Teams in Champions League knockouts: Final standings, list of clubs qualified for knockout rounds in 2025/26

The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase ended in a crescendo on Wednesday night as 36 clubs fought simultaneously for the last tickets to the knockouts, and by the final whistle the tournament’s last-16 lineup was set in stone.

Arsenal and Bayern Munich had already locked up direct passage to the Round of 16 by matchday seven, but six more coveted byes were only confirmed after the drama of January 28. When the table was finalised, Premier League sides dominated the top eight, with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester City joining the Gunners to give England five seeded spots. Barcelona, Sporting CP and Bayern complete the octet that will avoid the playoff round and head straight to the draw on a date to be fixed by UEFA.

The seeding also means those eight clubs will face a runner-up from positions 9-24 when the Round of 16 begins on March 10-11, with return legs March 17-18.

Knockout-round playoff bracket

Immediately below the elite eight, 16 clubs will contest a two-legged playoff for the remaining eight places in the last 16. Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United headline the seeded group (positions 9-16) and will host the second legs February 24-25. Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Olympiacos, Club Brugge and Galatasaray are also seeded.

The unseeded half (positions 17-24) includes Monaco, Qarabag, Bodo/Glimt, Benfica, Marseille, Pafos, Union Saint-Gilloise and PSV. First-leg ties are scheduled for February 17-18.

Thirty of the 36 entrants still held mathematical hopes on the final day, underlining the competitiveness of the new Swiss-model league phase, while only four teams had been ruled out before kick-off. The bottom 12—headed by Athletic Club, Napoli, Copenhagen, Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, Villarreal and Kairat—will now exit European competition until 2026/27.

Arsenal finish top of the pile, a remarkable resurgence for a club that last lifted the trophy in 2006, while Bayern’s consistency keeps them in the upper echelons once again. With the bracket now fixed, attention turns to the playoff draw and, ultimately, a spring sprint toward the final at London’s Wembley Stadium.