Dominant Bayern, for the second time in a row
They have no competition. The players of Bayern Munich dominated as the only autumn part with a full number of 18 points. In addition, they repeated the respectable performance in the second season in a row, which no one in the Champions League had managed before.
The big German club has a streak of 34 matches in the basic group without a loss, of which it was able to triumph in the last thirteen. After all, it is again about the records of the most prestigious club competition. The question remains how the famous form will be transferred to the spring phase. Last year, Bayern’s journey surprisingly ended in the quarter-finals with Villareal.
Outlaws with negative records
Glory to the victors, honor to the vanquished. In addition to dominant performances, the basic groups also produced sad records. One was taken care of by Scottish Rangers football players. They conceded a total of 22 goals from their opponents from Naples, Liverpool and Ajax, but they managed to get through only twice. The -20 goal difference is the worst in Champions League history.
Pilsen was also threatened with a similar scenario. That group with Bayern, Barcelona and Inter Milan finished with a score of 5:24 and a balance of “only” -19, which was the previous worst statistic of Dinamo Zagreb. However, Viktoria equaled one sad record – 24 goals had previously only been scored by Legia Warsaw in the 2016/2017 season and BATE Borisov in the 2014/2015 season. However, unlike the mentioned teams, Pilsen did not lose a single point, the Poles even took third place in the group.
The loss of 1:7 against Liverpool had a significant impact on Rangers’ failure. Substitute Mohammed Salah entered the table of the millionaire competition in the match. He scored three goals in just six minutes and twelve seconds, making it the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history.
“Typical Mo. When he’s doing well, he can’t be stopped,” coach Jürgen Klopp praised the Egyptian forward. However, the English club finished second in the group behind Napoli and one of the eight winners is waiting for him during Monday’s draw.
Drawing an outsider from the fourth basket
Speaking of those advancing to the spring elimination phase, we must not forget probably the biggest surprise among the elite sixteen. Bruges entered the group with Atlético Madrid, Leverkusen and Porto from the fourth basket. In the position of an absolute outsider.
But everything was different. The Belgian team kept a clean sheet five times in six duels, managed to win three times and was not far from going to the round of 16 from first place. In the end, this robbed a happier Porto of a point.
Destruction of Spanish units
Players from La Liga collect Ballon d’Or and individual awards, but in the Champions League, Spanish teams have largely failed. Only defending champion Real Madrid was able to advance from the group. Third place and relegation to the Europa League concern Sevilla and Barcelona, well-known in the Czech Republic. The previously mentioned Atlético experienced the biggest trouble. For the first time in their history, they lost all three away games and have not tasted triumph in five duels, which is the longest streak since December 2009.
It only got five points, the fewest since the 2009/2010 season. Last year’s quarter-finalist will also not play in the spring part of any of the European cups for the first time since 2010/2011. And to make matters worse, the team from the Spanish capital finished last in the group for the first time ever. “We have to be strong and stick together. I don’t like to be told that we are at the bottom. It can always be worse, you have to work to be better,” coach Diego Simeone assessed the current state of the club.
