The Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt pulled off a miracle, José Mourinho’s Benfica progressed in a startling manner and the giant club Real Madrid was disappointed.
Benfica did a great trick in the final round of the Champions League. ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS
The initial series of the Champions League, or the league stage, culminated in a wild round of 18 matches.
There was plenty of interest all over Europe. My own tension was aimed at Napoli, led by Antonio Conte, among others, who were outside the playoff places when they entered the final round. The same applied to José Mourinho’s Benfica, who faced Real Madrid. Real still had to worry about their direct continuation place.
The most dramatic turn of the round was seen in the match between Benfica and Real Madrid. Benfica led the fight in extra time 3-2, but it was going to miss out on goal difference. Whatever happened.
Benfica brought Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin to the last special situation. Norwegian midfielder Fredrik Aursnes distributed a perfect cross and Trubin headed the ball into the net.
Benfica advanced with the help of a dramatic hit in the eighth minute of extra time. It beat Real 4–2.
The loss to Real, the guest team of the evening, and the final results of the final round meant that it dropped to ninth in the standings. This meant that the Spanish giant will start its continuation from the first playoff round.
The biggest surprise of the round was seen in Spain, when the Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt organized a giant sensation. The Norwegian team, which already beat Manchester City in the Champions League, beat Atletico Madrid (2–1) on Wednesday. Voitto knew that Bodø was ranked 23rd in the league stage, so it made it to the next round.
The eight best teams from the first round of the Champions League, i.e. the league stage, advanced directly to the quarterfinals. For positions 9.–24. the finished teams continue in the first playoff round.
The pairs for that round will be drawn on Friday.
Champions League
Standings after the league stage
1. Arsenal, 24 points, goal difference +19
2. Bayern Munich, 21, +14
3. Liverpool, 18, +12
4. Tottenham, 17, +10
5. Barcelona, 16, +8
6. Chelsea, 16, +7
7. Sporting, 16, +6
8. Manchester City, 16, +6
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9. Real Madrid, 15, +9
10. Inter, 15, +8
11. PSG, 14, +10
12. Newcastle, 14, +10
13. Juventus, 13, +4
14. Atlético, 13, +2
15. Atalanta, 13, 0
16. Leverkusen, 12, -1
17. Dortmund, 11, +2
18. Olympiakos, 11, -4
19. Club Brugge, 10, -2
20. Galatasaray, 10, -2
21. Monaco, 10, -6
22. Qarabag, 10, -8
23. Bodø/Glimt, 9, -1
24. Benfica, 9, -2
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25. Marseille, 9, -3
26. Paphos, 9, -3
27. Royal Union, 9, -9
28. PSV, 8, 0
29. Athletic Bilbao, 8, -5
30. Naples, 8, -6
31. FC Copenhagen, 8, -9
32. Ajax, 6, -13
33. Eintracht Frankfurt, 4, -11
34. Slavia Prague, 3, -14
35. Villarreal, 1, -13
36. Kairat Almaty, 1, -15
