Editor’s Note: these figures refer to teams’ performance in this week’s round of matches and not their chances of winning the competition as a whole.
A+
Arsenal
Five Arsenal goals at half-time and six different goalscorers at full-time, this was Mikel Arteta’s team at their attacking best, and they took heavy revenge on the French team they previously lost to. Kai Havertz, after his goal at Brentford last weekend, started scoring on a night when Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka tore their opponents apart in full flight. They sit top of the Premier League and safely qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League on their first appearance in five seasons. The Gunners are doing very well.
a
Borussia Dortmund
Winning at San Siro is no easy feat, but with such class it is even more difficult. Milan was admittedly undersized, reduced to just one central defender, a limping Fikayo Timori, but Borussia Dortmund expertly selected for such weaknesses. Mats Hummels, meanwhile, turned back the clock when setting up the defense and when fellow veteran Marco Reus opened the scoring from the penalty spot, Dortmund got it right. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who scored their second, appears to be the latest Englishman from the BVB production line to succeed Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho, while Karim Adeyemi, their other goalscorer, showed talent that doesn’t always come to the fore. Gio Reyna remained on the bench, meaning his confrontation with USMNT colleague Christian Pulisic, who was silenced after a few flashes, never happened. From a very difficult group and despite their indifferent Bundesliga season, Dortmund qualified to leave Milan, Newcastle and PSG fighting for scraps.
A-
Shaktar
The heroics continue. Beating Antwerp in Hamburg was a lot easier than beating Barcelona last time Shaktar but the Belgians put up a real fight. Mykola Matvyenko’s early header gave him and his fellow defenders a lead, meaning the final group match in Porto will decide the fate of both teams. The next question is whether players like him, goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk and sought-after midfielder Heorhiy Sudakov, linked to various Premier League clubs, will be at Shakhtar when the knockouts come next year.
B+
Atletico, Young Boys, Real Madrid, PSV Eindhoven
A trip to Feyenoord seemed a difficult prospect Atletico Madrid, but it was a task they understood well. Alvaro Morata had one of those games where his obvious talent dwindled due to poor finishing and it took two own goals to get them over the line, but he made it to the last 16 with a game to spare game relief for Diego Simeone . Rodrigo Riquelme was praised by his manager for his defensive efforts as a left wing-back and was almost in tears as he collected the man of the match award. “I have fought for a long time to play for the club of my life,” he said. Simeone can be a tough lesson.
b
Newcastle, Lazio, Copenhagen
Perhaps instead of the shocking criminal decision that robbed Newcastle Ultimately, Tuesday will be remembered as the night Lewis Miley announced himself on the European stage. Those in the know have been picking Miley as the next Paul Gascoigne for a while now. He played his part in Newcastle’s goal and also contributed defensively, supporting Kieran Trippier’s job of keeping Kylian Mbappe quiet. It almost paid off. Eddie Howe’s team has been ravaged by injuries, but that presents opportunities for the likes of Miley to shine and embody the spirit that is giving Newcastle an unlikely chance of qualification in their final match against Milan.
B−
Manchester United, Galatasaray, Barcelona, Manchester City
Who said the group stage was boring? Mostly due to their own shortcomings, Manchester United have featured in a series of heartbreaking encounters. Unlike in the Premier League, they have an attacking threat, and Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay scored fine goals, with Fernandes being particularly spectacular. In the Premier League their defense has looked better of late, but here was the repeat of the atrocious defense they have saved for Europe. Set pieces have been a disaster, largely thanks to Andre Onana’s lax goalkeeping, which has been improving in domestic football of late. At no point did United attempt to gain control of a match through careful play. The Champions League seems to encourage the red mist from which they emerge to go two goals ahead and then throw away the lead just as easily. And in Galatasaray they faced an opponent more than willing to go head-to-head in a game that deserves a high score for its relentless entertainment.
C+
Benfica, Inter, Napoli
It was bad competition for that Benfica this season, but when Joao Mario scored the first ever hat-trick of the Champions League era for long-time European Cup legend Eusebio’s club, it looked like they would end their barren run. And yet they ended the evening with just a point, as Inter, already on, turned up the big guns and might even have won the match during a helter-skelter in the final ten minutes. Yet Benfica at least took a first point of the campaign.
c
RB Leipzig, Porto, Bayern Munich, SC Braga
Bayern Munich reached 39 unbeaten group games, meaning Manchester United must avoid reaching 40 next time. Copenhagen has proven to be a difficult opponent for the players in Group A and defended very well, leaving Harry Kane in particular with a lack of space. Manuel Neuer, back with the team for the last month after his post-World Cup skiing accident, looked back to his old self by making a late double save that preserved Bayern’s record and also kept United in the competition.
C-
PSG, Antwerp, Red Bull Salzburg, Real Sociedad
The name Bradley Barcola will be heard for many years to come after the summer signing from Lyon showed up to miss the target, leaving Parisians gasping in disbelief. In xG terms: PSG battered against that understrength Newcastle team, but still never looked convinced they could score until Tino Livramento was adjudged to have committed a handball infringement. That led to the resignation of the errant Polish VAR official, but it also meant that PSG retained their fate in their hands, for which they can consider themselves very fortunate.
D+
Seville, Porto
That meant Ricardo Pepi’s late winner for PSV Eindhoven Seville urgently need to beat Lens in their final group match to return to their natural habitat, the Europa League. The El Paso striker scored with time added in a match in which his USMNT colleague Sergino Dest had started a fightback from two goals down by setting up Ismael Saibari for first. Sevilla were cruising until striker Lucas Ocampos took it upon himself to be sent off.
D-
Milan, Red Star Belgrade, Lens, Union Berlin
It looked like Union Berlin could be a team that ends their Champions League drama just because they fail to take advantage of Braga being down to 10 men after Sikou Niakate’s red card. When Robin Gosens put them ahead, a first victory seemed to be in store, but they fell victim to Alvaro Djalo’s latest goal. Real Madrid’s visit to Germany will complete Union’s European campaign and force them to focus on their dismal, relegation-threatened Bundesliga season, with two games left before the winter break.
F
Celtic
Celtic I have played much worse in the Champions League than in Rome against Lazio, but anything other than a fifteenth game in a row without a win in the competition seemed unlikely. A defense including Cameron Carter-Vickers fell prey to Ciro Immobile’s mastery of finishing, setting an unwanted record. Yet at least Brendan Rodgers was able to present the Pope with a signed Celtic shirt.