UEFA Champions League 2024/2025

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Red Bull Salzburg v Paris Saint-Germain
(Austria v France)
Red Bull Arena, Salzburg
Table positions (before match): 32 & 25

Of the French teams, PSG have been performing the worst, so this result was quite the shock, even if it was against an Austrian team seven places below them in the table. Ten minutes in they had two chances in rapid succession to open the scoring, but fluffed both, a third coming at the halfway point of the first 45, and PSG must have been wondering if it was going to be another of those nights? On the half-hour though they got the breakthrough, and from then - as it had been up to then - it was all the French, as they went on to take their second 20 minutes from full time, and finished off a good night with a third six minutes before the end.

Result: Red Bull Salzburg 0 - 3 Paris Saint-Germain
Table positions (after match): 32 & 25
Next Opponent: Real Madrid/Manchester City


Shakhtar Donetsk v Bayern Munich
(Ukraine v Germany)
Arena Aufschalke, Gelsenkirchen
Table positions (before match): 26 & 13

Another battering for the Ukrainians, even after an early start for them when they scored on 5 minutes. Bayern struck back five minutes later, the first of a fusillade of goals from the German side which gave them the lead at the break, an advantage they mercilessly pressed in the second half, adding a third 20 minutes from time when they were given a penalty. Four minutes left on the clock when Bayern made it four, but they weren't quite finished yet. With two minutes to go of added time, they racked up their fifth, to condemn Shakhtar to their usual defeat.

Result: Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - 5 Bayern Munich
Table positions (after match): 27 & 10
Next Opponent: Brest/Feyenoord


RB Leipzig v Aston Villa
(Germany v England)
Red Bull Arena. Leipzig
Table positions (before match): 34 & 9

Leipzig have been playing badly so Villa should have anticipated an easy game, but that was not what happened. They opened the scoring on two minutes, and God seemed to be in his heaven, but then a terrible mix-up between defender and keeper let Leipzig in, and the match was level. In the second half, a wonder shot from Duran gave Villa the lead again, then a second goal from him should have put the visitors in a commanding position, but it was ruled out for offside by VAR. To make matters worse, Leipzig scored a minute later to again draw level and give themselves a chance. As time ticked down, the Germans scorned a chance to take the game before Barkley sealed a nervous win for Villa.

Result: RB Leipzig 2 - 3 Aston Villa
Table positions (after match): 34 & 5
Next Opponent: Sporting CP/Monaco


Brest v PSV Eindhoven
(France v Netherlands)
Stade de Roudourou, Guingamp
Table positions (before match): 11 & 18

Having experienced their first ever defeat last matchday in their first ever Champions League, Brest were in no mood to suffer a second and made sure of the game just before half time to get back to winning ways.

Result: Brest 1 - 0 PSV Eindhoven
Table positions (after match): 7 & 23
Next Opponent: Shakhtar Donetsk/Red Star Belgrade

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Atletico Madrid v Slovan Bratislava
(Spain v Slovakia)
Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid
Table positions (before match): 15 & 35

Result: Atletico Madrid 3 - 1 Slovan Bratislava
Table positions (after match): 11 & 35
Next Opponent: Bayer Leverkusen/VfB Stuttgart

Already playing for nothing more than pride (and not much of that, to be honest, second from bottom), Slovan went behind after sixteen minutes to a spectacular goal, Atletico adding a second just before the end of the half to put themselves firmly in control. A penalty awarded to Slovan in the 51st minute allowed the Serbians to halve the deficit, but the Spanish side were back in front just before the hour, their two-goal cushion restored. Slovan Bratislava slump to yet another defeat. They are now one of only two teams in the competition to have a "perfect" record of losses. Guess who the other is?

Lille v Sturm Graz
(France v Austria)
Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve d'Ascq
Table positions (before match): 12 & 29

Five minutes from the end of the first half Lille netted for the first time in the match, their second coming in added time, but before the half-time whistle blew they saw that two-goal lead wiped out as Sturm Graz scored one of their own, to set up a nervy second half. 2 minutes after the restart the Austrian team equalised in fine style, and the match looked to be heading for a draw, before the French sealed it with 9 minutes to go, retaking the lead, and taking the match.

Result: Lille 3 - 2 Sturm Graz
Table positions (after match): 8 & 29
Next Opponent: Liverpool/Atalanta


AC Milan v Red Star Belgrade
(Italy v Serbia)
San Siro, Milan
Table positions (before match): 16 & 31

The team who rather unexpectedly, to say the least, put five past Stuttgart last time out held Milan almost to the end of the first half, when the Italians opened the scoring with a fine goal. In the second half the Serbians struck back just after the hour to equalise, but Milan floated in a perfect shot which, well, missed but was caught on the rebound. VAR however wanted to check, but all was confirmed, the goal stood, and Milan won the game.

