UEFA Champions League draw: Date, teams qualified, seeds, rules for Round of 16

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The complete field of 16 teams that will advance to the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League knockout rounds has not yet been finalized, but we already have 11 clubs that have booked their spots.
European giants Liverpool, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Juventus were the first four teams to clinch on Matchday 4 of the group stage, while Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, Real Madrid and Inter Milan joined them on Matchday 5.

Only the top two teams in each group advance, and there’s incentive to win the group when it comes to the Round of 16 draw on Monday, Dec. 13. The first-place team from each group will be seeded, and their Round of 16 opponent will be drawn from a pot of the second-place finishers.
Champions League Round of 16 qualifiers
Group 1st Place 2nd Place
Grp A Manchester City Paris Saint-Germain
Grp B Liverpool —
Grp C Ajax Sporting CP
Grp D Real Madrid / Inter Milan Real Madrid / Inter Milan
Grp E Bayern Munich —
Grp F Manchester United —
Grp G — —
Grp H Chelsea / Juventus Chelsea / Juventus

Second-half goals by Thiago Alcantara and Mohamed Salah earned a below-strength Liverpool a 2-0 win over Porto to maintain their 100% record in Champions League Group B on Wednesday.

Porto, who started the day second in the group behind already-qualified Liverpool, wasted numerous first-half opportunities and were made to pay a heavy price.

Their record against Liverpool now stands at played 10, drawn three and lost seven.

Liverpool, with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson rested, went ahead through Thiago’s stunning low strike in the 52nd minute before Salah made the points safe with a clinical finish in the 70th.

Juergen Klopp’s side have a maximum 15 points from their five matches and matched a remarkable record as they became the first English club to score two goals in 16 successive games in all competitions since Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1939.

Porto retain hopes of joining Liverpool in the last 16, however, as they hung on to second place with five points thanks to Atletico Madrid’s 1-0 home defeat by AC Milan.

Porto host Atletico (four) in their final match in the group with Milan (four) hosting Liverpool.

“So many good things happened tonight, players got minutes, rhythm, confidence, nobody got hurt,” Klopp said. “Thiago’s goal… wow!”

FRINGE PLAYERS

With top spot already assured it was a night for some of Liverpool’s fringe players to impress, as 19-year-old Tyler Morton made his Champions League debut and Takumi Minamino earned a rare start.

Yet they struggled in the first half in which Porto were the better and more eager side.

The Portuguese champions were close to taking the lead when Mehdi Taremi’s glancing header deflected off Joel Matip and went narrowly wide of Alisson’s post.

Evanilson then had a shot blocked by Ibrahima Konate but Porto’s best chance arrived when Colombian Luis Diaz raced away and squared for Otavio who sliced horribly wide under pressure from Kostas Tsimikas.

Liverpool occasionally changed gear and thought they had gone ahead when Thiago’s pass split the Porto defence and Sadio Mane ran through to score. However, his celebrations on his 50th European game for Liverpool were cut short by a VAR check which showed he had been fractionally offside.

Porto coach Sergio Conceicao was then furious before halftime as Taremi bizarrely opted to try to pick out a team mate when he had the chance to test Alisson.

The chances kept arriving for Porto at the start of the second half with Mateus Uribe’s shot on the turn flashing past the post and they were soon to regret their profligacy.

In the 52nd minute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s free kick was headed out and the elegant Thiago met a bouncing ball on the edge of the area with the sweetest of low strikes with the outside of his right foot to send a skimming shot arrowing past keeper Diogo Costa and inside the post.

“The goal was the beauty I like to bring in football,” Thiago said of his first Champions League goal for Liverpool.

Salah then combined with substitute Henderson before cutting in from the right and beating Costa with a left-foot shot for his sixth goal so far in the group stage.

United sealed their ticket to the last 16 in Michael Carrick’s first match as interim manager. David de Gea made two fine saves from Manu Trigueros to keep the visitors level and they made the most by striking twice in the final 12 minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo coolly lobbed United in front after Fred had won possession before Jadon Sancho rifled in his first for the club off the bar.

Chelsea leapfrogged Juventus at the summit with an impressive display. Needing only a draw to progress, the Blues took the lead when Trevoh Chalobah, on his first Champions League start, drilled in a fine half-volley from close range following Hakim Ziyech’s corner. Thomas Tuchel’s side then hit two goals in the space of three devastating minutes just before the hour, with Reece James rifling a powerful strike in from a tight angle and Callum Hudson-Odoi side-footing home from close range. Substitute Timo Werner rounded off the scoring with a fourth in added time.
Man. City 2-1 Paris
A cool 76th-minute finish from substitute Gabriel Jesus ensured last season’s finalists go through as Group A winners, with Paris qualifying as runners-up. After dominating the first half, City were caught out by a slick interchange involving the visitors’ attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, culminating in the France striker firing his side ahead five minutes after the break on his 50th UEFA Champions League appearance.

Raheem Sterling prodded the hosts level, however, and Neymar put a golden chance to restore Paris’s lead wide two minutes before Jesus’s eventual winner

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