With just one matchday left in the group stage of this season’s Champions League campaign, let’s take a look at the results and standings following the penultimate round of games.
Yet again, we’ve witnessed another thrilling round of games – and at this point, we’ve begun to expect nothing less from Europe’s most elite clubs.
More than half of the groups’ winners have already been decided, but there’s still everything to play for, for the majority of the teams at this stage of the competition.
Manchester City, Liverpool, Ajax, and Bayern Munich have already secured the top spot in their respective groups and booked their places in the knockout stages, which will likely benefit several of other clubs in Match 6 two weeks from now.
Some clubs will have an easier encounter against these four teams than if they hadn’t yet qualified since weakened squads will likely be fielded in favour of those teams’ domestic league matches.
Group A
Club Brugge 0 – 5 RB Leipzig
Man City 2 – 1 PSG
Manchester City secured first place last night with their 2-1 win over challenging opposition PSG who have also already qualified in second place on just 8 points.
RB Leipzig were to thank for this owing to their 0-5 away thrashing of Belgian team Club Brugge.
| # | MP | G | PTS | |
| 1. | Man City | 5 | 17:8 | 12 |
| 2. | PSG | 5 | 9:7 | 8 |
| 3. | RB Leipzig | 5 | 13:13 | 4 |
| 4. | Club Brugge | 5 | 5:16 | 4 |
Group B
Atletico Madrid 0 – 1 AC Milan
Liverpool 2 – 0 FC Porto
AC Milan revive their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages with a 0-1 away win at Atletico Madrid. It’s Liverpool next up, though, so the necessary win may be difficult.
Liverpool, who were already comfortably cemented in first place, managed a comfortable 2-0 win over FC Porto, who stay in second place as a result but will need to win their final match due to their dismal goal difference.
| # | MP | G | PTS | |
| 1. | Liverpool | 5 | 15:5 | 15 |
| 2. | FC Porto | 5 | 3:8 | 5 |
| 3. | AC Milan | 5 | 5:7 | 4 |
| 4. | Atletico Madrid | 5 | 4:7 | 4> |
Group C
Sporting 3 – 1 – Dortmund
Besiktas 1 – 2 Ajax
Sporting Lisbon do themselves a massive favour beating Dortmund, solidifying their second-place position with a 3-point cushion on top of their superior goal difference.
Ajax, who already had the group in the bag, gave Besiktas hops of their first group stage points when the Turkish side scored a 22nd-minute penalty. They soon turned things around though, effectively eliminating Besiktas from the competition.
| # | MP | G | PTS | |
| 1. | Ajax | 5 | 16:3 | 15 |
| 2. | Sporting | 5 | 12:8 | 9 |
| 3. | Dortmund | 5 | 5:11 | 6 |
| 4. | Besiktas | 5 | 3:14 | 0 |
Group D
Tiraspol 0 – 3 Real Madrid
Inter Milan 2 – 0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Real Madrid cruise past Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol to remain top of the league, two points ahead of Inter Milan in second place.
Inter’s win over Shakhtar eliminates the Ukrainian side from this season’s Champions League competition, allowing Tiraspol a chance to qualify in third place.
Real Madrid host Inter Milan in two weeks in a match that will decide the Group D winner.
| # | MP | G | PTS | |
| 1. | Real Madrid | 5 | 12:3 | 12 |
| 2. | Inter Milan | 5 | 8:3 | 10 |
| 3. | S. Tiraspol | 5 | 6:10 | 6 |
| 4. | Shakhtar Donetsk | 5 | 1:11 | 1 |
Group E
Dynamo Kyiv 1 – 2 Bayern Munich
Barcelona 0 – 0 Benfica
Although Dynamo Kyiv did fight for their lives to remain in this Champions League campaign, Bayern Munich’s two first-half goals were enough to hold on to their top position in Group E and rid the Ukrainian champions from the competition.
Barcelona couldn’t find a way past Benfica and unless they can come away from Bayern Munich with a win, could find themselves dropping down into the Europa League competition instead of progressing through to the Champions League knock-out stages.
If Benfica can beat bottom side Dynamo Kyiv, they’re in for a great chance for Champions League progression, even if Barcelona manage to get a point against Bayern. Group E is the group to watch on the 7th of December.
| # | MP | G | PTS | |
| 1. | Bayern | 5 | 19:3 | 15 |
| 2. | Barcelona | 5 | 2:6 | 7 |
| 3. | Benfica | 5 | 5:9 | 5 |
| 4. | Dyn. Kyiv | 5 | 1:9 | 1 |
Group F
Villarreal 0 – 2 Manchester United
Young Boys 3 – 3 Atalanta
Manchester United may have now secured their progression through to the knockout stages, but they’ve yet to cement that top spot.
Villarreal, who got the better of Man United in the Europa League final earlier this year, couldn’t stop them from progressing on this occasion as they succumbed to a 0-2 home defeat against the English side.
After this 3-3 goal-fest between Young Boys and Atalanta, the second-place qualification position is still wide-open for any of these teams to join Manchester United in the knockout stages.
| # | MP | G | PTS | |
| 1. | Man United | 5 | 10-7 | 10 |
| 2. | Villarreal | 5 | 9:7 | 7 |
| 3. | Atalanta | 5 | 10-10 | 6 |
| 4. | Young Boys | 5 | 6:11 | 4 |
Group G
Lille 1 – 0 RB Salzburg
Sevilla 2 – 0 Wolfsburg
Lille go top of the group with their win over Red Bull Salzburg, but in this most open group, nothing is yet guaranteed for them.
Anybody in this group can still qualify for Champions League progression, and in fact, anybody in this group can still mathematically win the group on Matchday 6, even bottom side Wolfsburg.
| # | MP | G | PTS | |
| 1. | Lille | 5 | 4:3 | 8 |
| 2. | Salzburg | 5 | 7:6 | 7 |
| 3. | Sevilla | 5 | 5:4 | 6 |
| 4. | Wolfsburg | 5 | 4:7 | 5 |
Group H
Chelsea 4 – 0 Juventus
Malmo FF 1 – 1 Zenit St. Petersburg
Chelsea are looking pretty scary to anybody they face at the moment. It’s not often Juventus find themselves helpless in a football match.
After this 4-0 victory, Chelsea are joint top of Group H on 12 points, but having conceded just 1 goal in their 5 games, have an unrivalled goal difference.
Regardless of them picking up their first point in this 1-1 draw with Zenit, Malmo are all but eliminated from the competition due to their 1:13 goal difference, meaning Zenit will now continue in the last 16 of the Europa League.
We’d certainly use our freetips stake bonus offer on a bet for Chelsea to win this group.
| # | MP | G | PTS | |
| 1. | Chelsea | 5 | 10:1 | 12 |
| 2. | Juventus | 5 | 9:6 | 12 |
| 3. | Zenit | 5 | 7:7 | 4 |
| 4. | Malmo | 5 | 1:13 | 1 |
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