With the first round of the Champions League done and dusted, there was quite the battle in some of the final games for teams vying to make it not only into the top 8, where they would be given a bit of a break as they would avoid the play-offs of the next round, but also trying to get into those play-offs.
No team with an American on their roster made it into the top group, but four did make it into those play-offs.
Weston McKennie and Juventus were in with a shout to make the top group, having won their last three. They needed to beat USMNT teammate, Folarin Balogun and Monaco but a lacklustre performance by both sides saw the affair end in a scoreless draw. Finishing in the 13rd spot, the Italians will now have to go up against Turkish giants, Galatasaray if they hope to advance into the next round. The Turks lost 2-0 to Manchester City in the last game but their 10 points were enough to advance. The next two games are as follows:
February 17th – Juventus @ Galatasaray – Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul Turkiye
February 25th – Galatasaray @ Juventus – Allianz Stadium, Torino Italy
Monaco barely scraped into the play-offs with 10 points. A loss would have left them on 9 with five other teams, but they would not have made it, based on their inferior goal difference.
The next round is an odd one for the boys from the Principality, because they’ll be going up against the French champions, PSG, who drew their last game, thereby denying themselves an automatic bye for the next round. The teams met in late November in Ligue 1 action on the south coast and it was the home side who came away with 1-0 shock win, despite having a player sent off. The teams will meet again in early March, again in Ligue 1, but in the meantime, there are a couple games in the Champions League to contest:
February 17th – Paris St Germain @ AS Monaco – Stade Louis II, Fontvielle Monaco
February 25th – AS Monaco @ Paris St Germain – Parc du Princes, Paris France
Malik Tillman‘s brace against Villareal was enough to propel Bayer Leverkusen into the play-offs after they fell to Olympiakos in the penultimate game. The Germans were in danger of missing out but realistically could have qualified on 10 points with a draw. The Bayer Boys earned themselves a trip to the Greek sunshine as they will face Olympiakos in the next round.
February 18th – Bayer Leverkusen @ Olympiakos – Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus Greece
February 24th – Olympiakos @ Bayer Leverkusen – BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany
Johnny Cardoso came off the bench in the final game to put in a 26 minutes shift for Atletico Madrid and since they lost to the Norwegian champions, Bodo-G|limt, they had to settle for a place in the play-offs. A win by two goals would have seen them edge out Manchester City into the top group and gotten a bye but it was not to be.
The Spaniards earned themselves a trip up north to rainy Belgium to take on Club Brugge who kept their Champions League dream alive by beating Tim Weah and Marseille by a 3-0 score line.
February 18th – Atletico Madrid @ Club Brugge – Jan Breydel Stadium, Brugge Belgium
February 24th – Club Brugge @ Atletico Madrid – Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid Spain
Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi‘s PSV Eindhoven, Tim Chandler‘s Frankfurt and Tim Weah‘s Marseille have all failed to collect enough points to continue in the competition.
