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The inaugural Swiss-style Champions League format has already proved to be highly unpredictable.

But there are still three rounds of league phase matches to be played and no team’s fate is yet set in stone.

To achieve automatic qualification into the round of 16, teams must find themselves within the top eight of the league phase table.

Those in ninth to 24th enter a round of two-legged play-offs in February, with the winners taking the other eight spots.

Teams that finish anywhere from 25th to 36th will be eliminated from this season’s competition, with no access to the Europa League.

Champions League league phase table in full

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the big hitters are faring in the competition…

Liverpool

Current position: 1st
Remaining fixtures: Girona (a), Lille (h), PSV (a)

Liverpool are not only floating on air in the Premier League and in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, they are outright leaders in the Champions League with a perfect record of five wins from five and just one goal conceded. To see them miss out on a top-eight spot from here seems as though it would be highly unlikely.

Arsenal

Current position: 7th
Remaining fixtures: Monaco (h), Dinamo Zagreb (h), Girona (a)

Arsenal’s defensive record has been impeccable, too, but an opening draw against Atalanta and the 1-0 defeat away at Inter Milan in early November means they sit seventh only on goal difference and are far from assured of finishing in the top eight. However, their final two opponents currently sit 23rd and 30th in the league phase table.

Aston Villa

Current position: 9th
Remaining fixtures: RB Leipzig (a), Monaco (a), Celtic (h)

Aston Villa’s first Champions League campaign in over 40 years has gone swimmingly so far and they even topped the league phase table after three games, having won all three without conceding. Like Arsenal, they sit inside the top 10, but form has dipped at the wrong time and Unai Emery’s side have won just one of their last eight in all competitions.

Man City

Current position: 17th
Remaining fixtures: Juventus (a), Paris Saint-Germain (a), Club Brugge (h)

Are Man City in crisis? It’s the question on everyone’s lips at the moment, given Pep Guardiola’s side have now gone six games without a win in all competitions. The latest came in the Champions League on Tuesday night, when they blew a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 at home to Feyenoord. The 2022/23 winners are two points off the top eight at the moment, but have time to claw their way back.

Celtic

Current position: 20th
Remaining fixtures: Dinamo Zagreb (a), Young Boys (h), Aston Villa (a)

Aside from the 7-1 thumping away at Borussia Dortmund in October, Celtic have more than held their own in the Champions League, with a draw against reigning Europa League champions Atalanta and a convincing win at home to RB Leipzig perhaps the most impressive of the bunch. Hopes of at least a top-24 finish are increasing by the week.

Barcelona

Current position: 3rd
Remaining fixtures: Borussia Dortmund (a), Benfica (a), Atalanta (h)

Barcelona are flying in both LaLiga and the Champions League – but what has been most eye-catching is just how many goals they are scoring. In just 19 games across those competitions, they have scored 60 goals (42 in LaLiga, 18 in Champions League), which has naturally put them top of the scoring charts in both. Hansi Flick’s side are simply blowing teams away and, with 36-year-old Robert Lewandowski in such lethal form – he has 22 goals to his name already this term – it is hard to see them slowing down.

Real Madrid

Current position: 24th
Remaining fixtures: Atalanta (a), Red Bull Salzburg (a), Brest (a)

The same cannot be said for Barcelona’s old foes Real Madrid. It has been one of the biggest shocks of this season’s tournament to see last season’s winners lose not once but three times, most recently against Liverpool who are, arguably, the most in-form side in Europe right now. And with Atalanta and Brest both eyeing up a top-eight spot, it could get worse still in the New Year.

Borussia Dortmund

Current position: 4th
Remaining fixtures: Barcelona (h), Bologna (a), Shakhtar Donetsk (h)

Borussia Dortmund’s form in the Bundesliga this season has been consistently inconsistent – they have alternated between a win and a defeat in each of their last nine games at the time of writing – but the same cannot be said in the Champions League. Granted, aside from Real Madrid, Nuri Sahin’s side could have faced tougher opposition, but they have asserted their dominance and got the job done each time, which has put them in a great position to finish in the top eight.

Bayern Munich

Current position: 13th
Remaining fixtures: Shakhtar Donetsk (a), Feyenoord (a), Slovan Bratislava (h)

When Bayern Munich’s 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the opening round of fixtures set a new record for the Champions League’s highest-scoring game, it seemed they would cruise through. Defeats away at Aston Villa and Barcelona, however, brought them right back down to Earth. The likelihood of a top-24 spot has since increased with professional 1-0 wins over Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain for the Bundesliga leaders.

Paris Saint-Germain

Current position: 25th
Remaining fixtures: Red Bull Salzburg (a), Man City (h), Stuttgart (a)

While PSG have lost just twice in their last 46 Ligue 1 matches, last season’s Champions League semi-finalists have struggled this term and are perhaps the competition’s biggest underachievers. Only three teams have scored fewer than their tally of three and they have lost three of their last four after beating Girona 1-0 in the opening round of fixtures. They must make the most of matches against fellow strugglers Red Bull Salzburg and Stuttgart – and also hope for a bit of luck – to have any chance of avoiding early elimination.

When are the 2024/25 Champions League knockout stages?

