Arsenal victory, Ukrainian drama: 11 teams qualify for Champions League playoffs

Arsenal’s early qualification and the group leaders

Arsenal became the first team to officially book their spot in the Round of 16 after a convincing 3:1 victory over Inter Milan.

Currently, only Bayern Munich still has a theoretical chance to overtake Mikel Arteta’s side for first place, but that would require Arsenal to slip up in their match against Kairat.

Besides Arsenal, the following teams have already secured participation in the spring stage of the tournament (at least in the playoff round):

• Real Madrid;

• Inter Milan;

• Liverpool;

• Atlético Madrid;

• Sporting;

• Tottenham;

• Bayern Munich;

• PSG;

• Manchester City;

• Atalanta.

Ukrainian players’ performances: Zabarnyi, Lunin, and Yaremchuk

Tuesday was mixed for Ukrainian internationals, as none of them started for their clubs.

• Andriy Lunin watched from the bench as Real Madrid, led by new coach Álvaro Arbeloa, crushed Monaco 6:1. Despite being a backup, Real had already secured its playoff spot.

• Roman Yaremchuk also did not appear in Olympiacos’ 2:0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen. This surprise win moved the Greek club up to 22nd place, opening the path to the playoff zone.

• Illya Zabarnyi was the only Ukrainian to play, coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute for PSG against Sporting. However, the Parisians lost 1:2. Despite the defeat, PSG had already qualified for the next round.

Biggest surprises of the round

Aside from PSG’s loss, a major shock came in Norway as Manchester City fell 1:3 to Bodø/Glimt, finishing the match a man down after Rodri’s red card.

Meanwhile, Kairat and Villarreal officially lost all chances of continuing in European competition this season.

Reminder: under current regulations, the top 8 teams advance directly to the Round of 16, while clubs finishing 9th–24th will compete in a two-legged playoff round.