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Ninety-six matches, plenty of memorable performances, and an abundance of drama — the first round of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League has finally been wrapped up.
Bayern Munich emerged as the best team in the group stage, winning all six of their matches, scoring 18 goals and conceding only twice. Defending champions Real Madrid also topped their group, while last season’s runners-up Liverpool finished second in theirs.
Not every European heavyweight, however, managed to follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned teams. Some have been utterly poor, shockingly failing to live up to their expectations.
Today, we will take a look at the teams that have disappointed their fans in the first round itself. Here are the five biggest teams that have been knocked out of the Champions League group stage this season:
#5 Sevilla — Group G
Placed in Group G alongside Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, and FC Copenhagen, Sevilla were always going to have a hard time progressing to the last 16. More than the outcome, it was their lack of fighting spirit that disappointed fans.
Manchester City comfortably did the double over Sevilla. They beat Sevilla 3-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in the tournament opener and again bested them (3-1) at the Etihad Stadium on matchday six. Jorge Sampaoli's side failed to bounce back on matchday two against Copenhagen, settling for a goalless draw away from home.
German outfit Borussia Dortmund beat them 4-1 in Seville on matchday three and held them to a 1-1 draw the following gameweek. Sevilla’s only win in the 2022-23 Champions League campaign came against Copenhagen on matchday five, with Sampaoli’s men beating them 3-0.
Manchester City expectedly topped Group G with 14 points, while Dortmund finished second with nine. Sevilla, with five points, occupied the third spot while Copenhagen finished last with three.
#4 Ajax — Group A
Four-time European champions Ajax failed to play up to their potential in the 2022-23 Champions League campaign, losing four of their six Group A matches. They finished in third place with six points, behind group winners Napoli and runners-up Liverpool. Rangers, with 0 points, finished fourth.
Ajax opened their campaign with an excellent 4-0 win over Rangers, but could not reach similar heights on matchdays two and three. Liverpool beat them 2-1 at Anfield in gameweek two before Napoli inflicted an embarrassing 6-1 defeat upon them on matchday three in Amsterdam.
Napoli and Liverpool completed the double over Ajax on matchdays four and five, beating them 4-2 and 3-0, respectively. Fortunately for their supporters, Ajax ended the campaign on a positive note, bagging a 3-1 win over Rangers in gameweek six.
#3 Atletico Madrid — Group B
Two-time Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid endured a horrific 2022-23 group-stage campaign. Pitted alongside FC Porto, Bayer Leverkusen, and Club Brugge in Group B, Atletico Madrid were seen as the strongest team of the group. Diego Simeone’s men spectacularly failed to live up to the billing, finishing fourth with a mere five points from six games.
Porto topped the group with 12 points from six games, while Brugge finished in second place with 11 matches.
Atletico Madrid kicked off their Champions League campaign in the best possible fashion, securing a 2-1 win over Porto. Instead of riding the momentum, they lost their way, failing to pick up even a single victory in their next five games.
They lost 2-0 to Leverkusen on matchday two and endured the same scoreline the following gameweek, against Brugge. Matchdays four and five brought two consecutive draws with Brugge (0-0) and Leverkusen (2-2) before Atletico fell to a 2-1 defeat to Porto in gameweek six on November 1.
#2 Juventus — Group H
When Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Juventus, Benfica, and Maccabi Haifa were placed in Group H, the French and Italian teams were seen as the heavy favorites to progress.
Benfica exceeded expectations, progressing as group winners ahead of runners-up PSG. The Bianconeri succumbed to a disastrous third-place finish with a mere three points from six matches.
Juventus lost five of their six Group H matches, with their only success coming against Maccabi Haifa on matchday three. Playing at home, they managed to nick a 3-1 win over the Israeli outfit. In the reverse fixture, on matchday four Haifa avenged their defeat, bagging a spectacular 2-0 win.
The Old Lady narrowly came up short against Benfica on both occasions. They lost 2-1 to the Portuguese outfit on matchday two, then fell to a 4-3 defeat on matchday five. PSG, too, did the double over Juve, beating them 2-1 both at the Parc des Princes and at the Allianz Stadium.
#1 Barcelona — Group C
Sky came crashing down when five-time winners Barcelona could not secure passage into the UEFA Champions League last-16 last season. Despite making as many as seven signings in the summer transfer window, they have endured the same fate in the 2022-23 season.
Barcelona were placed in Group C alongside Bayern Munich, Viktoria Plzen, and Inter Milan. They kicked off their campaign with a commanding 5-1 victory over Plzen but succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Bayern at the Allianz Arena on matchday two. On matchday three, they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Inter at the San Siro to find themselves in an awkward position.
Barcelona needed a win over Inter on matchday four to bounce back. Much to the home fans’ dismay, they were held to a 3-3 draw at Camp Nou, which all but extinguished their chances of progression. Inter beat Plzen on matchday five to book their place in the last 16 alongside Bayern, while Barca fell to yet another embarrassing defeat (3-0) against the Bavarians.
Xavi’s men capped off their disastrous 2022-23 Champions League campaign with a 4-2 win over Plzen on Tuesday (November 1). Finishing third in Group C with seven points, Barcelona are currently awaiting the Europa League knockout playoff draw to determine their opponents for the next round.
