Summary

  1. Thursday morning recappublished at 09:00 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    It has been a busy one looking back at all of Wednesday's Champions League action so far.

    You can click below to take you back to anything you may have missed.

    Stick with us though because there is loads more to come throughout this morning including more Champions League chatter, transfer talk and all the latest from the women's transfer deadline day!

  2. Key Champions League datespublished at 08:54 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    • 31 January - Play-off draw
    • 11-12 February - Play-off matches first leg
    • 18-19 February - Play-off matches second leg
    • 21 February - Last-16 draw
    • 4-5 March - Last-16 first leg matches
    • 11-12 March - Last-16 second leg matches
  3. Wednesday's Champions League resultspublished at 08:47 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    • Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic
    • Barcelona 2-2 Atalanta
    • Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Sparta Prague
    • Bayern Munich 3-1 Slovan Bratislava
    • Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
    • Brest 0-3 Real Madrid
    • Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 AC Milan
    • Girona 1-2 Arsenal
    • Inter Milan 3-0 Monaco
    • Juventus 0-2 Benfica
    • Lille 6-1 Feyenoord
    • Manchester City 3-1 Club Brugge
    • PSV Eindhoven 3-2 Liverpool
    • Red Bull Salzburg 1-4 Atletico Madrid
    • Sporting CP 1-1 Bologna
    • Sturm Graz 1-0 RB Leipzig
    • Stuttgart 1-4 PSG
    • Young Boys 0-1 Red Star Belgrade
  4. Idah provides timely reminderpublished at 08:41 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic

    In the week Celtic lost talismanic striker Kyogo, Idah provided a timely reminder of his capabilities to some of the more angst-ridden among the club's fans.

    That could be the biggest positive to come from this defeat.

    The Irishman's two goals - the first Villa had conceded on their own patch in the Champions League - not only hauled his team back level from a bleak position, but demonstrated his finishing abilities to many who had forgotten he had them.

    'BVP' - before Villa Park - might become the reference point in Idah's Celtic career, if he can kick on from this and fill Kyogo's substantial shoes.

    The hope for Rodgers is Idah's instinctive finishes, particularly for the first goal where he managed to react brilliantly to get his leg in a difficult position to lash home, will spark something.

    Rodgers said afterwards it will be "big for his confidence", and this campaign has been a boost for Celtic's overall esteem on the grandest stage in club football.

  5. 'While City remain in the Champions League, they will have hope'published at 08:32 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    Man City 3-1 Club Brugge

    John Murray
    BBC Radio 5 Live chief football correspondent

    For the umpteenth time in a season that has proved to be far from what was expected for Manchester City, Pep Guardiola looked to be going through the full range of emotions as his team eventually hauled themselves out of the elimination places and into the Round of 16.

    But now they are there, who would count against them going much further in the competition? Even with the prospect of a blockbuster Play Off tie against either the holders Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, with the first leg being played in Manchester.

    There is a long history of clubs winning the Champions League when their hopes of landing their domestic title have long fallen by the wayside. In 2005, Rafa Benitez’s famous Liverpool team’s victory came after they finished 5th in the Premier League.

    Chelsea ended 6th when they won the Champions League for the first time in 2012, and 4th when Thomas Tuchel’s team beat Manchester City in the Porto Final of 2021.

    And even last season, Borussia Dortmund went all the way to the Wembley Final but could only finish 5th in the Bundesliga.

    Manchester City would need better fortune with injuries in the second half of the season and Rodri won’t be returning for months yet. But for City, while they are still alive in the Champions League there will remain hope they might be able to win it for the second time in three seasons.

  6. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 08:24 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    #bbcfootball, WhatsApp 03301231826, text 81111 (UK only, standard rates apply)

    Ridiculous cash grab. Zero jeopardy and zero big clubs going out, and two extra games to achieve it. Big clubs will learn for next year that they can play rotated sides in most of the games and still qualify.

    Owen

  7. 'If Duran is leaving, it is good news for us'published at 08:17 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic

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    Aston Villa manager Unai Emery believes it is "good news" for the club if Jhon Duran leaves for big money this January but emphasised the fact that he does not know if a move will happen or not.

    Duran has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi club, Al Nassr.

  8. 'It is the highlight of my career so far' - Rogerspublished at 08:10 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic

    Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers celebrates after scoring his hat-trick goal.Image source, Getty Images

    Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers speaking to Uefa: "Definitely the highlight of my career so far. It's a crazy experience and a crazy game to be a part of. It's a massive achievement and we should be proud of ourselves."

    On being the first player in Champions League history to score twice in the opening five minutes: "It's something we had to address starting games behind and giving ourselves a mountain to climb. Still something to work on but the good start is something to put us on the right foot.

