UCL
Champions League
Play-Offs
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Arsenal finished top of the Champions League table after winning 3-2 against Kazakhstan side Kairat Almaty to complete an unbeaten league phase.
Real Madrid dropped out of the top eight after losing 4-2 to Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, whose goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a stoppage-time goal that secured the Portuguese side the final spot in the play-offs on goal difference at the expense of Marseille.
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Wednesday’s final round of league-phase fixtures also saw Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain drop out of the knockout spots as they drew 1-1, being replaced by Manchester City and Barcelona.
The La Liga side had gone 1-0 down to Copenhagen in the first half but scored three times after half-time to propel themselves into the top eight, having been outside of the knockout qualification spots before their final game.
Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Sporting finished the night as the only teams outside the Premier League to place in the top eight, as Manchester City beat Galatasaray to move into seventh.
Liverpool retained their top-eight spot, despite losing Jeremie Frimpong to injury in the first five minutes, after winning 6-0 against Qarabag to move into third place, while a Joao Pedro double moved Chelsea ahead of Napoli despite going behind in the first half.
On the other end of the table, Bodo/Glimt won 2-1 against Atletico Madrid to secure a play-off spot, following up their surprise win over Manchester City last week.
Only one of the 18 matches finished goalless, with Monaco and Juventus playing out a stalemate as both sides qualified for the play-offs.
The draw for the February play-offs (involving the teams that finished ninth to 24th in the table) will be held on Friday, January 30 from 11am GMT (6am ET). First legs of the play-offs take place on February 17 and 18, while the second legs are a week later.
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Jessica Hopkins is a Staff News Editor at The Athletic. She previously contributed to features and investigations across cycling, athletics and football. Follow Jessica on Twitter @JessMCHopkins
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