“Zenith” depending on the honesty of the Germans
The fifth round completely confused the situation in group G, in which Zenit plays. Although the wards of Sergei Semak defeated “Lyon” with a score of 2: 0 and rose to second place, they still have no confidence in their future. Petersburgers can continue to play in the Champions League, drop into the Europa League or even leave the European Cups until next season.
This confusion occurred because of a goal by Emil Forsberg in the 96th minute, which brought Leipzig a draw in the match against Benfica and helped break into the playoffs. The Germans at the same time broke away from the “Zenith” and “Lyon” by three points. In the last round, both teams can play this backlog if they win, but the Russians will not be happy with this result, since they will again fall to third place.
The fact is that if Lyon beat Leipzig at home, and Zenit cope with Benfica on the road, then three teams will have 10 points each. They will have to share places according to additional criteria, the main of which is the points scored in personal meetings. The French will have seven, the Germans six, and the Russians only four. With three wins and one draw, Zenit could end up in the Europa League if Leipzig plays a giveaway with Lyon.
Only a draw or victory for the Germans leave wards of Semak a chance of success. If “Leipzig” and “Lyon” share the points, then “Zenith” does not even have to beat “Benfica” - a draw will also be enough to beat Lyon in personal meetings. Even losing to the Portuguese will not be fatal if the German club wins. Then again the three teams will gain the same amount of points, and then Zenit will be in the most advantageous position, and Benfica will go to the Europa League.
Nevertheless, it is not worth losing to Zenit. A draw between Lyon and Leipzig will give Benfica a chance for third place if she wins at home with the right score - 2-0 or with a difference of three goals. In this case, the Russian club will drop to last place with seven points. But in 2013, six were enough for him to enter the Champions League playoffs.
The Dangerous Way of Liverpool
The same scoring between the three teams may be necessary in group E. Liverpool, Napoli and Salzburg can score ten points each if the Italians play a draw with the Genkom long ago leaving the European cups and the Austrians in their field beat the current winners of the Champions League.
“Napoli” for his fate can be calm. Although he is one point behind Liverpool, a draw will be enough to even get into the playoffs of a more prestigious tournament thanks to in-person meetings. But “Salzburg” and “Liverpool” will still have the same number of points. Then you have to calculate the difference between goals scored and conceded goals, and in any case it will be in favor of the Austrians.
To defend the title, Liverpool must either score at least a point in Vienna or hope for the victory of the unmotivated Genk over Napoli. “Salzburg” can only win, otherwise he will go to the Europa League.
Hopes of Chelsea to Valencia
So far, not a single ticket has been played in group H. Only Lille can be sure of its departure from the European cups, while Ajax, Valencia and Chelsea will still need to complete the dispute they started.
In the most successful position are Amsterdam. They have ten points, and the other two teams have eight. In the playoffs of the Champions League, they will be able to break through if they play at home in a draw with Valencia. Then Chelsea, who closes the group stage with a match with Lille, will in the worst case be able to move the Dutch to second place.
To get into the Champions League, Valencia must score at least as many points as Chelsea in the last match. In personal meetings, the Spaniards are ahead of Frank Lampard wards. Chelsea must either play better than their correspondence rivals, or win at the same time as Valencia, and then Ajax will go to the Europa League, despite his current ten points earned.
Manchester City, Juventus and Barcelona as Observers
In three more groups, it is already known exactly who will take the first place and not only make it to the Champions League playoffs, but will also have seeding at the draw. In Quartet C, it's Manchester City. In the last round, the English play with Zagreb and can help him overtake Shakhtar Donetsk in a dispute for second place. However, such assistance to the Croats may still not be needed if the Ukrainians beat Atalanta in Kharkov. The Italians also did not lose all the chances - a victory over Shakhtar and the lost points of Zagreb will help them get into the playoffs in their debut season in the Champions League.
Bavaria ✅
Barcelona ✅
Leipzig ✅
Man City ✅
PSG ✅
Real ✅
Tottenham Hotspur ✅
Juventus ✅
Who will make them the company in the playoffs? 🤔
Handouts before the 6th round ➡️ https://t.co/cHoudWrzlg#Champions League pic.twitter.com/qIlBJH1wek
In group D behind Juventus, Atletico and Bayer are fighting for a second ticket to the Champions League 1/8 finals. The Spaniards are one point ahead and have the advantage in face-to-face meetings, so the Germans only need to defeat the Turin in the last round to avoid the Europa League. Atletico can be content with a draw with Lokomotiv, but for the sake of confidence, it must also win, because it is still unknown what composition the unmotivated Juventus will come to Leverkusen.
In group F, Barcelona is just four points ahead of Inter and Borussia, but this is enough for it to advance to the playoffs. The Milanese and Dortmund have yet to determine who will follow the Catalans. In the sixth round, they will not meet each other, so different options are possible. So far, Inter has a small advantage in personal meetings. It is enough for him to play with Barcelona no worse than Borussia and Slavia in order to continue the fight in the Champions League.
No intrigue in two groups
In two groups, all the tickets to the Champions League have already been played, and all that remains is to find out who will take third place and continue to fight in a lesser status European Cup.
According to the results of five rounds, everything happened in Quartet A as the fans had expected - Real and PSG went ahead to the playoffs ahead of schedule. However, a small surprise was the fact that Madrid took second place and they would have to be a foul team in the draw for the playoffs. The French club will be able to get a slightly simpler opponent in the 1/8 finals. Brugge takes the third place, and Galatasaray loses one point to him. The Turkish club needs to win the last round of PSG away and hope that Real Madrid will not yield to the Belgians. Only in this way will Brugge be left without European cups.
The same situation has developed in group B. Bayern and Tottenham can safely play with each other in the last round. They won’t even be able to change places at any outcome - the Germans will remain first, and last year’s finalists second. But Olympiacos and Crvena Zvezda will fight for the Europa League in Piraeus. The Greeks only need victory to rise to third place.