Champions League group summary: Barcelona or Dortmund collapse big time, other favourites advance

The group phase is over. The final 6th round has been completed with 16 qualifiers who have qualified for the Champions League semi-finals. There were some shocking results but also some unexpected failures. Which football giants will we no longer see in the spring? Were England, Germany or Spain the most successful?

Which nation was the most successful in the groups?

The Premier League teams have been the most successful this season. Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United dominated their groups, with Chelsea also advancing. 100% success rate. The English teams confirmed their dominance.

Liverpool even became the first English team to score full points in their group. No British club has ever done that before. The Reds are on a roll, and they showed it clearly with their dominant performance in the Champions League.

Spanish sides have previously reigned supreme in this competition. But that era is gone. Three representatives from this country are in the top 16. Real Madrid dominated Group D and advanced without the slightest problem. Atlético Madrid and Villarreal are next. However, both teams had their work cut out for them (they only secured it in the last game of the group).

Sevilla, on the other hand, will not be in the eighth round. The Spanish team failed to fulfil the role of a favourite and with 6 points finished in 3rd place. Sevilla’s failure to advance is disappointing, they had a playable group (Wolfsburg, Lille, Salzburg). However, they are not finished in the European cups yet. From the 3rd place they qualify for the Europa League play-offs, where they can shine again (Sevilla have won this competition 6 times already).

Surprise of the competition:: Sheriff Tiraspol

Thanks to triumphs against teams from Belgrade and Zagreb, the Moldovan side has secured its place in the Champions League group stage. They have never got this far in the club’s history. This achievement was already quite unexpected. The biggest shock came in the group stage itself. First, they took on Shakhtar Donetsk and won 2-0.

He saved his best for the game against Real Madrid. The tenacious underdog did not shy away from the clear favourite and won a sensational 2-1 victory at the famous Santiago Bernabeu. Tiraspol recorded the biggest scalp in the club’s history and started their group in a sensational manner (2 games, 6 points). In the end, they earned 7 points and earned promotion to the spring part of the Europa League. A tremendous achievement.

Barcelona’s collapse

Barcelona’s performance this season? Agony. Gaining just 7 points with a terrifying 2::9 scoreline and only finishing 3rd in the group. The biggest disappointment of the group stage. Barcelona may not be having an ideal season, but progression at the expense of Portugal’s Benfica was definitely possible.

However, the Catalan team only managed to beat the last Dynamo Kiev and was the worse team in the duels against Benfica and Bayern. Barcelona thus finishes already after the groups, which is a real unusual thing (the last time they finished so early was in the 2000/2001 season).

It will play the Europa League for the first time in 18 years. The last participation dates back to the 2003/2004 season, the following year Lionel Messi was already part of the team.

Even Dortmund failed to play the role of favourite

The German Dortmund (Ajax, Sporting, Besiktas) also had a relatively playable group. However, in their case there was also an unexpected failure. In the duels against the defenseless Besiktas, although it got the obligatory 6 points, against the sovereign Ajax and the dangerous Sporting it was not so successful (3 points from 4 mutual matches).

9 points were not enough for promotion, the Portuguese team advanced thanks to a better mutual balance. Dortmund’s non-advancement is definitely a surprise. They can fix their taste by participating in the spring phase of the Europa League. They will be one of the biggest favourites in this competition and can easily win it all.

Source: Livesport, Twitter