Group A
Group A
| Clubs | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Real Madrid CF | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 16 | 16 |
 Paris Saint-Germain | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 13 |
 FC Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 3 |
 Malmö FF | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 21 | -20 | 3 |
Group A finished as people would have expected it to with the two financial superpowers in Real Madrid and PSG prevailing over their lesser opposition. For Real Madrid, you'd think by looking at the table that they breezed through this group however a draw in game-week 3 against PSG followed by a narrow 1-0 win against the French giants showed some weaknesses from the Los Blancos when they play in big games. Also in game-week 5, after taking a 4-0 lead away against Shakhtar Donetsk, Real showed real complacency in squandering 3 goals and were lucky to get away with all 3 points so there is work to be done for the Spanish giants before the Round of 16. Cristiano Ronaldo found himself breaking a record in game-week 6 as he scored his 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th goals in the Group Stage becoming the first player to reach double figures in the Champions League at this point as Real hammered Malmo 8-0. A result in which equalled Liverpool's record scoreline with Benitez being in charge of both sides. PSG produced a great showing during this campaign and proved that they will be formidable opponents for whoever they play in the Round of 16. Defensively they looked outstanding as they only conceded once against Real Madrid and whoever draws them has a tough job to get through. Shakhtar were my dark horses for causing an upset in this group but some lacklustre performances saw them drop to joint 3rd in this group. They can take positives however in almost turning around a 4-0 deficit against the group winners so maybe that will give them some belief for their Europa League campaign. Malmo FF found themselves bottom of this group and it was a hard task for them to get anything from this group however, following the 1-0 win against Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo's hopes of 3rd place were on track however in the reverse fixture a 4-0 defeat proved to be the downfall of their European dreams this season as they conceded another 13 goals before the end of the group. Real Madrid and PSG showed that they will be hard to beat in the next round of the competition and for Shakhtar Donstsk, maybe the Europa League will see them draw a team with similar quality so they can prove themselves.
Group B
| Clubs | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 VfL Wolfsburg | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
 PSV Eindhoven | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 10 |
 Manchester United FC | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
 PFC CSKA Moskva | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 4 |
In the preview for this group, I said it would be unpredictable and this group did not fail to excite many with a final day decider. For Wolfsburg, what an amazing job by all the players, staff, fans and everyone associated with the club as they reached the knockout phase for the first time in the Champions League. Despite 2 away losses, they managed to make their home a fortress and doing the double over Russian side CSKA Moscow proved to be crucial. Another positive is that their away defeats were of the scorelines 2-1 vs Man United and 2-0 vs PSV showing that they can keep the score low when losing which will be crucial in the next round. PSV join Wolfsburg in the last 16 giving more evidence that it is crucial to have a perfect home record in this competition. They started the campaign with a close encounter against Manchester United in which they prevailed as 2-1 winners. However, their chances of progressing looked slim after 2 consecutive away defeats saw them needing to at least get 7 points for a chance at qualifying and that's what they did, showing their strength as a squad. Game-week 5 was a crucial part of their qualification as they managed to pick up a point away at Old Trafford despite being dominated and when going 1-0 down in game-week 6, they didn't feel sorry for themselves, they were determined to go through and it showed as they turned it around to win 2-1 and deservedly progress to the Round of 16. Manchester United are heading to the Europa League. After high hopes for progression after avoiding many of Europe's heavyweight clubs, Man United fans were left furious with Van Gaal's comments 'We are making progress' after suffering a humiliating exit. A lack of goals has been United's problem in the Premier League this season and that carried over to the Champions League. Frustrating draws away at CSKA Moscow where they were lucky not to be punished for not taking their chances and a 0-0 draw at home to PSV gives me the impression that the Van Gaal philosophy is play to avoid defeat rather than play to win. The 0-0 draw with PSV left United joint 2nd and a point ahead of 3rd with a game to go. Wolfsburg away was always going to be a tough game but with youngsters filling the squad come the final whistle, I think the occasion may have got to them. To go 1-0 up after 10 minutes was a perfect start so to concede 3 minutes later showed a lack of experience then after coming back from 2-1 down courtesy of an own goal, United conceded just two minutes later to end a poor campaign. Maybe the Europa League will bring better results for Van Gaal's tactics. CSKA showed their inconsistency in Europe yet again as despite a 3-2 win vs PSV, followed by a 1-1 draw vs Manchester United, they then went on to lose their final 3 games and ended a disappointing campaign in 4th place.
