PARIS: Harry Kane missed a penalty but scored twice to lead Bayern Munich to a 2-0 win against Union Saint-Gilloise and into the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, while Premier League teams powered ahead with five of England’s top flight clubs in position to advance.
Arsenal top the standings and have already secured their place in the next round, while wins for Liverpool, Newcastle United and saw them move into the top eight automatic qualifying positions with one game of the league phase to go.
Tottenham Hotspur are fifth, with Manchester City the only English team in the playoff positions going into next week’s matches.
“Let’s make sure we’re in the top eight. We’ve put ourselves in a good position, but that’s for next week,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said after Arne Slot’s side extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches and moved to fourth with a 3-0 win at Olympique de Marseille.
Newcastle beat PSV Eindhoven by the same score and Chelsea entered the top eight thanks to a 1-0 triumph against Cypriot minnows Pafos.
Bayern are second and joined Arsenal in guaranteeing a top-eight finish with a game to spare, and therefore a last-16 spot.
Barcelona are in ninth place after a 4-2 win at Slavia Prague and risk having to go through the playoffs to advance.
But there is much to play for in the final round of league phase games with just three points separating third-placed Real Madrid and Juventus in 15th.
The top eight qualify directly to the round of 16. Teams placed from nine to 24 enter a two-legged playoff to advance.
All 18 matches in the final round of games will be played simultaneously next Wednesday, January 28, and drama awaits.
While the remaining six automatic qualification spots are still up for grabs, just two points separate the last of the playoff places and Ajax, who are 32nd in the standings.
One standout game sees Italian champions Napoli host Chelsea. Napoli are 25th — one place below the playoffs. It also means a reunion for Napoli coach Antonio Conte and his former club Chelsea.
“It’s a massive game. For Napoli as well. They need to win to stay in the competition; we need to win to be in the top eight,” Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior said. “It’s going to be a great game against a massive club, with a great manager.”
Defending champions Paris St Germain host Newcastle and dropped points for either team could see them fall into the playoffs.
City’s home game against Galatasaray also has much riding on it if the 2023 European champions are to avoid the danger of the playoffs.
Jose Mourinho needs a win at his former club Real Madrid to give Benfica any chance of making the playoffs.
Bayern saw off Belgian champions Union at the Allianz Arena as Kane scored goals number 35 and 36 in a remarkable season, but was left to rue missing out on a fourth hat-trick of the season when his second-half penalty struck the crossbar.
The England captain nudged a corner from Michael Olise into the net in the 52nd to open the scoring, then won and converted a penalty on 55 minutes after being fouled by Kjell Scherpen.
However, the game ended on a bitter note. Defender Minjae Kim was sent off in the 63rd after receiving a second yellow card, while Kane missed a penalty in the 81st.
“Last year, we didn’t achieve that [direct qualification to the last 16]. This was an important win,” Kane told DAZN. “We scored at the right times, were a bit unlucky with the red card but even after that when we went down to 10 men we controlled the game well and earned the three points.”
LIVERPOOL, NEWCASTLE, CHELSEA WIN
Liverpool topped the league phase last year — only to be eliminated by PSG in the round of 16.
Slot’s team have made harder work of it this time around, but victory in Marseille leaves the Premier League champions in a strong position going into their final game at home to Qarabag.
Mohamed Salah made his first appearance for his club since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, but he was not among the scorers.
Instead it was Dominik Szoboszlai who got the breakthrough just before half-time with a clever free-kick that went under the wall.
Hugo Ekitike hit the bar before the second goal arrived on 72 minutes when Jeremie Frimpong’s ball into the middle went in off goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and Cody Gakpo sealed the win in stoppage time.
Newcastle United cruised past PSV at St James’ Park after Yoane Wissa got an early opener, Anthony Gordon made it two on the half-hour and Harvey Barnes then fired in the third on 65 minutes.
Chelsea edged out stubborn Pafos at Stamford Bridge thanks to a Moises Caicedo header in the 78th minute — as new coach Rosenior enjoyed a win in his first Champions League game.
BARCA OVERCOME EARLY SCARE
Fermin Lopez scored twice as Barca fought back to beat Slavia, with a stunning long-range effort the pick of his goals.
Vasil Kusej stunned Barca as he gave Slavia the lead in the 10th. Michal Sadilek’s corner was glanced on across the face of the goal and Kusej put the ball over the line.
But Lopez scored a brace in the 34th and 42nd, thanks to assists from Frenkie de Jong and Pedri, to turn things around for the Spanish champions, only for the unlucky Robert Lewandowski to put through his own net and make it 2-2 at the interval.
Substitute Dan Olmo curled into the top corner to put Barca in front again in the 63rd before Lewandowski redeemed himself with a goal in the 71st to put the game to bed.
“It wasn’t easy to play today, it was too cold and Slavia played very well with transitions, dangerous balls. We improved a lot in the second half,” coach Hansi Flick said.
Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 away to Galatasaray in Istanbul, with Giuliano Simeone putting the visitors ahead early on only for a Marcos Llorente own goal to restore parity.
MCKENNIE ON TARGET
Juve continued their Champions League recovery with a third straight European win, beating Benfica 2-0 thanks to second-half goals by Khephren Thuram and Weston McKennie, who scored for the third time this season.
Juve are 15th and guaranteed to at least make the playoffs. Vangelis Pavlidis missed a penalty in spectacular fashion for Benfica, and Mourinho’s side now look set to be eliminated.
Atalanta are 13th after seeing their top-eight hopes hit as they lost 3-2 at home to Athletic Bilbao, with the Basque side reviving their hopes of making the play-off round.
Gianluca Scamacca headed Atalanta in front but Gorka Guruzeta equalised before the break and Nico Serrano and Robert Navarro added further goals in the second half. Nikola Krstovic then pulled one back late on.
FRANKFURT ELIMINATED
Surprise package Qarabag are on course to make the play-offs after beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 in Baku.
Colombian Camilo Duran scored twice for the home side either side of a Can Uzun effort and a Fares Chaibi penalty. Bahlul Mustafazade then won it for the Azeri club in injury time, which also confirmed Frankfurt’s elimination.
With one game left, Frankfurt can’t reach the top 24 anymore. Qarabag, meanwhile, are 18th.
Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2026