Champions League play-offs and knockouts: What we know so far as Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea and Man City go straight into last 16

The league phase of the Champions League reached a thrilling conclusion with 18 simultaneous games and a total of 61 goals, including one by Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.

Leaders Arsenal maintained their perfect record with a 3-2 victory over Kairat Almaty. Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City also clinched top-eight finishes to go straight into the last 16.

Here's a look at some of the key themes from the league phase and what we know about the impending knockout stages.

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Premier League clubs dominate

The final standings underline the strength of the Premier League.

Five of the top eight are English clubs, while no other nation has more than one.

Germany, Spain and Portugal have a representative each in Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Sporting.

Newcastle are the only English side to have missed out on a top-eight finish but go into the knockout phase play-offs as one of the seeded sides, having finished 12th, meaning they will face one of two unseeded teams in Qarabag or Monaco.

Since the introduction of the league phase format last season, the Premier League has had a combined eight top-eight finishes. It's more than twice as many as any other league, with Spain's La Liga next on three.

England set for fifth Champions League spot

One of the benefits of English teams performing so strongly in Europe is that the Premier League is now all but certain to repeat last season's feat of clinching a fifth Champions League spot by finishing in the top two of UEFA's coefficient table.

With five Premier League teams having gone straight into the Champions League last 16, and with all nine Premier League teams in Europe still alive in their respective competitions, England sits comfortably top of the table ahead of Germany.

Newcastle were the beneficiaries last season, clinching their place in this campaign's Champions League with a fifth-placed Premier League finish. Now the door is open for another side to take advantage as English teams continue to perform strongly on the continent.

When English teams can face each other

With Newcastle the only English club in the knockout phase play-offs, there is no prospect of an all-English play-off.

The earliest opportunity for two English sides to meet is in the last 16, when Newcastle could come up against Chelsea, although we will have to wait until the draw for the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals on February 27 for that.

The earliest opportunity for any other all-English meetings is in the quarter-finals, when Manchester City could meet Arsenal and Chelsea or Newcastle could meet Tottenham or Liverpool.

Extra fixtures for Newcastle

While five of the six Premier League sides will benefit from back-to-back free midweeks in February having gone straight into the last 16, Newcastle add two games to an already hectic schedule.

Eddie Howe's side will play their play-off first and second legs on February 17 or 18 and February 24 or 25, in between Premier League games away to Manchester City on February 21 and at home to Everton on February 28.

Arsenal can't face Bayern until the final

Arsenal's first-place finish gives them a number of advantages. As the No 1 seed, they can't play a seed higher than 15th in the last 16, a seed higher than seventh until the quarter-final, Liverpool or Tottenham until the semis, and they avoid Bayern Munich until the final.

In addition, they will benefit from a new rule this season that states that the top two league phase finishers will play their second legs at home throughout the whole competition.

Man City could face Real Madrid… again

Meetings between Manchester City and Real Madrid have become annual events in the Champions League. The two sides have faced each other in five consecutive seasons in the competition having already gone head-to-head in the league phase in December.

Now they could meet again in the last 16.

With Real Madrid having slipped into the play-off places, they will face either City or Sporting if they can get through their play-off tie against either Benfica or Bodo/Glimt.

Another meeting between Real Madrid and Manchester City would be good news for the neutral, if their previous knockout meetings are anything to go by. The last five two-legged ties have featured 40 goals, with Madrid advancing on three occasions and City on two.

Mourinho's Benfica rescued but big clubs to bow out

Incredible drama in Lisbon saw Jose Mourinho's Benfica clinch a play-off spot on goal difference thanks to a 98th-minute goal by goalkeeper Trubin against Real Madrid.

Remarkably, Benfica may now face Mourinho's former club in the play-offs, with the goal simultaneously knocking Real Madrid down to ninth.

But despite accusations of lack of jeopardy for the big clubs following the introduction of the league phase format last season, there were still some big beasts to fall this time around.

In fact, there are six European Cup wins among the clubs eliminated, with past winners Ajax, Marseille and PSV Eindhoven among the 12 clubs to bow out.

Napoli, Serie A winners last season, also went out having slumped to a 30th-placed league phase finish with their 3-2 loss to Chelsea, having won only two of their eight games under Antonio Conte.

Spain's Villarreal, two-time Champions League semi-finalists, went out even more meekly, failing to win a single game and taking a solitary point from their eight games as they finished second-bottom in 35th place.

When are the 2025/26 Champions League knockout stages?

Play-off draw: January 30, 2026
Knockout play-offs: February 17-18 and 24-25, 2026
Round of 16: March 10-11 and 17-18, 2026
Quarter-finals: April 7-8 and 14-15, 2026
Semi-finals: April 28-29 and May 5-6, 2026
Final: Saturday, May 30, 2026

Where is the Champions League final being held in 2026?

The 2025/26 Champions League final will take place in Budapest at the Puskas Arena on Saturday May 30.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Champions League play-offs and knockouts: What we know so far as Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea and Man City go straight into last 16