Let’s take a closer look.
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Surprise artists
The fact that Monaco and Brest were two of the top four teams was not at all what was expected at the beginning of this league phase, while Sporting CP jumped to second place, but have since lost Ruben Amorim to Manchester United. Inter in the top five is much less surprising than the Ligue 1 duo, who will hope to stay in contention, while Aston Villa can also maintain their unexpected top eight spot if they can beat Juventus. Lille OSC are also on the rise, having beaten both Real Madrid and Atlético, as well as drawing with Juventus, while Atalanta are also unbeaten despite not yet being in the top eight.
Surprise fighters
PSG’s defeats at Arsenal and at home to Atlético, as well as the draw with PSV Eindhoven in Paris, have put them in a knockout spot ahead of their trip to face Bayern with just four points out of a possible 12. Both Red Bull teams – Leipzig and Salzburg – are also struggling with just three points between them, while Bayern, Real and Milan are finding the new phase of the league much more difficult than expected. The initial evidence is that UEFA’s format change is actually making things interesting, but PSG must ensure they are not left adrift in this week’s final match, with some tough games ahead, including the Manchester City at home.
Coefficient stories so far.
One of the most absorbing stories so far in this edition of the Champions League has been how the league phase is impacting UEFA’s coefficient system. England and Portugal are the two teams currently leading the way, with seven Premier League teams keeping their five Portuguese pursuers at bay. Behind those two, Italy, Germany and France have regularly swapped places; Teams in Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 do reasonably well in all UEFA competitions, with Spain being the surprise, with La Liga lagging behind and in danger of being overtaken by the Czech Republic and to a lesser extent Belgium. Sporting vs. Arsenal could directly affect the coefficient race this week and is therefore arguably required viewing alongside matches such as Bayern vs. PSG and Liverpool vs. Real.
Key games of the fifth round
All at 3 pm Eastern Time
- Tuesday, November 26: Bayern against PSG, Sporting against Arsenal and Barcelona against Brest.
- Wednesday, November 27: Monaco against Benfica, Villa against Juventus and Liverpool against Real.
Bayern vs. PSG is a great game at any stage of the season, but especially now that the French giants are struggling and the Germans aren’t doing much better heading into Tuesday. Sporting vs. Arsenal is a great coefficient showdown, while Brest’s incredible European journey continues at Barca on the same day. On Wednesday, Liverpool vs. Real is undoubtedly the highlight moment at Anfield, as it would be at any other time given that these two giants of European football are as big as they come. Villa against Juventus and Monaco against Benfic are also underrated alternatives on the same day.
Classification
Key: Positions 1 to 8 qualify for the round of 16, while positions 9 to 24 qualify for the Play-Offs of the knockout phase and positions 25 to 36 are eliminated.
| Pos. | Equipment | family doctor | W. | d | l | bride | Georgia | God | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 12 |
| 2 | sports CP | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 10 |
| 3 | Monaco | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 10 |
| 4 | Brest | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 10 |
| 5 | Bury | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 10 |
| 6 | Barcelona | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 9 |
| 7 | Borussia Dortmund | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 9 |
| 8 | Villa Aston | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 9 |
| 9 | Atalanta | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 8 |
| 10 | city of manchester | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 7 |
| 11 | Juventus | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 7 |
| 12 | Arsenal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 7 |
| 13 | Bayer Leverkusen | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 |
| 14 | Lille | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 |
| 15 | Celtic | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 7 |
| 16 | Dinamo Zagreb | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 7 |
| 17 | Bayern Munich | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 6 |
| 18 | real Madrid | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 6 |
| 19 | Benfica | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 |
| 20 | AC Milan | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 |
| 21 | Feyenoord | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 6 |
| 22 | Club Bruges | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 6 |
| 23 | Atlético de Madrid | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 6 |
| 24 | PSV | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 5 |
| 25 | PSG | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 26 | Sparta Prague | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 4 |
| 27 | Stuttgart | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 4 |
| 28 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 4 |
| 29 | Girona | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 3 |
| 30 | RB Salzburg | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 3 |
| 31 | Bologna | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 1 |
| 32 | RB Leipzig | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 0 |
| 33 | SK Sturm Graz | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 |
| 34 | young boys | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 11 | -10 | 0 |
| 35 | Red Star of Belgrade | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | -12 | 0 |
| 36 | Bratislava Slovakia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 15 | -13 | 0 |
