Exciting in every sense of the word was the group stage in the Champions League this season, as teams waited until the last minute to find out their position in the group and secure their place in the European League.

Juventus, for example, waited until the 92nd minute of facing Benfica and Maccabi Haifa to qualify for the European League, thanks to the abolition of the goal outside the rules and the insistence of the Portuguese team to top Group H.

Benfica outperformed Paris Saint-Germain, who finished second in the group, by one goal, despite beating Juventus 2-1.

In addition to Saint-Germain and Benfica, the club that qualified for the final price of the continental competition included teams that topped their groups and others came again, and this means that the fans of the round witch are on a date with fiery football confrontations.

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Group Leaders

  • Naples.

  • Porto.

  • Bayern Munich.

  • Tottenham.

  • Chelsea.

  • Real Madrid.

  • Manchester City.

The runners-up in the groups

  • Liverpool.

  • Club Brugge.

  • intermilan.

  • Eintracht Frankfurt.

  • Milan.

  • Leipzig.

  • Dortmund.

It is noteworthy that the "Royal" is the only team representing the Spanish League in the knockout stages, while 4 English teams and the same from Germany, 3 from Italy, two teams from Portugal, a French team, and the Black Horse qualified in the Belgian Club Brugge tournament.

The shocking paradox was the relegation of teams that had previously won the championship - such as Barcelona, ​​Ajax and Juventus - to the European League, and they were joined to the second continental championship in terms of importance:

  • Seville.

  • Bayer Leverkusen.

  • Sporting.

  • Salzburg.

  • Shakhtar Donetsk.

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As for the teams that exited this season from the European race with nostalgia, and among them were shocking names, they are:

  • Atletico Madrid.

  • Marseille.

  • Celtic.

  • Rangers.

  • Copenhagen.

  • Victorita Plzen.

  • Maccabi Haifa.

It is clear that the draw that will take place at the European Football Association Center (UEFA) in the Swiss city of Nyon next Monday, on the 7th of this month at 11 am GMT (2:00 Mecca time), will result in fiery confrontations between the leaders of the groups and the owners of the center. Second.

The draw for the final price is governed by usual determinants, which are that two teams belonging to the same country do not face each other in the final price, or two teams who were in the same group.

The first leg of the Round of 16 is expected to be on February 14, 15, 21 and 22, while the return matches will be played on March 7, 8, 14 and 15.

The final match will be held at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 10, 2023.