Four Spanish teams had never made it to the round of 16, and all of them finished first in their respective groups: On Tuesday, Real Madrid and Real Sociedad took the lead, and on Wednesday, they were joined by Atlético, who defeated Lazio, and FC Barcelona, who suffered a crushing defeat in Antwerp.
Sevilla FC said goodbye to the UEFA Champions League in the worst possible way on Tuesday, losing 2-1 to RC Lens, leaving them out of continental competitions in December for the first time in 11 years. With four consecutive defeats, Diego Alonso’s team completed the dynamic of two draws started by Mendilibar and avoided a historic total in the round of 16.
16 of the most prestigious continental competitions. Furthermore, Celtic FC’s (2-1) and Antwerp’s (3-2) victories this Wednesday leave them as the second worst team in the entire 23/24 Group Stage, with no wins and only two points out of a possible 18, the same as Union Berlin – the Germans with one goal less on average but a much worse coefficient than the Nervionenses – and only one point better than Red Star (1 point). Worst case scenario.
The bitter note for a very positive Group Stage for the Spanish teams was set by Sevilla FC, which entered the Champions League for the fourth year in a row as champions of its seventh Europa League. The four LaLiga teams advanced to the round of 16 and all finished as group winners, giving them home field advantage in next Monday’s draw, which is unprecedented in the top continental tournament.
