, a win does too.
Only RB Leipzig must not lose, because then Donetsk would not only draw the same on points. You would then also win the direct comparison with Leipzig there, and RB would have to go down to the Europa League.
| team | Points | Gates |
|---|---|---|
| real Madrid | 10 | 10:5 |
| RB Leipzig | 9 | 9:9 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 8:6 |
| Celtic Glasgow | 2 | 3:10 |
Leverkusen – if relegation were a success
Bayer Leverkusen can’t continue in the Champions League, you already know that. Third place would still be possible – and thus the entry into the playoffs of the Europa League. It would be a descent that would still be a success. This is how Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso sees it. He says: “We want to winter in Europe.”
For this, Leverkusen (four points) would have to score more points in the home game against leaders FC Bruges on Tuesday evening than Atlético Madrid (5 points) in the parallel game at FC Porto. Then Xabi Alonso’s wish would come true because Leverkusen won once and drew once against Atlético. So the direct comparison goes to Bayer.
| team | Points | Gates |
|---|---|---|
| Club Brugge | 10 | 7:4 |
| FC Porto | 9 | 10:6 |
| Atlético Madrid | 5 | 4:7 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 4 | 4:8 |
Bayern and BVB are already in the next round
Two German Champions League participants are still missing, FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, the reason is simple: both teams have already qualified for the round of 16. Bayern dominated Group C and won all five games, BVB (8 points) secured second place before the final day of Group G because they won the direct comparison against FC Sevilla (5 points).
Milan or Salzburg – who will advance?
Before the last matchday of the preliminary round, it is still exciting to look at the table in Group E. The Chelsea FC (10 points) is already further, AC Milan and RB Salzburg are competing for second place in the round of 16. Both teams meet in Milan on Wednesday evening.
Milan (7 points) against Salzburg (6 points) would be enough to progress with a win or a draw, with a defeat RB would overtake.