Result: AC Milan 2 - 1 Red Star Belgrade
Table positions (after match): 12 & 31
Next Opponent: Girona/PSV Eindhoven

Arsenal v Monaco
(England v Monaco)
The Emirates, London
Table positions (before match): 7 & 8

A long pass up the front almost had Arsenal ahead early, but just short, the London team continuing to press in the opening minutes, and their hard work and persistence paid off just after the half hour, Sako sending the home fans into raptures. Monaco, who have only lost one game so far, could have been two behind but Odegaard shot wide after a sloppy pass by the visitors. Martinelli also shot wide, but Arsenal were unable to extend their lead until after the break.

Monaco got a free, and it wasn't far away but bounced off the post, another break by the team in green coming to nothing. But this was to be Arsenal's night, and they got their second with twelve minutes to go, Saka taking gleeful advantage of a terrible pass by Monaco to double the Gunners' lead. Their third came in the final minutes, Havertz netting to make Arsenal's victory certain, and ensure they progress to the next round.

Result: Arsenal 3 - 0 Monaco
Table positions (after match): 3 & 16
Next Opponent: Dinamo Zagreb/Aston Villa

Borussia Dortmund v Barcelona
(Germany v Spain)
Westfalenstadion, Dortmund
Table positions (before match): 4 & 3

First attack by Barcelona but just wide of the upright, then Dortmund had their own chance but heading into the end of the first half and neither team had managed to break the deadlock. In the second half, totally different story. Both teams seemed to find their form, Barcelona taking the lead seven minutes in, then Dortmund got a penalty and levelled the match on the hour. All square with thirty minutes to go. Fifteen minutes later Barcelona were ahead again, Dortmund missing a gilt-edged chance to go level again a minute later, but with twelve minutes to go the Germans did equalise, Barca's keeper going walkabout.  A corner could have won it for the home side but a poor pass from the rebound turned defence into attack and  let the Spanish giants in to take the lead for the third time, five minutes left, no chance for Dortmund to pull off a third equaliser.

Result: Borussia Dortmund 2 - 3 Barcelona
Table positions (after match): 9 & 2
Next Opponent: Bologna/Benfica

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Feyenoord v Sparta Prague
(Netherlands v Czech Republic)
De Kuip. Rotterdam
Table positions (before match): 21 & 28

Eight minutes was all it took the Dutch team to go ahead, and two minutes later a superb strike had them two to the good, while Sparta Prague had not had a shot. The third came on the half-hour, a lovely curling shot, then hope for Sparta Prague as they pulled one back just before half-time. But Feyenoord re-established their three-goal lead as they scored their fourth just after the hour, helping the visitors out a little with ten minutes to go as they scored in their own net to give Sparta a second goal, but the game was already won by then.

Result: Feyenoord 4 - 2 Sparta Prague
Table positions (after match): 18 & 28
Next Opponent: Bayern Munich/Inter Milan

Juventus v Manchester City
(Italy v England)
Juventus Stadium, Turin
Table positions (before match): 19 & 17

17th place is certainly not where former European champions Manchester City want to be, or expected to be, but mirroring a troubling lack of form back home, City have been stuttering in the Champions League, with only 2 wins out of 5 so far. It was crunch time tonight; no matter other results or games to come, the English team had to win or face the prospect of a humiliating exit from the competition in the first round. Juventus were facing the same stark choice, with a record identical to Man City's in the league - won 2, lost 2, drew 1 - both teams knew what was at stake.

It was however the Italians who made the early chances, City trying on the half-hour but Haaland unable to get past the keeper. Scoreless at the midway point then and all to play for as Juventus pushed forward, desperate for a goal - a draw would help nobody - and on 53 the Italians opened the scoring, the ball just about crossing the line on the rebound from the keeper. City went in search of an equaliser and came close but shot past the post, all the action up the Juve end now as Pep's boys fought to draw level but could not convert. Super save by the keeper from Gundogan kept City out, and with 15 minutes to go Juventus made it certain with a second, to dent City's chances of progressing, and boost their own.

Result: Juventus 2 - 0 Manchester City
Table positions (after match): 14 & 22
Next Opponent: Club Brugge/Paris Saint-Germain

Benfica v Bologna
(Portugal v Italy)
Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
Table positions (before match): 14 & 33

You'd have to consider a draw a good result for the beleaguered Italian side, though they lived on their nerves, as Benfica could have scored twice, only the agility of the Bologna keeper allowing his team hammer out a scoreless draw.