• Knockout round play-offs: February 11/12 and February 18/19, 2025
• Round of 16: March 4/5 and March 11/12, 2025
• Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16, 2025
• Semi-finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7, 2025
• Final: May 31, 2025

When and where is the 2025 Champions League final?

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season will take place in Munich at the Allianz Arena on May 31, 2025.

A delighted Arne Slot “liked what he saw” as he watched Liverpool beat reigning European champions Real Madrid 2-0 at Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday, but was quick to downplay the significance of the result with so much of the competition remaining.

“I liked a lot what I saw,” he said. “Of course, not everything. I think we controlled the first half with creating a few chances but I also thought we were still a bit sloppy. And I said ‘try to be even more patient, let the gaps open up instead of forcing them’.”

After seven defeats and a draw – including losses in the 2018 and 2022 finals – the Reds gained their first success over their European nemesis since 2009 with goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo.

Liverpool top the Champions League with five wins from five and are on the verge of securing a place in the last 16, albeit Slot did temper the win by saying it would mean much more if it came in the knockout stages.

“I wouldn’t say it is the same as any other one because you know how special it is to play against a club that won this Champions League so many times and are the reigning champions as well, and were a pain in the a*** for Liverpool many times as well,” he told TNT Sports.

In his post-match press conference Slot added: “I think it is always good to win a game and especially a big game like this, you know you face so many quality players.

“This is such a strange and different setup in the Champions League it is difficult to judge how important these wins are.

“If we meet them in the last 16 and then we are able to beat them it would be a bigger statement.”

Analysis: Liverpool keep passing the tests

Sky Sports’ Adam Bate:

During the early part of the season, Slot himself had preached the need for caution regarding Liverpool’s positive start let alone the more sceptical observers.

The fixture list had been kind until mid-October. There were bigger tests to come, it was said.

Well, Liverpool beat Chelsea. They went to Arsenal and avoided defeat. In Europe, there was the 4-0 dismantling of Bayer Leverkusen and now holders Real Madrid have been sent packing too.

Another test passed. Another to come. But what an opportunity it is for Slot’s side against Pep Guardiola’s misfiring Manchester City this Sunday.

Two points clear at the top of the Champions League table. Eleven points clear of City at the top of the Premier League table if they win at the weekend.

They look the best team in England. On this evidence, they might be the best team in Europe too.

Bellingham: Liverpool wanted it more

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham said:

“They were more up for it than us to be honest which is really disappointing to say.

“It’s a bad result against the best-performing team in Europe. It’s no disgrace to come here and lose but we are disappointed in the way how we performed.”

Liverpool maintained their perfect start to this season’s Champions League with a dramatic but deserved 2-0 win over reigning champions Real Madrid at Anfield.

Second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister and substitute Cody Gakpo reflected the Reds’ dominance with Caoimhin Kelleher’s penalty save from Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah’s spot-kick miss providing the drama in between.

It was a miserable night for Mbappe and a magical one for Conor Bradley who not only marshalled him well but even provided the assist for Mac Allister’s opener.

The result leaves Carlo Ancelotti’s side precariously placed having lost three of their five games so far in the competition.

No such concerns for Slot’s Liverpool. Clear at the top of the table with 17 wins from 19 games in all competitions under the Dutchman.

It is they who are the real deal.

Bradley’s big night

It was the 32nd minute of the match when Mbappe finally freed himself and was running at Liverpool’s goal. Enter Bradley.

The young full-back’s perfectly-timed tackle in front of the Kop brought the whole stadium to its feet with a guttural roar to follow.

This had been identified beforehand as the game’s key battle. Vinicius Junior’s injury ensured Mbappe would start on the left. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s fitness issues confined Liverpool’s first-choice right-back to the bench.

Bradley won the contest – Mbappe eventually moving to the middle away from him – and Anfield just adored that. The fans chanted his name in the aftermath of the tackle, the momentum of the match shifting accordingly.

He might have scored himself but was denied a headed goal by Thibaut Courtois, while the assist for Mac Allister was neat. There was even another tackle on Mbappe in the build-up to Salah winning his penalty.

But it was the first tackle that sparked it all. It was a special moment, one that may have already cemented its place in the Bradley story. He will be hoping it could help cement his place in this team too.

Analysis: Liverpool keep passing the tests

During the early part of the season, Slot himself had preached the need for caution regarding Liverpool’s positive start let alone the more sceptical observers.

The fixture list had been kind until mid-October. There were bigger tests to come, it was said.

Well, Liverpool beat Chelsea. They went to Arsenal and avoided defeat. In Europe, there was the 4-0 dismantling of Bayer Leverkusen and now holders Real Madrid have been sent packing too.

Another test passed. Another to come. But what an opportunity it is for Slot’s side against Pep Guardiola’s misfiring Manchester City this Sunday.

Two points clear at the top of the Champions League table. Eleven points clear of City at the top of the Premier League table if they win at the weekend.

They look the best team in England. On this evidence, they might be the best team in Europe too.

Story of the match in stats…

What’s coming up in the Champions League?

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Paul Merson reacts to Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and Liverpool’s Mo Salah’s missed penalties in the Champions League.