The big winners

It was billed by broadcasters as “Matchday Mayhem”. Finally, after 17 of the 18 final day matches had finished, came a chaotic denouement. Not even José Mourinho’s long Champions League heritage had included a moment like this, though his wild celebration was familiar. Benfica were beating Real Madrid 3-2, and Mourinho’s former club were already dropping out of the top eight. “I was told [the scoreline] is enough, so let’s close the door,” said Mourinho.

That wasn’t all though: Benfica needed another goal to save themselves, and their keeper, Anatoliy Trubin, was sent up for a corner with seconds of the match remaining. His headed goal from Fredrik Aursnes’s cross was a bullet, and the Estádio da Luz fell into raptures as Benfica grabbed a place in the knockout phase at the death. The eight-round, 36-team group stage had its moment of drama to breathe life into a format many have criticised. The best had been saved for last. Mourinho had also beaten Madrid for the first time in his career.

Within English football, there is not much triumphalism that five of the top eight – those who skip what has become known as the “punishment round” – are from the Premier League. Each of Arsenal, with their perfect record of eight wins from eight, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City are just glad to avoid an extra two matches, respite from the relentless schedule of what has been a bruising domestic season.

Most eye-catching for English teams was Chelsea’s win at Napoli, with João Pedro scoring twice as Antonio Conte’s team eventually ran out of steam. It was a significant victory in Liam Rosenior’s early days as head coach. Newcastle may have made it into the top eight had Harvey Barnes converted a late chance against Paris Saint-Germain, but his team had to settle for a 1-1 draw, which means they enter the knockout round. “The Premier League is such a strong league it can only make you better,” said the Newcastle manager, Eddie Howe. Had they not conceded in the last moments to Kairat’s Ricardinho, Arsenal would have become the first team in competition history to win eight matches in succession by a two-goal margin, hence Piero Hincapié’s rage at the visitors’ consolation goal, which made it 3-2.

Edging out Real Madrid, PSG and Inter in the top eight were Sporting Lisbon, who finished seventh. They followed up last week’s defeat of holders PSG with another piece of late Portuguese drama. Alisson Santos’s 94th minute winner was enough for a 3-2 win over Athletic Club who, alongside Villarreal, were one of two La Liga clubs to exit at the group stage. Sporting’s coach, Rui Borges, has made many forget about Ruben Amorim after last season’s title – and now they are holding their own among the European elite. “They don’t care about the time; they want to play, they want to fight for the game, and they want to be the best,” Borges said proudly of his team.

Surprise finishers in the top 24: Olympiakos, Club Brugge – for the second season running – and Qarabag, who squeezed through, despite a 6-0 loss to Liverpool. Qarabag forward Abdellah Zoubir said: “I’m French, so I’d love to play Paris in the next round, even if they’re the best team in the world right now.”

As was the case last season, the champions face two playoff matches, though perhaps that can help add a competitive edge away from Ligue 1. Sneaking through in 23rd place, with a truly seismic victory at Atlético Madrid, were last week’s darlings, Bodø/Glimt. The Norwegian season does not kick off until March.

Player of the week

Trubin delivered that golden moment, but Benfica’s star on the night was Andreas Schjelderup. The 21-year-old Norwegian scored twice, and has been linked with a move to Brugge, among others. “I should have scored four goals today,” he said, which said something about Real Madrid’s defending.

They said it

For Madrid, Kylian Mbappé pulled few punches after the match. “It hurts to be in the playoffs. We need to fix our issues; we are too inconsistent. We deserve to be in the position we’re in,” said the Frenchman. Álvaro Arbeloa’s regime has not got off to a strong start, and discipline is a clear problem. During those manic last few moments in Lisbon came red cards for both Raúl Asencio and Rodrygo, the latter for dissent.

The pundit’s chair

Is something afoot at Liverpool? For the second week in succession, Steven Gerrard, hardly known for his Roy Keane-style invective, put the boot into Arne Slot. On TNT in the UK, Gerrard criticised Slot’s comments that losing to PSG last season helped Liverpool win the Premier League. “They were 15 points clear [when they lost to PSG in the Champions League],” said Gerrard. “In my opinion they had the league wrapped up by that point. The frustration and the emotion of going out of the UCL, for a player or a fan, it hurts. It kills you. To sort of say that went and helped you when you are already 15 points clear, you can understand the frustrations.”

Looking ahead

Friday’s draw will decide who plays whom in the knockout phase playoff, with teams knowing from their league position they will end up on one of two paths. For example, there is a 50/50 chance of Benfica and Real Madrid being drawn together. If not, Real will play Bodø/Glimt, and Benfica face Inter, another former Mourinho employer.

Jamie Carragher, speaking on CBS’s broadcast, ahead of celebrating his birthday with dancing lessons, had this to say about the bracket as it opens out: “I’ve just seen Liverpool’s potential opponents. Honest to God, this new format, I’ve had enough of it. We finished top last year and we got Paris Saint-Germain. We finished third this year, listen to this; Atlético Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray or Juventus and we finished third. If you finish third you can’t get them, you can’t have Atlético Madrid in there!”

Arsenal’s reward for their dominance of the group stage is playing one of Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund or Olympiakos in the last 16. Like all of the top eight, they are at home for the second leg.