Result: Benfica 0 - 0 Bologna
Table positions (after match): 15 & 33
Next Opponent: Barcelona/Borussia Dortmund

VfB Stuttgart v Young Boys
(Germany v Switzerland)
MHPArena, Stuttgart
Table positions (before match): 27 & 36

We're getting used now to seeing the Swiss team on the business side of humiliating defeats, and this was no exception, although they started well, taking an unexpected lead after six minutes. Stuttgart soon hit back though, level just before the half-hour. Eight minutes into the second half they pulled ahead, the goal the subject of much VAR-ing as they tried to work out whether or not it had gone over the line. It had, by nanometres or something, and Young Boys were in a familiar position, which was only going to get worse for them.

The third goal for the Germans came just after the hour, and five minutes later it was four. Stuttgart capped off a fine performance 15 minutes from time, condemning the Young Boys to yet another defeat, and not just a defeat but a hammering. Sorry, another hammering.

Result: VfB Stuttgart 5 - 1 Young Boys
Table positions (after match): 26 & 36
Next Opponent: Slovan Bratislava/Celtic

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Matchday 6 overview

Things begin to heat up as teams race for the seven top places that will guarantee qualification for the next round, or if that's not possible, to grab a play-off place in the hope of coming through via the knockout rounds. Liverpool were perhaps lucky to win their sixth match in a row, needing a penalty to score, but they keep top spot. Villa had to fight off a determined Leipzig side, who twice drew the game after the English side had been ahead, and could even have done so a third time had it not been for the heroics of Martinez, but Villa were the architects of their own almost-destruction, giving away the ball cheaply and failing to capitalise on chances that should have had them home free before the second half even begun. Arsenal cruised to an easy 3-0 against Monaco, unusual as their opponents had only lost once before tonight, but the Gunners turned on the style and were comfortable winners.

Barcelona fought it out against top-flight opposition in a tenacious match against Dortmund, while Real overcame Atalanta and Atletico completed a trio of Spanish wins when they took down Slovan Bratislava. PSG finally came good, beating Red Bull Salzburg, Brest put their first defeat behind them and went on to take the match against PSV Eindhoven while Lille overcame a strong challenge from Sturm Graz to emerge victorious, making it a night on which all three French teams won their matches, and indeed a night on which both Austrian teams lost theirs.

Bayern handed out a thrashing to Shakhtar, while Club Brugge gave Sporting their second defeat in a row. Celtic were unable to beat Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo were unable to beat Celtic, one of only two nil-all draws this matchday, the other seeing homebound Bologna hold Benfica to a stalemate. Another crushing defeat for Young Boys, who are definitely without a hope, as Stuttgart breezed past them, perhaps subconsciously avenging their own 5-1 defeat last time at the hands of Red Star. Speaking of the Serbs, they didn't do so well this time, falling 2-1 to AC Milan while Inter went down 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen. Finally, Feyenoord beat Sparta Prague to take only their third victory.

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Nations' Progress

As some teams look resignedly up from the foot of the table, knowing they may as well book their tickets home, how has each country fared at this stage of the tournament?

Austria
Austria are back to, um, losing ways, as Sturm Graz, despite a valiant effort, were beaten by Lille and PSG put paid to any chance Red Bull had to score.


Austrian tally (Matchday 6): L2
Austrian tally (so far): W2, L8

Belgium
Belgium's Club Brugge won their match against Sporting, allowing them to triple their win tally.


Belgian tally (Matchday 6): W1
Belgian tally (so far): W3, L3, D1

Croatia
Dinamo were unable to beat Celtic, their game ending in a draw.

Croatian tally (Matchday 6): D1
Croatian tally (so far): W2, D2, L2

Czech Republic
Sparta Prague lost again, this time to Feyenoord.

Czech tally (Matchday 6): L1
Czech tally (so far): W1, D1, L4

England
Liverpool's perfect record continues, as they ground out a result against Girona, Villa had an even harder game against Leipzig but Arsenal strolled past Monaco, making it a trio of victories for England, only marred by another defeat for Manchester City, who were beaten by Juventus.


English tally (Matchday 6): W3, L1
English tally (so far): W16, L4, D4

France

All the French teams won tonight, as I said in the overview. Lille beat Sturm Graz, Brest took down PSV and PSG beat Red Bull.


French tally (Matchday 6): W3
French tally (so far): W10, D3, L5

Germany
Good results for most of the German teams. Bayern beat Shakhtar off the park, Stuttgart flattened Young Boys by the same score (5-1) and Leverkusen beat Inter, the only blemish here being Leipzig's failure to beat Aston Villa and Dortmund who were beaten by Barcelona.


