After eight rounds, a bundle of goals and a farewell to 12 teams, the Champions League group phase came to a close on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for La Liga, Girona were amongst the bottom third that are out of Europe for the remainder of the season, but Spain did have three sides progress.
Barcelona managed to finish second after a 2-2 draw with Atalanta, and with it earned themselves progress to the Round of 16. The concern for Hansi Flick will be their defence, which with 13 goals conceded is the fourth-worse record of the teams that qualified. On the other hand, Barcelona boasted the most effective attack by 6 goals, and nobody in Europe has worked out a way of stopping their front three so far.
Joining them in the Round of 16 are Atletico Madrid, who finished 5th after a comfortable 4-1 win against RB Salzburg. They turned their European season around after a worrying start involving defeats to Lille and Benfica, but won every game since, and were joint-third in terms of goals scored. Atletico could be facing a tricky draw though.
Real Madrid did not have the trouble predicted a few matchdays ago, finishing 11th with 15 points, and like Atletico, 20 goals scored. They finished out with a 3-0 win over Brest, but have a nervous wait to see if they play Manchester City or Celtic in the play-off round. Still being in the competition, they are immediately one of the favourites, and are rounding into form, but Carlo Ancelotti still has one or two issues to resolve.
Football España joined CNN World Sport and host Patrick Snell to discuss the Champions League drama, and the prospects of the Spanish giants going forward.
The Champions League draw will take place at 12:00 CEST on Friday, where UEFA will decide the play-off round fixtures. It will also see the paths of each side to the final defined though, meaning Atletico and Barcelona will be keeping a close eye on what happens in it too. All three Liga sides will feel they have a shot at glory though.
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