Champions League 2024/25: see the teams that qualified for the round of 16 and playoffs
The Champions League league phase came to an end on Wednesday, with the eighth and final round of points. Eight teams advanced directly to the round of 16 and will now await their opponents, who will come from an extra playoff phase. Check out below who was eliminated, who went straight to the round of 16 and who will play in the playoffs:
Qualified for the round of 16: Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atlético de Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa;
Qualified for the playoffs: Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Milan, PSV, PSG, Benfica, Monaco, Brest, Feyenoord, Juventus, Celtic, Manchester City, Sporting and Brugge;
Eliminated: Dinamo Zagreb, Stuttgart, Shakhtar, Bologna, Red Star, Sturm Graz, Sparta Prague, RB Leipzig, Girona, RB Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys.
The playoff stage matches will be drawn by UEFA this Friday at 8am (Brasília time). The duels in the next stage will follow the classic knockout format of UEFA competitions: home and away matches, with qualification for the next stage at stake. The team with the advantage in the aggregate of the scores will advance, and in the event of a tie, the tie will be broken in extra time and, if necessary, in a penalty shootout.
The teams finishing between ninth and 16th in the league stage will be seeded in the draw and will play the return leg at home. The draw is conducted by UEFA according to their league stage performance, with the teams divided into pairs in eight different pots: 9th and 10th, 11th and 12th, 13th and 14th, 15th and 16th, 17th and 18th, 19th and 20th, 21st and 22nd, 23rd and 24th.
Thus, those who have scored the most points will face one of those who have scored the fewest points, in the following manner: the ninth and 10th place will necessarily face the 23rd or 24th; the 11th and 12th will duel against the 21st or 22nd, and so on.
The same system will be used by UEFA to define the round of 16 matches. The eight teams that went straight to this stage are also divided into pairs, with the best-placed teams waiting for the duels involving the teams with the worst performance.
Teams from the same country can now face each other in the playoffs, as well as teams that faced each other throughout the league phase. The playoff games will be played on February 11, 12, 18 and 19.
Reference
“Champions League round of 16 and knockout phase play-offs: Who has qualified?”. UEFA
