![Manchester City's Mateo Kovacic is delighted to have made it through to the Champions League play-offs](https://production-livingdocs-bluewin-ch.imgix.net/2025/01/29/b9aa10b2-a5cf-4243-8abf-5a3b24404ce1.jpeg?w=994&auto=format)
Manchester City turn the game around against Brugge and win 3:1 to avoid an early exit from the Champions League.
It was a shock towards the end of the first half. City, who controlled the game but created few chances, suddenly found themselves 1-0 down. Raphael Onyedika, who was courted by many teams, put the visitors from Belgium ahead and put the 2023 Champions League winners on the brink of a major embarrassment.
The home side were more determined after the break and turned things around within nine minutes. First Mateo Kovacic scored with a low shot, then Brugge defender Joel Ordonez deflected a cross into his own goal. After that, City, with Manuel Akanji in central defense, were no longer shaken and extended their lead. At the other end, however, Akanji's national team colleague Ardon Jashari could also live with the result, as his team is also in the play-offs.
Stuttgart eliminated
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain did not show any weakness. The French side, who would also have had to worry about progressing if they had lost, made things clear early on in Stuttgart. Thanks to goals from Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé (2), the visitors led 3:0 by the 35th minute, but the Parisians eventually ran out 4:1 winners.
The bitter home defeat meant the end of the European season for Stuttgart. The Germans, for whom Swiss internationals Fabian Rieder and Leonidas Stergiou were substituted, lost their place in the top 24.
At the top of the table, Italian teams AC Milan and Atalanta Bergamo dropped out of the top 8, while Lille, who celebrated a 6:1 victory over Feyenoord Rotterdam in the final round, and Aston Villa are somewhat surprisingly through to the round of 16.
Draw on Friday
The draw for the play-offs continues on Friday at 12.00 noon in Nyon. The teams that finish the league phase in places 9 to 16 are seeded and will face the teams in places 17 to 24. "Pairs" are also formed. For example, the teams in places 9 and 10 play against the teams in places 23 or 24, the teams in places 11 and 12 are drawn against the teams in places 21 or 22, and so on. Clubs from the same country can also meet.
The first knockout round will take place on February 11/12 and 18/19. The eight best teams in the group stage have these match days off and will not return to action until the round of 16 in March.
Table
Ranking: 1. Liverpool 21. 2. FC Barcelona 19. 3. Arsenal 19. 4. Inter Milan 19. 5. Atlético Madrid 18. 6. Bayer Leverkusen 16. 7. Lille 16. 8. Aston Villa 16. 9. Atalanta Bergamo 15. 10. Borussia Dortmund 15. 11. Real Madrid 15. 12. Bayern Munich 15. 13. AC Milan 15. 14. PSV Eindhoven 14. 15. Paris Saint-Germain 13. 16. Benfica Lisbon 13. 17. Monaco 13. 18. Brest 13. 19. Feyenoord Rotterdam 13. 20. Juventus Turin 12. 21. Celtic Glasgow 12. 22. Manchester City 11. 23. Sporting Lisbon 11. 24. FC Brugge 11. 25. Dinamo Zagreb 11. 26. VfB Stuttgart 10. 27. Shakhtar Donetsk 7. 28. Bologna 6. 29. Red Star Belgrade 6. 30. Sturm Graz 6. 31. Sparta Prague 4. 32. RB Leipzig 3. 33. Girona 3. 34. Salzburg 3. 35. Slovan Bratislava 0. 36. Young Boys 0.