jugadores psg v manchester city

SUMMARY OF MATCHDAY 7

CHAMPIONS: Arsenal and Inter take a step towards the Round of 16; PSG leaves City out of the TOP-24

Published:22/01/2025 - 23:50h

Updated:23/01/2025 - 00:12h

Wednesday's matchday in the Champions League brought several thrashings and great surprises. Arsenal and Inter Milan took a firm step to join Liverpool and FC Barcelona in the TOP-8

Calendar of FC Barcelona

The UEFA Champions League concluded matchday 7 with a clearer picture of the eight clubs that will qualify directly for the Round of 16 and the 16 others that will have to play the 'play-off' in February. On Wednesday, there were no draws and only Inter Milan (1-0 against Sparta Prague) managed to win away. The 'nerazzurri' are on the brink of qualification with 16 points, 22 less than FC Barcelona (18).

Simone Inzaghi's team is currently fourth behind Arsenal (16). However, the 'gunners' are third due to a better goal difference (+12, compared to Inter's +7) after the thrashing at home against Dinamo Zagreb (3-0). Another team that took advantage to climb into the direct qualification zone was Milan, after narrowly defeating Girona (1-0). The 'rossoneri' are sixth with 15 points, matching the line of Atlético de Madrid, who on Tuesday staged a comeback against Bayer Leverkusen (2-1).

Despite the defeat at the Metropolitano, the Germans remain within the TOP-8 (eighth with 13 points), very close to the next rival of Barça, Atalanta. The Bergamasque team remains in seventh place in the table with 14 points, thanks to the thrashing at home against Sturm Graz (5-0). Along with Leverkusen, there are five other teams with 13 points, but the goal difference (+6) keeps Xabi Alonso's team in the direct qualification zone.

Liverpool and Barça, the only teams qualified for the Round of 16 before matchday 8

This is the case for Aston Villa, Monaco, Feyenoord, Lille, and Brest. The English team (+5) dropped to ninth place after a painful defeat on the Principality's field (1-0), which allowed the French (+3) to rise to tenth place. Further back is Feyenoord, another club that surprised on Wednesday by thrashing Bayern Munich in Rotterdam (3-0). The Dutch (+2) are tied on points and goal difference with Lille, but they have scored more goals (17) than the French (11), who fell to the leader, Liverpool, on Tuesday. The 'reds' are the only team with a perfect score (21) and, along with Barça, have already secured their place in the Round of 16.

After Lille comes Brest (+2), which took a huge step back on Wednesday by losing away against Shakhtar (2-0). For the Ukrainians (27th with 7 points), it was only their second victory in the tournament, a result that keeps them with options to enter the TOP-24 in the last matchday. Further down in the 'play-off' zone, with 12 points, are Borussia Dortmund (+8), Bayern (+6), Real Madrid (+5), Juventus (+4), and Celtic (+1).

Dortmund fell on Tuesday in Bologna (2-1), a result that cost coach Nuri Sahin his job. Madrid, on the other hand, fulfilled the formality against Salzburg (5-1), although they missed a good opportunity to improve their goal difference. Juventus also did not take advantage of the matchday and only added one point against Bruges (0-0). In contrast, Celtic got into the fight thanks to their victory against the bottom team, Young Boys (1-0).

PSG left Manchester City on the brink of KO

Behind the Scots are PSV Eindhoven (+3) and Bruges (-2), with 11 points. The qualification zone is closed by Benfica (+2), Paris Saint-Germain (+2), Sporting CP (+1), and Stuttgart (-1). Of these four, only the Germans (1-3 on Tuesday against Slovan Bratislava) and PSG (4-2 against Manchester City) won on the matchday. Luis Enrique's team staged an incredible comeback at home, scoring four goals after starting down 0-2 with two blows at the start of the second half.

Benfica and Sporting, on the other hand, fell to Barcelona (4-5) and RB Leipzig (2-1), respectively. For the Germans, it was only their first victory of the tournament. What complicated things significantly was Pep Guardiola's team, which after the defeat in Paris fell out of the TOP-24 with only 8 points, 2 away from the 'play-off' zone. Fortunately, the 'cityzens' close the league phase at home against Bruges. All matches of matchday 8 will be played simultaneously next Wednesday (21:00 CEST). Already eliminated are: Bologna, Sparta Prague, Leipzig, Girona, Red Star, Sturm, Salzburg, Slovan, and Young Boys.

All results from matchday 7 of the Champions League

Tuesday:

  • Monaco 2-1 Aston Villa
  • Atalanta 5-0 Sturm Graz
  • Atlético de Madrid 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
  • Benfica 4-5 FC Barcelona
  • Red Star 2-3 PSV Eindhoven
  • Liverpool 2-1 Lille
  • Bruges 0-0 Juventus
  • Slovan Bratislava 1-3 Stuttgart
  • Bologna 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Wednesday:

  • Shakhtar 2-0 Brest
  • RB Leipzig 2-1 Sporting CP
  • Sparta Prague 0-1 Inter Milan
  • Feyenoord 3-0 Bayern Munich
  • Arsenal 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb
  • AC Milan 1-0 Girona
  • PSG 4-2 Manchester City
  • Real Madrid 5-1 Salzburg
  • Celtic 1-0 Young Boys

Champions League standings after matchday 7 

  1.  Liverpool, 21 points (+13 GD) - qualified for the Round of 16
  2. FC Barcelona, 18 points (+15 GD) - qualified for the Round of 16
  3. Arsenal, 16 points (+12 GD)
  4. Inter Milan, 16 points (+7 GD)
  5. Atlético de Madrid, 15 points (+5 GD)
  6. AC Milan, 15 points (+4 GD)
  7. Atalanta, 14 points (+14 GD)
  8. Bayer Leverkusen, 13 points (+6 GD)
  9. Aston Villa, 13 points (+5 GD) - 'play-off' zone
  10. AS Monaco, 13 points (+3 GD) 
  11. Feyenoord, 13 points (+2 GD)
  12. LOSC Lille, 13 points (+2 GD)
  13. Stade Brest, 13 points (+2 GD)
  14. Borussia Dortmund, 12 points (+8 GD)
  15. Bayern Munich, 12 points (+6 GD)
  16. Real Madrid, 12 points (+5 GD)
  17. Juventus, 12 points (+4 GD)
  18. Celtic Glasgow, 12 points (+1 GD)
  19. PSV Eindhoven, 11 points (+3 GD)
  20. Bruges, 11 points (-2 GD)
  21. Benfica, 10 points (+2 GD)
  22. Paris Saint-Germain, 10 points (+2 GD)
  23. Sporting CP, 10 points (+1 GD)
  24. Stuttgart, 10 points (-1)
  25. Manchester City, 8 points (´+2 GD) - elimination zone
  26. Dinamo Zagreb, 8 points (-8 GD)
  27. Shakhtar Donetsk, 7 points (-6 GD)
  28. Bologna, 5 points (-5 GD) - eliminated from the competition
  29. Sparta Prague, 4 points (-12 GD) - eliminated from the competition
  30. RB Leipzig, 3 points (-6 GD) - eliminated from the competition
  31. Girona, 3 points (-7 GD) - eliminated from the competition
  32. Red Star, 3 points (-10 GD) - eliminated from the competition
  33. Sturm Graz, 3 points (-10 GD) - eliminated from the competition
  34. RB Salzburg, 3 points (-19 GD) - eliminated from the competition
  35. Slovan Bratislava, 0 points (-18 GD) - eliminated from the competition
  36. Young Boys, 0 points (-24 GD) - eliminated from the competition