For the second year running, Manchester City succeeded in qualifying from the group phase of the Champions League. They did it in style after beating Roma 2-0 away at the Olympic Stadium last week.
Without injured top scorer Sergio Aguero, City showed they have other players to rely on and score goals in key matches.
Samir Nasri’s second-half strike must have given the French national team selectors a lot to think about as to why the nippy City midfielder has been overlooked by Les Bleus.
In Rome, City were also missing captain Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure but they still managed to hold their own.
This has been another stunning turnaround for City.
The victory over group winners Bayern Munich, winning 3-2 thanks to Aguero’s treble after being 2-1 down, gave the English champions the boost needed to produce another great performance against the Italians.
For the second year running, City, who finished seven points adrift of Bayern Munich, will meet Barcelona in the Last 16.
Chelsea were the only English side to win their group. They were undefeated in six matches, scoring the most goals – 17.
John Obi Mikel’s netting in a 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon saw the Nigerian claim his first Champions League goal for Chelsea in 55 appearances.
The London Blues have been drawn against Paris St-Germain in the Last 16.
Although Arsenal are still looking for their first success in the Champions League, they have become a fixture in the knock-out phase, having reached the last 16 for the 15th successive year.
Most of the fans who jeered Arsene Wenger following the Premier League upset to Stoke City applauded him in Istanbul as Arsenal beat Galatasaray 4-1 with Aaron Ramsey scoring a gem of a goal.
It seems the Gunners’ fans had forgotten that their team has been severely hit by injuries this season.
Their total of 13 points was the same as Borussia Dortmund who won the group on better goal difference.
Wenger now has his eyes firmly fixed on steadying Arsenal’s domestic campaign and it looks like they’re back on track after a 4-1 rout of Newcastle last weekend.
In the last 16 in Europe, Arsenal will come up against Monaco, Wenger’s former club.
Will Liverpool take any comfort from the demotion to the Europa League after their failure to progress past the group stage in the Champions League?
Many English teams have shown in the past that they were not really glad to take part in this competition due to the congestion of fixtures and the Thursday kick-offs.
However, as their current form in the Premier League is way off the desired levels, it now seems that Liverpool’s only hope of playing in the Champions League next year is to win the Europa League.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and captain Steven Gerrard were in agreement about the side’s performances not being good enough to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Champions League.
After a quartet of English clubs reached the knock-out stage last year, this time round Liverpool’s elimination means there are only three left – Man. City, Chelsea and Arsenal. The chances are still high though for a Premier League side to reach the final for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
2005: Liverpool-Milan 3-3 aet (Reds won 3-2 on pens) in Istanbul.
2006: Barcelona-Arsenal 2-1 in Paris.
2007: Milan-Liverpool 2-1 in Athens.
2008: Manchester United-Chelsea 1-1 aet (United won 6-5 on pens) in Moscow.
2009: Barcelona-Manchester United 2-0 in Rome.
2011: Barcelona-Manchester United 3-1 in London.
2012: Chelsea-Bayern Munich 1-1 aet (Chelsea won 4-3 on pens) in Munich.