Two days before the end of the opening phase of the Champions League, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are threatened.
The teams will have to finish among the best 8 to obtain the automatic classification for the qualifying stages. The groups of the ninth to 24 positions will play in a round -trip playoffs in February, and the winners will occupy the remaining 8 places in the elimination phase. scenery.
Teams that complete between 25th and 36th place will be eliminated from the festival, without the Europa League.
As it stands, three heavyweights of European football are in danger.
Paris Saint-Germain are facing full elimination, and sit 26th despite a much-needed win at Red Bull Salzburg in their last Champions League game.
Manchester City have also been struggling. Pep Guardiola’s side are 24th, far away from a coveted top-eight spot, and face PSG in a huge clash for both sides on Wednesday, January 22.
Real Madrid is best in position 22 and won a first three victory by beating the Atalanta the last time.
A big gun, it seems increasingly likely, will fall.
Champions League league phase table in full
Two big names continue to wade through the bottom of the table: Man City and PSG.
The City, champion of the 2022/23 season, suffered an alarming fall in Europe at the end of 2024, without winning any of his last three games in the Champions League after having accumulated seven draws in his first three games.
However, its domestic form has advanced in recent weeks while they go to two European games with their clash with the PSG on January 22, probably a mandatory game.
Luis Enrique’s PSG side are finding life hard in Europe themselves, and their win in Salzburg was only their second from their six matches so far, having already lost to Bayern, Atletico Madrid and Arsenal.
They are in a state of rebuilding after losing Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid in the summer, and named their youngest-ever starting XI in Ligue 1 earlier this season as they enact president Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s wishes to turn to youth over big-money signings.
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season will take place in Munich at the Allianz Arena on May 31, 2025.