    "I felt we were on top for the large majority. We scored two goals and that's what changed the game. We are a bit shorthanded at the back at the moment. We got the win.

    "We had to dig deep, we know we can, we do it in the Premier League every week. We thoroughly deserve it. We've got the hunger and the drive and we've got a manager who pushes us every day."

  9. Rogers makes Champions League historypublished at 08:03 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic

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    Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers is the first player in Champions League history to score twice in the opening five minutes of a game in the competition.

    Take a look at his quick-fire double below. Oh, and the small matter of his hat-trick goal.

  10. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 07:57 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    #bbcfootball, WhatsApp 03301231826, text 81111 (UK only, standard rates apply)

    Mind altering stuff watching all 18 games, quite exhausting yet refreshing! Over fifty goals, drama galore. We now have a tournament worthy of it's anthem!

    Darren, Poland

  11. Man City survive Brugge scare to scrape into play-offspublished at 07:51 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    Man City 3-1 Club Brugge

    Manchester City survived a huge scare as they scraped into the Champions League play-offs with victory over Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium.

    Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions knew only victory would suffice to avoid the abject embarrassment of slipping out of the top 24 places in the tournament's new format.

    And they were left facing that grim prospect after Raphael Onyedika gave Club Brugge a shock lead as he turned in Ferran Jutgla's cross just before half-time.

    City needed a response with tension mounting, duly providing it against a Belgian side who showed enough to fully deserve their place in the play-offs.

    Mateo Kovacic drove low past former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet eight minutes after the break before Joel Ordonez turned Josko Gvardiol's cross into his own net as City finally exerted a measure of control.

    City settled nerves even more when Savinho scored with a low shot that crept in past Mignolet at his near post as Guardiola was finally able to contemplate further progress in the competition Manchester City won in 2023.

  12. 'At half-time I told them we are out'published at 07:44 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    Man City 3-1 Club Brugge

    Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola told his side that they had 45 minutes to save their Champions League campaign during half-time.

    City went into the break 1-0 down, a result that would have seen them eliminated from the competition.

  13. get involved

    Get Involvedpublished at 07:36 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    #bbcfootball, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (standard network charges apply)

    So what did you make of last night's 18-match showpiece finale to the Champions League's league phase?

    We want to hear your thoughts on last night's drama and the new format as a whole.

    Have your say using all of the usual channels.

  14. 'This is mouth-watering stuff' - Champions League play-offs explainedpublished at 07:29 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    On BBC's Match of the Day, former England internationals Joe Hart, Stephen Warnock and French football journalist Julien Laurens discussed the new format and look ahead to what is in store for the knockout rounds.

    Media caption,

    'This is mouthwatering stuff' - big clashes await in the Champions League knockout rounds

  15. Who meets in the last 16?published at 07:22 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    Liverpool and Barcelona cannot meet until the final now after finishing in the top two.

    The Reds will play one of Monaco, Brest, PSG or Benfica in the last 16 - with Barca facing another of those teams.

    Arsenal, who finished third, will play Feyenoord, Juventus, AC Milan or PSV.

    Aston Villa, who just finished in the top eight after beating Celtic, will take on Sporting, Club Brugge, Atalanta or Borussia Dortmund.

    Those ties will take place on 4-5 and 11-12 March.

    But they will not know which team exactly until the last-16 draw takes place on 21 February.

    Clubs will know their potential route to the final by then - with the draws for the quarters and semis also taking place that day.

  16. How did things finish in the league table?published at 07:15 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    The final standings are in. Who could've predicted this is what the table would look like when the Champions League started back in September?

    Manchester City scraping through. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG and AC Milan all relying on play-off places. And three English teams in the top eight with Liverpool top of the tree.

    The top half of the Champions League tableImage source, BBC Sport
    The bottom half of the Champions League tableImage source, Getty Images
  17. What happens next?published at 07:07 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    So, what happens next in the Champions League?

    The teams who finished between ninth and 24th play two-legged play-off ties on 11-12 and 18-19 February to decide who goes through to the last 16.

    The draw will take place on Friday, 31 January at 11:00 GMT... but teams already know which sides they have a 50-50 chance of meeting because of their final positions in the league phase.

    • Watch and follow the Champions League play-off draw on the BBC Sport website and app on Friday from 10:50 GMT
    The bottom half of the Champions League drawImage source, Getty Images
  18. Watch every Champions League goalpublished at 07:00 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January

    Good morning! We hope you are all well.

    The league phase of the 2024/25 Champions League campaign came to a close on Wednesday night, with all 18 matches taking place at the same time.

    A total of 64 goals went in across the night with plenty of drama forming the final night of the league stage.

    You can watch all of those goals and highlights from all 18 matches using the videos here.

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