It is already possible to breathe a little in the French camp. At the end of the first part of the 7th day of the league phase of the Champions League, we are starting to see things a little more clearly. Eleven clubs validated their qualification for the rest of the competition this Tuesday, including three French teams: Brest, Lille and Monaco. Only PSG, opposed this Wednesday evening to Manchester City, is still missing. Whatever the result of this match, the verdict for Paris will therefore come during the trip to Stuttgart on January 29.
Despite its narrow defeat at Anfield against Liverpool (2-1), Lille was indeed able to take advantage of the poor performance of its competitors in the standings to validate its ticket for the play-offs. With 13 points, the Northerners even apply, under certain conditions, for a place in the top 8 in the event of a victory against Feyenoord next Wednesday. Same observation for AS Monaco, who fell to Aston Villa by the narrowest of margins yesterday (1-0), but who will face a solid Inter Milan at the Giuseppe-Meazza stadium for the final day.
Stade Brestois, which faces Shakhtar Donetsk this Wednesday afternoon (6:45 p.m.), has ensured its presence in the next round without even playing. In the event of a victory this evening, the Ty Zefs would even be in a very good position for direct qualification in the round of 16, before hosting Real Madrid at Roudourou to close their group stage.
-If the new C1 format provides that the first 24 will compete in the final phase, it is already possible to say that neither Brest, Lille or Monaco will be able to finish beyond 23rd place. The meetings between Juventus and Benfica on the last day, as well as those between Manchester City and Bruges as well as between PSG and Stuttgart, mathematically predict that three of these teams will not be able to reach 13 points and catch up with the three French clubs.
Atlético de Madrid, Atalanta Bergamo, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan and Aston Villa complete the list of qualifiers. Liverpool and Barcelona, at the cost of an incredible scenario at Benfica (4-5), secured their place in the top 8 on Tuesday evening and will advance directly to the round of 16.
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