Champions League: round of 16 qualifiers - in pictures
Paris Saint-Germain, FranceGroup A, 1st, Won 5 Drawn 0 Lost 1 For 14 Against 3 Spearheaded by the in-form Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Qatari-backed French club impressed all with the way they took to their first Champions League campaign for many years. No team can boast such a strong defensive record in the group stage, three goals conceded. Could play Arsenal, Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar, Valencia, Celtic, GalatasarayPhotograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty ImagesSchalke, GermanyGroup B, 1st, Won 3 Drawn 3 Lost 0 For 10 Against 6 Huub Stevens men emerged unbeaten from the group stage with the notable scalp of Arsenal. They defeated the Gunners 2-0 at the Emirates, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scoring as he did in the return match in Gelsenkirchen. Could play Porto, Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar, Valencia, Celtic, GalatasarayPhotograph: Patrik Stollarz/AFP/Getty ImagesMalaga, Spain Group C, 1st, Won 3 Drawn 3 Lost 0 For 12 Against 5 The Spanish club breezed through the group stage on their Champions League debut. The highlight was the 1-0 victory over Milan, Joaquin scoring. Isco and Duda were also outstanding going forward in their debut Champions League campaigns. Could play Porto, Arsenal, Shakhtar, Celtic, GalatasarayPhotograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Borussia Dortmund, GermanyGroup D, 1st, Won 4 Drawn 2 Lost 0 For 11 Against 5 The 1997 winners made the group of death look easy. It would have been six wins out of six for Jurgen Klopp’s team had it not been for late equalisers by Manchester City and Real Madrid. Still, no team will want to draw them in the last 16. Could play Porto, Arsenal, Milan, Shakhtar, Valencia, Celtic, Galatasaray Photograph: Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty ImagesJuventus, ItalyGroup E, 1st, Won 3 Drawn 3 Lost 0 For 12 Against 4 The Italian champions and league leaders battled hard to emerge from a tough group and eliminate the Champions League trophy holders, Chelsea. This was largely on the back of a draw at Stamford Bridge, coming back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, and an emphatic 3-0 win over Roberto Di Matteo’s team in Turin. They followed it up with a superb victory at Shakhtar. Could play Porto, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Valencia, Celtic, GalatasarayPhotograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty ImagesBayern Munich, GermanyGroup F, 1st, Won 4 Drawn 1 Lost 1 For 15 Against 7 Last year’s runners-up progressed smoothly and quietly while Schalke and Borussia Dortmund particularly took the plaudits outside Germany. The hiccup came in the second match in a shock 3-1 defeat at BATE Borisov, but before and after that it was plain sailing for Bastian Schweinsteiger and the rest. Could play Porto, Arsenal, Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar, Celtic, GalatasarayPhotograph: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty ImagesCeltic, ScotlandGroup G, 2nd, Won 3 Drawn 1 Lost 2 For 9 Against 8 Arguably the least likely of the 16 qualifiers, Neil Lennon’s team produced one of the all-time great Champions League group stage upsets by beating Barcelona at Celtic Park. Results against Spartak Moscow ensured their progression, Kris Commons scoring a crucial penalty with time running out. Could play PSG, Schalke, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Man UtdPhotograph: Carl Recine/Action ImagesBarcelona, SpainGroup G, 1st, Won 4 Drawn 1 Lost 1 For 11 Against 5 Barcelona took 13 points out of a possible 18 but it wasn’t as straightforward as usual. They came from 2-1 down to beat Spartak Moscow, from 1-0 down to beat Celtic in stoppage-time, and famously lost 2-1 to Neil Lennon’s side at Parkhead a fortnight later. Still, they are the favourites going into the knockout stage. Could play Porto, Arsenal, Milan, Shakhtar, GalatasarayPhotograph: David Ramos/Getty ImagesManchester United, EnglandGroup H, 1st, Won 4 Drawn 0 Lost 2 For 9 Against 6 After their humiliating exit in the group stage last season, United qualified with two games to spare this time round – two games they would go on to lose. They had to come from behind against Cluj and Braga, twice, and are yet to regain the swagger they showed in Europe in past years. Could play Porto, Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar, Valencia, CelticPhotograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty ImagesPorto, Portugal Group A, 2nd, Won 4 Drawn 1 Lost 1 For 10 Against 4 Porto joined Paris Saint-Germain in the knockout stage as the pair ran away with Group A. Colombian forward James Rodríguez was the main threat for Vitor Pereira’s men, the lone slip-up coming on Matchday Six when goalkeeper Helton let in a pea-roller to gift PSG a victory and top spot. Could play Schalke, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester UnitedPhotograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty ImagesArsenal, EnglandGroup B, 2nd, Won 3 Drawn 1 Lost 2 For 10 Against 8 For all their problems in the Premier League, Arsène Wenger’s men only briefly looked in danger of group-stage elimination after the 2-0 defeat at home to Schalke. The loss at Olympiakos came after they had secured qualification with an earlier win over the Greek side and a pair of victories over Montpellier. Could play PSG, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern Munich, BarcelonaPhotograph: Tom Jenkins for the GuardianMilan, ItalyGroup C, 2nd, Won 2 Drawn 2 Lost 2 For 7 Against 6 As in Serie A, Milan were largely dependent on goalscorer Stephan El Shaarawy, as they made what should have been a straightforward group look very difficult. They drew at home to Anderlecht, lost at home to Zenit St Petersburg, albeit after they had qualified, and lost at Malaga. They scored only seven goals. Could play PSG, Schalke, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester UnitedPhotograph: Jorge Zapata/EPAShakhtar Donetsk, UkraineGroup E, 2nd, Won 3 Drawn 1 Lost 2 For 12 Against 8 Shakhtar were a little unfortunate to lose at Stamford Bridge, falling to a stoppage-time winner by Victor Moses. Still, their Brazilian contingent shone as they saw off Chelsea in the intimidating Donbass Arena and Henrikh Mkhitaryan also impressed. They could regret slipping up at home to Juventus and conceding top spot. Could play PSG, Schalke, Malaga, Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/ReutersReal Madrid, SpainGroup D, 2nd, Won 3 Drawn 2 Lost 1 For 15 Against 9 A late rally to earn a 3-2 win at home to Manchester City on Matchday One gave Real the impetus they needed to finish second behind Dortmund, against whom they took only one point. Cristiano Ronaldo scored, as always, home and away against Ajax to ensure José Mourinho took his customary place in the knockout stage. Could play PSG, Schalke, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Manchester UnitedPhotograph: VI-Images via Getty ImagesValencia, SpainGroup F, 2nd, Won 4 Drawn 1 Lost 1 For 12 Against 5 The fourth Spanish team to make it through to the knockout stage, they will benefit from not having to play any of the other three in the next round. They overcame an early defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich by winning four of their next five games, against BATE Borisov and Lille twice each. However, they recently sacked manager Mauricio Pellegrino. Could play PSG, Schalke, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Manchester UnitedPhotograph: Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty ImagesGalatasaray, TurkeyGroup H, 2nd, Won 3 Drawn 1 Lost 2 For 7 Against 6 The Turkish champions proved obdurate opponents in their home and away games with Manchester United, winning at home 1-0 and losing away 1-0. They did enough in their matches against the other group opponents but the seeded teams in the last 16 draw will have little to fear if they are pitted with the Istanbul club, the lowest scorers to qualify for the next round with only seven goals. Could play PSG, Schalke, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Bayern Munich, BarcelonaPhotograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.