Instead of going straight into the traditional round of 16, the competition will feature a knockout phase play-off. In this stage, the teams that finished ninth to 16th in the group phase will face off against those that placed 17th to 24th, with each tie played over two legs.

The group stage at the UEFA Champions League officially came to a close on Wednesday and the standings are now final. Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal,

Manchester City snuck their way into the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds on Wednesday, avoiding elimination on a dramatic final day of the competition's first-ever league phase. Pep Guardiola's side entered halftime with a 1-0 deficit to Club Brugge but three goals after halftime ensured they would clinch a spot in the top 24 and participate in the knockout round playoffs with a 3-1 win.

The league phase of Champions League has come to a close and Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain avoided disaster by securing their spots in the knockout stage. Buoyed by hat tricks from Morgan Rogers,

Manchester City scraped through to the playoff knockout round of the Champions League with a 3-1 win Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday as Liverpool wrapped up top spot in the group phase.

And so we come to the final week of the Champions League’s new league phase. Never before has European football known 36 teams jostling for position in its biggest competition and by tomorrow, it will be time to part with 12 of them once and for all.