German tally (Matchday 6): W3,  L2
German tally (so far): W14, D42 L14[/b]

Italy

Mixed fortunes for the Italians. Bayern beat Inter, Girona were beaten by Liverpool and Bologna were held to a draw, while AC Milan beat Red Star and Juventus had a famous victory over Man City.

Italian tally (Matchday 6): W2, D1, L2
Italian tally (so far): W14, D8, L9

Monaco

Monaco experienced their second defeat, this time at the hands of Arsenal.


Monaco tally (Matchday 6): L1
Monaco tally (so far): W3, D1, L2

Netherlands

Feyenoord beat Sparta Prague but PSV were beaten by Brest.

Dutch tally (Matchday 6): W1, L1
tally (so far): W5, L4, D3

Portugal

Not a good night for the Portuguese. Benfica were held to a scoreless draw with Bologna, of all teams, and Sporting were beaten by Club Brugge.

Portuguese tally (Matchday 6): D1, L1
Portuguese tally (so far): W6, L5, D2

Spain

For Spain it was a case of three out of four ain't bad, Barcelona cruising to victory against Dortmund, Atletico beating Slovan Bratislava and Real defeating Atalanta. Only Girona lost, to Liverpool.

Spanish tally (Matchday 6): W3, L1
Spanish tally (so far): W14, L11

Switzerland

Young Boys continue to lose every time they walk out on the pitch. Maybe they should try a different strategy, like, I don't know, staying in the dressing room?

Swiss tally (Matchday 6): L1
Swiss tally (so far): L6

Scotland

Celtic could only manage another draw.

Scottish tally (Matchday 6): D1
Scottish tally (so far): W2, L1, D3

Serbia

After their quite amazing battering of Stuttgart last matchday, Red Star were back to normal, losing to AC Milan.

Serbian tally (Matchday 3): L1
Serbian tally (so far): W1, L5

Slovakia

Slovan Bratislava lost again, well beaten by Atletico.

Slovakian tally (Matchday 3): L1
Slovakian tally (so far): L6

Ukraine

For Shakhtar it was more like Shock-tar as they fell 5-1 to Bayern.

Ukrainian tally (Matchday 6): L1
Ukrainian tally (so far): W1, L4, D1

So how do the rankings stand now? Let's check it out.

WINS
England (16)
Italy, Spain and Germany (14)
France (10)
Portugal (6)
Netherlands (5)
Monaco and Belgium (3)
Scotland (2)
Croatia and Austria(2)
Czech Republic and Ukraine (1)


LOSSES[
Germany (14)
Spain (11)
Italy (9)
Austria [8]
Switzerland, Slovakia and Serbia  (6)
France and Portugal (5)
Czech Republic, England, Netherlands and Ukraine (4)
Belgium (3)
Croatia and Monaco  (2)
Scotland (1)

DRAWS
Italy [8]
England and Germany (4)
France, Scotland and Netherlands (3)
Portugal (2)
Ukraine, Monaco, Belgium, Czech Republic and Croatia (1)

England remains tops for winning, 16 in total, while Italy is now joined in second place by Spain and Germany. The rest are pretty much as you were. In losses, no real change with Germany leading the field, then Spain, Italy and Austria. A few small changes down the end but nothing too much worth bothering about. Draws remain Italy's specialty, though now England has been joined at second by Germany, while Scotland has joined France and the Netherlands in third.

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Tale of the Table

Liverpool are still cruising, top of the table since matchday 3 now and with a perfect record of six victories, just a single goal scored against them. Barcelona are finally where they expected, and want to be, second behind Liverpool after a string of high-scoring successes, with another English team, Arsenal, in third now. Bayer Leverkusen are fourth and Villa have managed to make it back into the automatic progression places in fifth, after hanging on precariously last matchday in ninth place. Inter Milan, Brest and Lille make up the last three teams who are, at the moment, guaranteed to go through, if they can stay where they are or improve on their position.

In particular, as we never tire of saying, it's a huge achievement for first-timers Brest, who have risen as far as third and have only been outside the qualifying places once, having climbed tonight from 11th to 7th. Teams expected to have done better include Real Madrid, who are at a very unsatisfactory 20th, Bayern Munich who are just outside the qualification places at 10th, and previous champions Manchester City, who find themselves even further down than the Spanish giants, at 22nd.

