Sport

UCL: Liverpool flying, RMD and PSG floundering with three league games remaining

Admin 3 hours ago

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The first Swiss-style Champions League format has already proven highly unpredictable.

But there are still three rounds of league matches to be played and no team's fate is yet set in stone.

To achieve automatic qualification for the round of 16, teams must be in the top eight of the competition stage.

Those ranked ninth through 24th will enter a round of two-legged play-offs in February, with the winners taking the remaining eight spots.

Teams finishing anywhere between 25th and 36th will be eliminated from this season's competition, without entry into the Europa League.

Complete stages table of the Champions League competition

With that in mind, let's take a look at how the big hitters are doing in the league…

Liverpool

Current position: 1. Remaining matches: Girona (a), Lille (h), PSV (a)

Not only are Liverpool floating in the Premier League and in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, they are outright leaders in the Champions League with a perfect record of five wins from five and just one goal conceded. It seems highly unlikely that they miss out on a top eight spot from here.

Arsenal

Current position: 7th Remaining matches: Monaco (h), Dinamo Zagreb (h), Girona (a)

Arsenal's defensive record has also been impeccable, but an opening draw against Atalanta and the 1-0 away defeat at Inter Milan in early November means they are only seventh on goal difference and far from assured of a top eight place . However, their last two opponents are currently ranked 23rd and 30th in the league stage.

Aston Villa

Current position: 9 Remaining matches: RB Leipzig (a), Monaco (a), Celtic (h)

Aston Villa's first Champions League campaign in over forty years has gone extremely well so far, with them sitting at the top of the table after three games, having won all three without conceding. Like Arsenal, they are in the top ten but form has dipped at the wrong time and Unai Emery's side have won just one of their last eight in all competitions.

Men's city

Current position: 17th Remaining matches: Juventus (a), Paris Saint-Germain (a), Club Brugge (h)

Is Manchester City in crisis? It's the question on everyone's lips at the moment as Pep Guardiola's side have now gone six games without a win in all competitions. The latest happened on Tuesday evening in the Champions League, when they lost a 3-0 lead and drew 3-3 at home against Feyenoord. The 2022/23 winners are currently two points clear of the top eight, but have time to bounce back.

Celtic

Current position: 20th Remaining matches: Dinamo Zagreb (a), Young Boys (h), Aston Villa (a)

Apart from the 7-1 win at Borussia Dortmund in October, Celtic have more than held their own in the Champions League, with a draw against reigning Europa League champions Atalanta and a convincing win at home to RB Leipzig, perhaps the most impressive from the past seasons. a lot of. The hope of a place in the top 24 increases every week.

Barcelona

Current position: 3rd Remaining matches: Borussia Dortmund (a), Benfica (a), Atalanta (h)

Barcelona are flying in both LaLiga and the Champions League, but what is most striking is how many goals they score. In just 19 games in these competitions they have scored 60 goals (42 in LaLiga, 18 in the Champions League), which naturally puts them at the top of the table in both competitions. Hansi Flick's side simply blow teams away and with 36-year-old Robert Lewandowski in such lethal form (he already has 22 goals to his name this season) it's hard to see them slowing down.

Real Madrid

Current position: 24th Remaining matches: Atalanta (a), Red Bull Salzburg (a), Brest (a)

The same cannot be said for Barcelona's old foe Real Madrid. It was one of the biggest shocks of this season's tournament to see last season's winners lose not once but three times, most recently to Liverpool, who are arguably the most in-form side in Europe at the moment. And with Atalanta and Brest both eyeing a top eight finish, things could get even worse in the new year.

Borussia Dortmund

Current position: 4th Remaining matches: Barcelona (h), Bologna (a), Shakhtar Donetsk (h)

Borussia Dortmund's form in the Bundesliga has been consistently inconsistent this season – they have alternated between a win and a defeat in each of their last nine games at the time of writing – but the same cannot be said in the Champions League. Granted, apart from Real Madrid, Nuri Sahin's side could have faced tougher opposition, but they asserted their dominance and got the job done every time, putting them in a great position to finish in the top eight .

Bayern Munich

Current position: 13th Remaining matches: Shakhtar Donetsk (a), Feyenoord (a), Slovan Bratislava (h)

When Bayern Munich set a new record for the highest scoring match in the Champions League with a 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the opening round, it looked like they would pull through. However, defeats at Aston Villa and Barcelona brought them straight back down to earth. The chances of a place in the top 24 have since increased with professional 1-0 victories over Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain for the Bundesliga leaders.

Paris Saint Germain

Current position: 25th Remaining matches: Red Bull Salzburg (a), Man City (h), Stuttgart (a)

While PSG have lost just twice in their last 46 Ligue 1 matches, last season's Champions League semi-finalists have struggled this season and are perhaps the competition's biggest underachievers. Only three teams have scored fewer than their tally of three and they have lost three of their last four after beating Girona 1-0 in the opening round. They need to make the most of the games against fellow strugglers Red Bull Salzburg and Stuttgart – and also hope for a bit of luck – to have any chance of an early elimination.