Every Team Qualified for the 2025–26 Champions League Round of 16

The Champions League knockout bracket is now complete, as the final four playoff survivors booked their places in the round of 16 on Wednesday, capping a dramatic 48-hour window that saw Europe’s elite club competition trim its field from 24 contenders to 16.

Arsenal enter as the headline act after an unprecedented league-phase sweep: eight wins from eight matches, 24 points, and a new benchmark for the revamped tournament format. Bayern Munich followed in second with seven victories, their lone blemish a November defeat to the Gunners.

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, both navigating uneven domestic campaigns, muscled into the top four, with Spurs’ fourth-place finish particularly eye-catching given their 16th spot in the Premier League table. Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP and Manchester City rounded out the automatic qualifiers, the English champions nabbing the last safe seat when Real Madrid’s final-phase stumble against Benfica opened the door.

The playoff route delivered its own theatre. Atlético Madrid blitzed Club Brugge 4-1 at the Metropolitano to cruise through 7-4 on aggregate, while Bayer Leverkusen saw out a nervy 0-0 draw with Olympiacos to protect a 2-0 first-leg cushion fashioned by Patrik Schick’s Greek double.

Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt continued their fairy-tale surge, ousting two-time recent finalist Inter 5-2 over two legs after a mid-season revival that already featured wins over Manchester City and Atlético. Newcastle United provided the goal-glut of the round, scoring nine times against Qarabağ after a 6-0 first-leg blitz rendered the return largely ceremonial.

With those results, the tournament now pivots to Monday’s draw, where Arsenal, Bayern, Liverpool, Spurs, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting, City, Atlético, Leverkusen, Bodø/Glimt and Newcastle will be joined by the four Wednesday victors, setting up a single-elimination sprint toward the final in late May.