Teams Advance to Knockout Stage After Dramatic Wins
Two teams secured their places in the knockout stage, with City overcoming Club Brugge 3-1. They now face a challenging next round against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.
Both teams had risked embarrassing exits before winning on Wednesday, grateful to be among the 24 teams in the knockout stage. In the new playoffs-round draw on Friday, they will also find the defending champion Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, who finished in mid-table after the 36-team standings were finalised.
City flirted with disaster before rallying to beat Club Brugge 3-1 in a must-win game. Trailing 1-0 at halftime and sitting 26th in the live standings, the 2023 title-winner was sparked by substitute Savinho to avoid elimination.
"In the second half we let our souls and hearts free," said City manager Pep Guardiola, who had an anguished evening on the sidelines and was shown a yellow card.
City finished 22nd, but relief turned to the realisation that its playoff round opponent will be either Madrid or Bayern, which were slotted into the bracket possibilities in, respectively, 11th and 12th place.
