The group stage of the UEFA Champions League concluded on Wednesday with the most successful team in the tournament’s history, Real Madrid, proving they can’t miss out on a knock-out stage after a 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach. The final matchday in the eight groups produced some surprising exits to some of Europe’s finest football names, as some teams made it to the knockout stage for the first time in history.
Manchester United’s campaign in the tournament came to an end in eastern Germany, where they suffered a 3-2 defeat to RB Leipzig in a Group H fixture. This loss meant that United was the only English side to leave the competition that early after Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City secured qualifications at the top of their groups.
However, European commitments for Man United won’t stop here, as the team will head to the Europa League starting from the next round, which is the last title they won in European football back in 2017.
Mahmoud Diaa, a Senior Editor at Goal.com thinks United’s exit was expected because of what he calls “the continuous failure to deliver when it matters the most” from the United players. He told Raven “Manchester United should be a team of big games, what we are seeing now is a team that can’t handle the pressure of such occasions”
Wednesday saw another shock for former European champions Internazionale. They played in Milan and failed to score a single goal that could have sent them through to the second round.
A goalless draw with Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk meant Inter will finish their European Campaign in the bottom of group B – their third consecutive champions league exit from the first round.
Inter’s manager Antonio Conte, blamed the disappointing result on “opponents changing their game plan to contain Inter players.” He also criticized the refereeing of the Wednesday night game.
Inter’s loss was Germany Side Borussia Monchengladbach’s victory. The team will make their first ever knockout stage in the champions league despite a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in the final group stage fixture.
This round of Champions League will see four Spanish teams play, as giants Madrid Real and Atletico secured their places in the final round, joining Barcelona and Sevilla in the knockout stage.
Atalanta completed the Italian trio in the round of 16, after clinching a late 1-0 victory over Ajax in Amsterdam. Last year’s winners Bayern Munich will be one of three German sides to play in the next round with both RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. The only teams remaining in the competition outside the four biggest European Leagues will be Paris Saint-Germain and Portuguese giants F.C. Porto.
Teams find out who they will face in the next round after the draw taking place next Monday in Switzerland.