Bad news for all fans who support the German teams in the Champions League. After the group stage of the premier competition ended last night, there is already the threat of a duel between two German teams in the playoffs.
Unlike Bayern Munich, who have qualified directly for the round of 16, Dortmund and Leverkusen have to go through the playoffs. Here, the worst-case scenario could occur during Friday’s draw starting at 12 noon. Why?
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As 17th in the final standings, Borussia Dortmund forms a pair with Olympiakos Piraeus (18th). This pair will face the duo from places 15/16, Atalanta Bergamo and Bayer Leverkusen. This means: the probability of a German duel being drawn is extremely high.
In the worst case, the Bundesliga could lose important points in the fight for international spots as a result. Another Bundesliga duel could also loom in the round of 16, as Bayern would then be waiting.
Since it’s easy to get confused with all this CL madness, here’s an overview of the teams in the playoffs for you.
Playoffs
Real Madrid
Inter
PSG
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Newcastle
Juventus
Atlético
Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen
Borussia Dortmund
Olympiakos Piraeus
Club Brugge
Galatasaray
Monaco
Qarabag
FK Bodø/Glimt
The biggest surprises in the playoffs are definitely Qarabag and Bodø/Glimt. The Norwegians in particular delivered one of THE stories of this crazy CL night with their 2-1 victory against Atlético.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
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