German teams in general have not done well, with only Leverkusen currently due to go through; Stuttgart are at 26th and Leipzig are doing even worse two places from the bottom at 34th, surely a cert to be eliminated. Dortmund are 10th, just below Bayern, so may have a chance. For Italy it's just the one team flying the flag, so to speak, as Inter take 6th place, with AC Milan, Atalanta and Juventus in 12th, 13th and 14th place respectively, Bologna longing to see the shores of the mother country soon, right down in 33rd. None of the teams from 28th on down have moved at all since last matchday, and you'd have to expect them all to be eliminated.

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With two matchdays left before teams are eliminated, we can characterise the next matches as shootouts for some of the teams who are just outside the automatic qualification places, while others know that their fate is sealed and they're out. How do I see it going?

From the top then:

Liverpool, in first, surely will win their next match, which is against French side Lille. Liverpool haven't lost a single match yet, and are still looking good to win the title. Even an extremely unlikely loss would still leave them top of the table, unless Barcelona beat Benfica (which you would expect they will) and then Liverpool will be second, so they're going through one way or the other.

Barcelona, as mentioned, can go top if they win against Benfica and Liverpool lose, otherwise they'll remain in second place. Shoo-in to progress, after a somewhat hard slog to get to where they are.

Arsenal, in third, should be expected to easily beat Dinamo Zagreb, so depending on other results could remain where they are or advance to second at best; the likelihood though is that they will go through in third place.

Bayer Leverkusen are fourth, and may have a difficult match against Atletico Madrid. Leverkusen, like every team from here down in the automatic qualification slots, have 13 points, but Atletico only have one point less, and a win for the Spanish might catapult them up the table to take that all-important automatic qualification spot. Even a draw might do it for them, though there are two other teams between them and Lille, the lowest of what is at the moment the automatically qualifying teams.

Aston Villa, in fifth, have a tough away tie to Monaco, who, though they have lost their last two matches, have won all four of their others. A win for Villa would keep them in the automatic progression stakes, Monaco can try to secure a spot with a victory.

Inter Milan, in sixth, should see no problem getting past Sparta Prague, currently 28th, with no hope even of a play-off place should they pull off an unlikely victory. Inter are surely a cert to progress. Even a loss against the Czech side will keep them in contention.

Brest are seventh, and should easily beat Shakhtar Donetsk, who have lost four of their six matches and currently sit at 27th with no hope of progressing.

Borussia Dortmund, just outside the last 8, should steamroller over Bologna, which will give them 15 points and a better chance of moving up into those qualification places, if any of the teams ahead of them slip up. Probably their best hope is for Aston Villa to lose against Monaco, which will allow the Germans to overtake us possibly.

Bayern Munich, just below their fellow German team, may have a tough time against Feyenoord, who won convincingly tonight and are currently in the play-off places, hoping to advance to the automatic qualification slots.

AC Milan should beat Girona, currently at 30th with 5 defeats out of six, but whether that will be enough for them to advance into the top eight is debatable. Even with a loss though, they're in the play-offs.

Atalanta are in a similar position, and should be easily able to see off Sturm Graz, who have lost four matches and are looking at an early exit.

Juventus will be desperate for one of those places, but will have to leapfrog both of their Italian cousins to get there, and beat Club Brugge. I would imagine they should manage this, though the Belgians are at home. If Arsenal, Leverkusen, Villa, Inter, Brest and Lille all win then even three points won't be enough to secure them an automatic progression place, and they will have to settle for a play-off.

Sporting have Leipzig at home, and the German side will want revenge for the game they could so easily have won against Villa, so that could be a hard one. Leipzig have no hope and are going out, but probably not without a fight.

Real Madrid have to beat Red Bull Salzburg, which seems very likely, even a copper fastened result, but even a victory will only secure them a play-off position, having a mere 9 points from 6 games.

Celtic will surely batter Young Boys at home, Manchester City must beat PSG but can still only hope for a play-off place, and only four other teams have a chance of the same. PSV need to beat Red Star Belgrade, which they should, Stuttgart should beat Slovan Bratislava, Shakhtar are likely to crumble to Brest, while Dinamo Zagreb are unlikely to see much mercy at the hands of Arsenal.

Without a hope, even should they pull off an unlikely victory, Sturm Graz, Girona, Red Star, Red Bull, Bologna, Leipzig, Slovan and Young Boys all headed for the door marked EXIT.

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So at the moment, the teams going through, if they all win and results go in their favour:

England (3 teams) - Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal
Germany (1 team) - Bayer Leverkusen
Spain (1 team) - Barcelona
France (1 team) - Lille
Monaco (1 team) - Monaco
Italy (1 team) - Inter Milan

Next matches are in January, so we'll see how that turns out.
See ya in the New Year!