UEFA: From Mourinho's Magic to Arsenal's Historic Moments through the Night of Football Drama

The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase reached a fever pitch yesterday as the final 18 matches concluded simultaneously, delivering a historic night of drama that reshaped the final standings. Arsenal made history by becoming the first team to finish the new league phase with a perfect record of eight wins from eight games after a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Kairat Almaty.

Other heavyweights also asserted their dominance to secure the coveted top eight spots, which grant automatic entry into the Round of 16. Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched PSV Eindhoven to finish second, while Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP, and Manchester City all secured their direct qualification.

Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Galatasaray proved vital, as it allowed them to leapfrog several rivals into the final automatic spot, while Barcelona’s clinical 4-1 win over Copenhagen ensured they avoided the extra pressure of the playoff round.

The biggest shock of the evening occurred in Lisbon, where Jose Mourinho’s Benfica pulled off a stunning 4-2 victory against Real Madrid. This result, capped by a sensational stoppage-time goal from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, had massive consequences; it dragged the 15-time champions Real Madrid down into 9th place, forcing them to compete in the knockout playoffs for the first time.

Meanwhile, Benfica’s late goal allowed them to scrape into the 24th and final playoff position on goal difference, knocking out Marseille in the process. Joining Real Madrid and Benfica in the playoff bracket are high-profile clubs such as Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, and Bayer Leverkusen.

These seeded teams (ranked 9th to 16th) will now face unseeded opponents (ranked 17th to 24th) in two-legged ties to determine who moves on to the last 16.
The knockout playoff draw, set for Friday, January 30, will follow a pre-seeded bracket format that pits specific ranking pairs against one another. Real Madrid and Inter Milan, finishing 9th and 10th respectively, are on a collision course to face either Bodo/Glimt or Benfica in their playoff ties. Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United are slated to meet either Monaco or Qarabag, while Juventus and Atletico Madrid are prepared to battle against either Club Brugge or Galatasaray. Finally, Borussia Dortmund and Olympiacos will find their path to the next round blocked by either Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen.

For teams like Napoli and Ajax, the journey ended in heartbreak as they finished in the bottom twelve, meaning they are eliminated from all European competitions this season without the safety net of dropping into the Europa League.