Bundesliga Teams Progress in Champions League as Group Stage Concludes

The league phase of the Champions League concluded last night, with three teams from the Bundesliga successfully progressing to the next round.

Bayern Munich emerged as the sole team to finish in the top eight, thus securing a bye to the Round of 16. In contrast, following Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 defeat against Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen’s decisive 3-0 victory over Villarreal, both teams will advance to the playoff round.

Unfortunately, Eintracht Frankfurt has been eliminated from the tournament.

The draw for potential opponents is scheduled for Friday. Each Bundesliga side is already aware of whom they might face, and, similar to last year, there is a possibility of intra-league matchups.

Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund could potentially be drawn against one another in the playoff round. If that is not the case, Dortmund is set to face Atalanta, while Leverkusen will encounter Olympiakos.

Should both teams advance, one will face Bayern Munich in the Round of 16, while the other will take on top-seeded Arsenal. This scenario mirrors last season’s encounter, where Leverkusen faced Bayern, with Vincent Kompany’s squad emerging victorious.

From a coefficient ranking perspective, this situation is less than ideal, as it would result in a maximum of two Bundesliga teams reaching the quarter-finals. Currently, Germany holds a narrow lead over Spain for the second spot in the UEFA rankings, with both countries having six teams remaining in the three European competitions.

In light of Frankfurt’s exit, it is crucial for the remaining Bundesliga teams in the Europa League (Stuttgart and Freiburg) and the Conference League (Mainz) to continue their progression.