Since the Champions League went from using a second group stage to a 16-team knockout tournament in 2003-04, no league had ever qualified five teams for the knockout rounds — until now. With Liverpool’s 7-0 destruction of Spartak Moscow on Wednesday, the English Premier League officially placed five clubs into the Champions League Round of 16 in what is a remarkable turnaround for the league. Kind of.
If there's one stat that sums up Liverpool's 2017-2018 season so far, it's this: Liverpool have more 7-0 wins than 1-0 wins.
One of those happened Wednesday at Anfield against Spartak Moscow in the Champions League to secure victory in Group E. Watch the highlights, and meet me after the jump, where I will have some nuanced analysis on how exactly Liverpool are able to carve teams up like this.
Ronaldo will just keep scoring. This goal makes Ronaldo the only player in Champions League history to score during every group stage match.
Ronaldo is the 1st player to score in all 6 #UCL group stage games.
And he did it in style. https://t.co/ZQ6Baf8Rop
AS Roma’s 1-0 victory over Qarabag in Champions League group play put the finishing touches on a remarkable progression for the Eternal City club. Coupled with Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in Tuesday’s other Group C match, Roma now finish atop the group and will face a runners-up opponent in the Round of 16.
Welcome to the second tier, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid. Sure you’ve been a part of three of the last five Champions League finals, but sweet Thursday night road trips are in your future after finishing third in your respective UCL groups to earn the Europa League parachute.
Atletico played in the Champions League final in 2014 and 2016, losing to crosstown rival Real Madrid both times. Los Colchoneros are ranked No. 2 in UEFA’s club coefficients, a rating score based on the previous five seasons of European play.
Bayern-PSG ended with the Parisians taking their second loss this week. Bayern's 3-1 victory was more of a victory in the moral sense, as they had basically no chance of winning the group thanks to goal differential. However, Bayern can hold their heads high knowing they can still compete with the best teams in Europe. As recently as a few months ago that was debatable.
It was all Lil B's doing, obviously.
The battle for the Champions League group stage is over. The battle for the Champions League knockout rounds is about to begin. But we have to wait a couple months.
The final group stage matches on Wednesday set the teams for the Champions League Round of 16, with eight group winners and eight group runners-up facing off. The draw to determine the matchups will be held on Dec. 11 in Nyon, Switzerland.
Manchester United wrapped up top spot in UEFA Champions League Group A on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford. Moscow took a shock first half lead before Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford scored in quick succession to restore their side’s advantage for good.