Champions League Panic Meter: Napoli on the verge to be eliminated, Barca in good spot, Benfica in trouble
The Champions League will conclude its league phase on Wednesday, and you can see all the games on Paramount+
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3 min read
The last matchday of the UEFA Champions League league phase will be crucial to determine which of the 36 teams involved in the top European tournament will advance to the round of 16 directly, which of them will have to go through the playoffs, and which will be going home. While the top eight teams will advance directly to the next phase in March, 16 sides will face each other in the playoffs next month, and the bottom eight in the standings will be eliminated from the tournament. For this reason, the final matchday of the league phase, scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 28, will be the most important one. As always, you can watch it all on Paramount+. Let's take a look at the panic meter for some of the top teams involved in the madness of the last matchday of the first phase:
Standings
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | +18 | 21 |
| 2 | Bayern Munich | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 7 | +13 | 18 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 15 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 15 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 14 |
| 6 | PSG | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 10 | +10 | 13 |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 13 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 13 |
| 9 | Barcelona | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 13 |
| 10 | Sporting CP | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 13 |
| 11 | Manchester City | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 13 |
| 12 | Atletico Madrid | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 13 |
| 13 | Atalanta | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 13 |
| 14 | Inter | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 12 |
| 15 | Juventus | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 12 |
| 16 | Borussia Dortmund | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 15 | +4 | 11 |
| 17 | Galatasaray | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 10 |
| 18 | Qarabag | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 15 | -2 | 10 |
| 19 | Olympique Marseille | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 9 |
| 20 | Bayer Leverkusen | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 14 | -4 | 9 |
| 21 | Monaco | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 9 |
| 22 | PSV | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 8 |
| 23 | Athletic Club | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 8 |
| 24 | Olympiacos | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 8 |
| 25 | Napoli | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 8 |
| 26 | FC Copenhagen | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 17 | -6 | 8 |
| 27 | Club Brugge | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 17 | -5 | 7 |
| 28 | Bodo/Glimt | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 6 |
| 29 | Benfica | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 6 |
| 30 | Pafos | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 6 |
| 31 | Union Saint-Gilloise | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 17 | -10 | 6 |
| 32 | Ajax | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 6 |
| 33 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 4 |
| 34 | Slavia Prague | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 15 | -11 | 3 |
| 35 | Villarreal | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 1 |
| 36 | Kairat | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 19 | -14 | 1 |
Barcelona
Let's start with Hansi Flick's team. Actually, they are in a good spot right now and are likely to end up in the top eight but things might be tricky on the last matchday for some of the biggest teams around Europe. Barcelona currently have 13 points, tied with seven teams including Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and Atalanta, but as of now they are 9th, meaning they would have to play the playoffs in February. Next week they will meet FC Copenhagen who will need to score points to avoid the elimination but Lamine Yamal will be back after the suspension and this might help them to score goals and avoid the additional two games in February. Panic level: 1/10
Inter
Things don't look great for Inter ahead of the last matchday of the league phase as the Nerazzurri won the opening four matches against Slavia Prague, Ajax, Kairat and Union SG but then lost to Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal. Cristian Chivu's team were in a good spot after the opening four matches and probably needed only one win in the last three games to avoid the playoffs but they will now need to win away against Borussia Dortmund and then hope for some good news coming from the other games around Europe. It's almost impossible for them to avoid the playoffs next month and this is not a good news for the Scudetto race as the Nerazzurri would add two more games in the coming weeks. Panic level: 4/10
Napoli
Antonio Conte's team are really on the verge of being eliminated from the league phase of the Champions League. After two wins, two draws and three defeats in the opening seven games of the season, Napoli are currently in 25th place, one stop below the playoff line, and most importantly, they will face Chelsea at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona next week. While Liam Rosenior's side will try to access the top eight, Napoli's last match will be crucial for them. Only a win can assure them qualification, while with the draw they need to hope for some positive results coming from elsewhere. It's Napoli's fault to be here at this point but it's not over yet. Panic level: 9/10
Benfica
We need to be fair: Benfica are in a worse position than Napoli but their ambitions weren't the same ones as the side coached by Conte. Since Jose Mourinho took over the Portuguese club, Benfica recorded four defeats against Chelsea, Newcastle, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus but also won 2-0 against Napoli and 2-0 against Ajax away. They can still hope for a playoff qualification but they need to win against Real Madrid, another former team coached by "The Special One." Panic level: 7/10