Group C
| Clubs | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Club Atlético de Madrid | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 13 |
 SL Benfica | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
 Galatasaray AŞ | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 5 |
 FC Astana | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 4 |
With FC Astana making history in this year's Champions League as they first side from Kazakhstan to reach the Group Stage, Group C was another which threw a few surprises at us. Atletico Madrid looked comfortable throughout this group however they will need to make sure that they don't allow a result like the 2-1 defeat at home to Benfica happen in the next round as that would give them a mountain to climb in the next leg. With only 3 goals conceded, Atletico showed how strong they are defensively therefore showing that whoever plays them will have to be at their best to score. Benfica were a team I questioned before this group stage as they had a stuttering start to their domestic league however, they looked a different team in this competition as they progressed to the next stage. Managing to replicate their 2-1 away win against Atletico Madrid while making sure they don't lose at home will be crucial to Benfica if they are going to progress beyond the next round. With how many goals they concede though, I do believe that Benfica's run will come to an end at the next round. Galatasaray had a disappointing campaign this year as they failed to make their home a fortress like usual as they only picked up 4 out of a possible 9 points. Their 2-1 win vs Benfica in game-week 3 was hoped to be a turning point however, they failed to get another win and find themselves in the Europa League and with the experience and quality they have in their side, I think they'll go far. Founded 6 years ago, FC Astana faced a tough ask in this group and many expected them to get hammered every week. However, it was quite remarkable what they managed to achieve. Despite a heavy away defeat to Atletico Madrid which they lost 4-0 and a 2-0 defeat away at Benfica, FC Astana defied the odds and went unbeaten at home drawing all their games and even got a point away at Galatasary, something that many of the biggest clubs in Europe have failed to achieve. They've proved that they weren't just there to add the numbers and that they will be a formidable opponent for any side in Europe and hopefully they qualify again next year.
Group D
| Clubs | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Manchester City FC | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 12 |
 Juventus | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
 Sevilla FC | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 6 |
 VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 5 |
I expected Manchester City to battle hard for this group however I never expected them to win it. Manchester City have been known for never stepping up in Europe however this year, they answered all their critics and prevailed as group winners. The 4-2-3-1 formation has evidently caused a change in the way teams play against them as there was less space for their opposition to expose due to how compact the team is when playing this formation, especially away from home. Scoring an average of 2 goals per game is no easy feat in this competition so when achieved, teams will be taking note of how well City play when on the attack however they need to reduce the number of goals conceded if they are going to make it all the way. Another problem for City is that their 2 defeats came against Juventus which may show that Man City struggle to perform to the best of their ability against big teams. Juventus really surprised me during this group stage. They did the double over group winners Man City however were poor away from home against Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach which saw them only pick up 4 points away from home. Maybe they are missing the experience of Andrea Pirlo who has pulled the strings from midfield in recent years or maybe other teams have worked out how to counter the Italians (other than Man City), the only way to find out is in the next round and Juventus could now find themselves facing Barcelona or Real Madrid. Sevilla started and ended the group stage in perfect style however losing the four games in-between was was very disappointing. Sevilla did prove that they could score goals however they also showed their defensive problems as they conceded way too many goals. Sevilla have won the last two Europa Leagues so heading into this competition may be welcomed by many of their fans. Borussia Monchengladbach's young team tried hard to get through this group and like Sevilla showed that scoring wasn't an issue but defending was and I'm sure this group stage was a great learning curve for their players. They can take pride in the fact that they were unbeaten against last year's runner's up Juventus and hopefully the next time they are in this competition, they can get a few more wins.
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