After another week of Champions League soccer, much more has happened in the world of soccer.
Yesterday, Nov. 1, eight games were played, groups A through D. Today, Nov. 2, eight more games were played, groups E through H.
In Group A, Arsenal FC of England played Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria. Arsenal came out victorious by a score of 3-2, after going down 2-0 within fifteen minutes, and scoring the winner in the 87th minute. That victory secured Arsenal a place in the playoffs in the Champions League, knocking out Ludogorets as well. Paris Saint Germain of France beat FC Basel of Switzerland 2-0, also securing Paris SG a place in the playoffs. Both FC Basel and Ludogorets have one point, and the one of the two teams who has a better final two games will be knocked out for good, while the team in third advances into the Europa League.
In Group B, Besiktas of Turkey tied Napoli of Italy 1-1, one of the more important games as the top three teams in this group are within one point of each other. Benfica of Portugal beat FC Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine 1-0, leaving Dynamo with one point, meaning that they will have to win both of their last two games by large margins in they want to advance to playoffs.
In Group C, FC Barcelona of Spain took on Manchester City of England. Manchester City defied all odds to beat Barcelona in Barcelona, by a big score line of 3-1. Celtic FC tied Borussia M’gladbach by a score of 1-0. So far, no teams are eliminated in this group, and none have secured a playoff position, but Barcelona and Manchester City have a great advantage going into the final two legs.
In Group D, FC Bayern Munich of Germany beat PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands 2-1. This victory secured Bayern Munich a spot in the playoffs. Atletico Madrid of Spain beat Rostov of Russia 2-1, also securing Atletico Madrid a spot in the playoffs. Atletico Madrid’s record of four wins and zero losses makes them the only team with the most possible points at the current time.
As the final games of the group stage of the Champions League are coming to an end, the teams who will be advancing into further rounds of the tournament are finally coming together, giving a clear picture to fans of what the competition has in store.