The final matchday of the opening phase of the Champions League has arrived Wednesday with all 36 teams in action at the same time beginning at 3 p.m. ET.
Only two teams — Arsenal and Bayern Munich — have achieved automatic qualification for the Round of 16 and will be seeded when those matches take place in March. Meanwhile, 13 clubs have guaranteed themselves at least a spot in the knockout phase playoffs scheduled for February. Twenty-four clubs in total will advance with eight clubs joining Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, Villarreal and Kairat Almaty as exiting the competition after Wednesday.
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Real Madrid, Liverpool, Tottenham, PSG, Newcastle and Chelsea are among the clubs with the ability to earn a Round of 16 place following Matchday 8, but it’s a very tight table. From third place Real Madrid to 16th place Borussia Dortmund is only a separation of four points.
There is a lot on the line when it comes to trying to earn a seeded place in the next round — whether that’s the Round of 16 or the two-legged knockout playoff phase.
“I prefer to have more (points) but it is what we deserve,” said Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola ahead of their game against Galatasaray. “We need to focus and try to win our game then see what position we finish.
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“We’ll see the result in the last 10 minutes and then we will see (what we have to do). We have to focus on our game, that’s the key.”
“I would sign up for a defeat or a draw and be in the top 15 like last season,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said as they get set to face Newcastle. “If you tell me we’ll be in the top 15 and then win the Champions League outright.”
The February playoffs draw will be held Friday at 6 a.m. ET.
U.S. men’s national team players in action Wednesday include Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Johnny Cardoso (Atletíco Madrid), Sergiño Dest (PSV), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (Atalanta), Malik Tilman (Leverkusen) and Timothy Weah (Marseille). PSV’s Ricardo Pepi is out after he broke his arm while scoring a goal earlier this month.
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Champions League knockout round schedule
Playoffs: Feb. 17-18 and 24-25
Round of 16: March 10-11 and 17-18
Quarterfinals: April 7-8 and 14-15
Semi-finals: April 28-29 and May 5-6
Final: May 30 (Puskás Aréna, Hungary)
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for all the Matchday 8 action live:
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Sean Leahy
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Sean Leahy
If this result holds, Napoli will advance to the knockout round as an unseeded team with Chelsea being a seeded club in the next phase.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Tillman’s second of the night wa
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Sean Leahy
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Sean Leahy
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Sean Leahy
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Sean Leahy
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Yahoo Sports Staff
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Yahoo Sports Staff
Champions League Matchday 8 scores
2H: Ajax 0-0 Olympiacos
2H: Arsenal 3-1 Kairat Almaty
2H: Monaco 0-0 Juventus
2H: Athletic Club 2-1 Sporting
2H: Atlético Madrid 1-1 Bodø/Glimt
2H: Barcelona 0-1 Copenhagen
2H: Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Villarreal
2H: Benfica 2-1 Real Madrid
2H: Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Inter Milan
2H: Club Brugge 2-0 Marseille
2H: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Tottenham
2H: Liverpool 2-0 Qarabağ
2H: Manchester City 2-0 Galatasaray
2H: Napoli 2-1 Chelsea
2H: Pafos 1-1 Slavia Prague
2H: PSG 1-1 Newcastle
2H: PSV 0-0 Bayern Munich
2H: Union St.-Gilloise 0-0 Atalanta
