Phase One Proper, complete: After four months of the hustle, the bustle, and the tedium as well, the group stages of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League season has come to a close. Despite the Champions League group stage having been turned into a rigged cool kids table, it still sometimes manages to take away a notable name with it; and this year the headline exit is Barcelona, as the team who assembled what many deemed as the best side of all time ten years, but will now face a play-off for a place in the Europa League Last 16. Milan have also found themselves out looking in, as have recent big-hitters Atalanta, and thepeople’s beloved Borussia Dortmund.
32 has become 16, and we await who gets who as the knockout phase takes hold. But, of the teams left, who are the top guns?
16. Benfica
Benfica are in their first Champions League knockout phase since 2017, but a lot of that owed to the ineptitude of Barcelona, among other things. The Portuguese side scored a famous victory over the Catalans earlier in the round, but their qualification ultimately rested on Barca being heavily flawed, and despite securing the necessary win against Dynamo Kiev on Matchday Six, they still looked shaky.
15. Sporting CP
Benfica’s great domestic rivals are also in the Last 16 – for the first time in 12 years – but that’s also due to the mishaps of another side as much as anything else. Sporting did well to pounce on Borussia Dortmund’s failings in that group, and go into the next round as underdogs, and maybe the side everyone else wouldn’t mind facing.
14. RB Salzburg
Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg are in their first ever knockout campaign of the Champions League, after two near-misses on the bounce. Salzburg did well to come out of what turned out to be the group of life, but despite their exploits, it was a group of similar-strength teams. They will be boisterous ahead of the Last 16, but it wouldn’t surprise many if their journey ends there.
13. Lille
Lille were the other side to get out of Group G, along with Salzburg. Jocelyn Gourvennec’s men did well to bounce back from a poor start – two points from their first three games – to win their final trio of group matches, and are starting to find their feet in Ligue 1 as well. Les Dogues will be no one’s favourites, though, by any stretch.
12. Villarreal
Europa League champions, Villarreal will not defend that crown, as they saw off entertainers Atalanta to second spot in Group F. Unai Emery’s side have been the better side in most of their European games this season – case in point, the defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford – but have been in shaky form in Spain, and have a tendency to be caught out.
11. Atletico Madrid
How did they do it? Atletico Madrid came into Matchday Six bottom of Group B, and you can make the case that they should have lost all their group games. But in a madcap affair at the Dragao, Atleti saw off Porto to steal second spot. Diego Simeone’s side are far from formidable mind, and while they’re not incapable of going as far as possible, they don’t quite look as threatening as they used to.
10. Juventus
Speaking of not looking as threatening as they used to… Juventus’ bid for a first Champions League triumph since 1996 has seen them suffer successive exits at the Round of 16. Yet, this is probably the first season whereby a Last 16 elimination would surprise little, despite them winning their group. They haven’t quite hit form since the return of Max Allegri, and lack invention up front and security at the back. They’ll be hoping to be in better stead by February.
9. Paris St. Germain
Simply put; PSG don’t look ready. They qualified for the group stage with a game to spare, but haven’t looked convincing by any stretch. So far, the arrival of Lionel Messi has also raised more questions than answers, and there’s the worry that they could be picked apart by any well-structured team.
8. Inter
Inter are in their first knockout round in the Champions League for a decade, after three previous seasons of slipping up in the final group game. Simone Inzaghi’s side are picking up form both in the league and on the continent, and may well be dark horses in this competition.
7. Manchester United
Manchester United qualified for the Last 16 with less room than the numbers suggest. They looked in trouble in all of Matchdays Two, Three, and Four, before being bailed out by late shows. But the arrival of Ralf Rangnick may well change the outlook on – and of – this team. Get going before February, and they could be a problem for other top sides.
6. Real Madrid
The Champions League is ‘unlocking special powers’ for Real Madrid once more. The shock defeat at home to Sheriff on Matchday Two has been their only blot in the competition this season, and Los Blancos are enjoying life since the return of Carlo Ancelotti, as they top La Liga as well. Real are so far outperforming themselves, but this is a team that’s built a reputation for overshooting their way to the top, and in Vinicius especially, have arguably the most in-form player in Europe.
5. Chelsea
A few months ago, defending champions Chelsea probably looked like favourites to retain their title. But chinks are starting to show in their armour, especially with the defensive solidity that Thomas Tuchel implemented when he joined. But this is still a formidable side, and one that will be dangerous in the knockout stages.
4. Manchester City
The good news for everyone else is that City don’t quite look in top nick; they can be caught napping in games, and they still don’t quite have it all together in attack. But the bad news is City don’t look to have hit top gear, but have outclassed PSG, Chelsea, and – in a 45-minute spell – Liverpool at Anfield. A tendency to be caught off guard is still a worry, as are the accusations of Pep Guardiola overthinking in the latter stages of this competition, and they’ve lost two games in the Champions League already; the highest at the stage since Pep took charge. But this is still a side clicking in gear, that terrifies teams, and it was around this period last season that they started to really up the ante.
3. Ajax
Ajax are fun, and how. They won every group game, and have the competition’s top scorer in Sebastien Haller. Erik Ten Hag has engaged in something of a mini rebuild of this side, having lost players to richer sides, and hasn’t put a foot wrong so far. The knockout phase will be a different issue, of course, but this Ajax side seem primed to outdo their 2019 counterparts.
2. Bayern Munich
Perhaps the greatest indicator of Bayern Munich is the final group game. They could afford to rest players against Barcelona, but didn’t, and put three past the Spanish giants. Die Roten are not one to let up, have Europe’s number one striker in their ranks, and will only get better under Julian Nagelsmann.
1. Liverpool
The form team in Europe so far. Liverpool’s late win at Wolves last weekend was the only away game in which they haven’t scored at least twice this season. They’re the top scorers on the continent, have, in Mohammed Salah, probably the best player in the world right now, and can hurt you from everywhere. They’ve dished out masterclass performances on the continent so far, and if the bookies want to pay out on a Champions League winner right now, it would be Jurgen Klopp’s side.
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