The final group stage of the Champions League as we know it has come to a close and has been delivered as Paris Saint-Germain managed to qualify from the Group of Death with a 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund with Milan exiting the Europa League and eliminating Newcastle. . With the Champions League format changing to a 36-team schedule next season, more teams could mean a more chaotic ending, but this latest edition featuring eight groups of four brought plenty of excitement right up until the final whistle.
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Barcelona may not have needed a win, but they suffered one of their worst defeats of the season in the Champions League, losing 3-2 to Royal Antwerp and there were moves everywhere. The latest edition of the power rankings for the group stage is here with Barcelona stumbling and Benfica among the biggest risers.
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Take a look a Last round standings here.
| 1 | Manchester city | — | City managed to turn young against Red Star and went on to win the game with goals from Oscar Pope and Micah Hamilton. With so much depth, City are still the team to beat. |
| 2 | real madrid | — | Having already qualified for the knockout stages, Real Madrid did everything in their power to make the match interesting, but Joselu secured first place in the group stage. |
| 3 | Arsenal | — | It was an unimportant match against PSV Eindhoven but Arsenal at least withstood the pressure to emerge with a draw. |
| 4 | Bayern Munich | — | After a poor performance in the draw with Copenhagen, Bayern recorded an easy win over Manchester United, which could bring Kingsley Coman back into the game. |
| 5 | Atletico Madrid | +3 | Samuel Leno scores again as Atletico Madrid make quick work of Lazio. It has been a tough start to Champions League play but Atletico are flexing their muscles in a big way. |
| 6 | Porto | +3 | Galeño scored his second brace against Shakhtar Donetsk and it is important because it puts Porto into the last 16 where they care when it matters. Pepe becoming the oldest goalscorer in the Champions League is also great. |
| 7 | RB Leipzig | +3 | After scoring goals from everywhere, the German team still had questions to answer, but they did what they had to do. |
| 8 | Inter | -3 | Another team that didn’t have much to play for, Inter didn’t press much against Real Sociedad but they are clearly one of the best teams in this tournament. |
| 9 | Real community | -2 | With nothing to play for, Sociedad went on to win the fourth set, signaling their intent that this is not a journey they want to end anytime soon. |
| 10 | Borussia Dortmund | +2 | Having already reached the round of 16, Dortmund couldn’t do enough to keep PSG out of the knockout stages. |
| 11 | Paris Saint-Germain | +2 | They needed help but PSG progressed despite poor finishing. They could have scored five goals but the defense will need to be sorted out as soon as possible. |
| 12 | Barcelona | -6 | Disappointments keep coming for Barcelona. Sure they won the group, but failing to win away to Belgium is the kind of loss that spells doom in the round of 16 for Xavi’s men. |
| 13 | Naples | +2 | It was difficult for Napoli to qualify for the knockout rounds, but after a tidy first half, they got the job done. |
| 14 | Copenhagen | +2 | A huge achievement for Copenhagen in reaching the round of 16 in a group that included Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as they will believe they can defeat any team in the round of 16. |
| 15 | Milan | +3 | Christian Pulisic scored but it was too late for Milan, with a win over Newcastle United only being enough to secure a place in the Europa League. |
| 16 | Eindhoven | +5 | Even reaching the knockout stages has not been easy for PSV, but they did not even need a result on the final day to do so. |
| 17 | Newcastle United | -3 | With everything in their hands, Newcastle collapsed and now they have everything to play for in the Premier League. |
| 18 | Lazio | -6 | Losing to Atletico isn’t too bad a result when Lazio are ultimately happy to be in the last 16. |
| 19 | Braga | -2 | Own goals sank a Braga team that was once again entertaining, but fun alone is not enough to reach the knockout stages. |
| 20 | lens | +5 | They got the joy of clinching a Europa League place over Sevilla but that’s about it. |
| 21 | Benfica | +7 | Scoring an Olympic goal wasn’t enough to get them into the last 16, but it was enough to see them qualify for the Europa League which is better than nothing. |
| 22 | Shakhtar Donetsk | -3 | Porto proved too much as one of the best stories in the Champions League will now continue to play in the Europa League |
| 23 | Galatasaray | -3 | A disappointing loss to Copenhagen would see Galatasaray relegated to the Europa League but their ambitions were higher as they were unable to capitalize on Manchester United’s struggles. |
| 24 | Feyenoord | -2 | Allowing Celtic to get their first Champions League win is bad even if Feyenoord continue in the Europa League. |
| 25 | Manchester United | -2 | Breakdown It’s not about Manchester United losing to Bayern as expected, it’s about losing to everyone else in the Champions League where United were poor at every turn. |
| 26 | Union Berlin | -2 | At some points, Union Berlin were in the Europa League but they did not take their chance of redemption against Real Madrid and were eliminated. |
| 27 | RB Salzburg | -1 | With a chance of qualifying for the Europa League if they could avoid losing by more than two goals, Salzburg were unable to do so in another disappointment. |
| 28 | Celtic | +2 | Celtic finally got a win even though it was so late. Great atmosphere as always. |
| 29 | Royal Antwerp | +3 | They never recovered from a clerical error that saw Sam Vines left out of the Champions League squad, but finishing with a win over Barcelona at home is something to be cherished. |
| 30 | Young Boys | -3 | They made the matches interesting but were not real contenders in this tournament. |
| 31 | Seville | -2 | The Europa League without Sevilla doesn’t feel like the Europa League at all. Can we make a rule to let them in somehow? |
| 32 | Red star | -1 | Watch Young Boys. |
The Champions League is always an exciting competition, pitting the best clubs in Europe against each other in a quest for continental glory. As the tournament heats up, it’s always interesting to see where each team stands in the power rankings. With powerhouse clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, and Bayern Munich competing, the competition is sure to be fierce. In this power rankings analysis, we’ll examine where these clubs stand in the pecking order and how they stack up against each other as they vie for a spot in the Champions League final.