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With the Champions league group stage having recently concluded, the 16 teams to qualify for the knock-out stages have now been been finalized. Along the way, a few surprises were witnessed when some teams who were expected to go through, like Liverpool, failed to do so.However, no major upsets were seen this season, which has not been the case always. So, here is a look at five instances when major teams were eliminated at the group stages and failed to qualify for the knock-out phase of the Champions League:
#1 Barcelona (1998-99)
Group 'D' of the 1998-99 Champions League was regarded as the group of death in the competition that season. The group consisted of Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Barcelona along with Brondby, unfortunate to have been placed with three heavyweights.
As many expected, the clashes in the group matches were epic. The 3-3 draws between Manchester United and Barcelona at the Nou Camp and Old Trafford were the stand-out matches of the group.
Since the final was taking place at the Nou Camp, pressure was on Barcelona to win the competition in their own backyard. But, the pressure got the better of the Catalan club, as they struggled to establish themselves in the group phase.
They lost both the matches against Bayern Munich and drew the two against Manchester United. Hence, winning both the matches against Brondby was not enough for Barcelona, and were knocked out of the group stage after managing only eight points from six matches.
Barcelona can be regarded as unlucky in many ways, as both the season eventual finalists Manchester United and Bayern Munich was in their same group. Despite it, many thought that the extra incentive of playing the finals in their own stadium may motivate Barcelona to progress from the tough group. But, it was not to be as the giants of Spain were knocked out of the group stage to cause one of the shocks of the world football.
#2 Manchester United (2011-12)
After finishing the 2010-11 Champions League season as runners up, Manchester United went into the next campaign aiming to go one step further to win the tournament. They were helped by the easy draw, as the Reds were drawn along with Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati.
However, complacency got the better of United, as the Reds started to draw a lot of matches in the group stage. When they went into the final group match against Basel, United had won just the two matches and drawn the other three in the group. Having secured nine points till then, the Red Devils, under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson, needed only a point from the last match.
The Reds did not start the match brightly as Streller's header put Basel ahead in the ninth minute. Only then United understood the huge task on their hands. Despite the early set- back, the Red Devils needed only a draw to qualify for the round of 16. But they were unable to overcome the early blow as they never got going in the match.
A second from Frei in the 84th minute virtually sealed the game for the Swiss club. Phil Jones did manage to reduce the deficit with one minute left on the clock. However, it was too little too late, as Basel survived a tense finale to qualify for the next round, while the English club had to settle for the Europa League.
Watching the previous season runners up going out in the group stage of the competition took the world by surprise. Before that United went out in the group stage during the 2005-06 season, when they finished bottom of the group with only six points.
#3 Chelsea (2012-13)
The Blues celebrated their first ever Champions league title in the 2011-12 season following some extraordinary performances. The underdogs rode their luck, causing major upsets along the way, by beating Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the semifinals and finals respectively to lift the famous trophy.
When the interim manager Roberto Di Matteo was appointed on a full-time basis, he strengthened the team with the capture of Hazrad and Oscar in that summer. Expectations were high as Chelsea went into the 2012-13 Champions League season as defending champions.
However, the pressure got the better off the Blues from the word go, as the London club started to stutter in the group stage. After throwing a two-goal lead against Juventus in the opening match, Chelsea endured mixed fortunes in their next four games, as they won two and lost two.
The 3-0 defeat to Juventus in the fifth match of the group stage cost Robero Di Matteo his job, as Rafael Benitez was appointed as the interim manager to rescue the club’s fortunes in the last group game.
Chelsea, to their credit, managed to beat Nordsjaelland 6-1 in their final match. But, Juventus beating Shakhtar Donetsk in the other group match ensured that both the Italian and the Ukranian club progressed to the next round of the competition at the expense of the Stamford Bridge outfit. Defending champions Chelsea also became the first holders ever to bow out at the following season's group stage.
#4 Liverpool (2010-11)
Liverpool had finally established themselves as a genuine tittle contender in the Premier League during the 2008-09 season. They finished second in the league and managed to thrash both Real Madrid and Manchester United in the same week of April 2009 by putting four past them.
However, things were to change for Liverpool in the summer, when their anchorman Xabi Alonso was sold to Real Madrid. Despite the sale, the Merseyside outfit went into the competition with high hopes. But to the frustration of the fans, they never got going in the group stages.
After losing two and drawing one of their opening four matches, Liverpool were in a must win situation against Debrecen in the fifth week of the group stages. Liverpool did manage to beat them by a single goal. However, as the result in the other match did not go in their favour, the Reds were knocked out even before playing the last group match.
Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League next season as they managed only a seventh place finish in the league, which saw Benitiez lose his job in the summer.
That season proved to be a defining moment in the club’s history, as Liverpool endured one of the worst spells in their history in the next few years. After 2009, Liverpool played their next Champions league match only this season. However, the Reds were not able to better their performance this time around as they were knocked out again in the group stage.
#5 Juventus (2013-14)
Juventus came into the season after enduring a decent run in the previous season, when they were knocked out by eventual winners Bayern Munich. The club which was so dominant in the Serie A were trying their best to establish themselves on the European stage.
The club possessed probably the best defence in the world, with the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Stephan Lichtsteiner in their ranks. Also they had great midfielders such as Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio. However, the attack remained a problem area for the club. So they went and got in two established centre forwards in the form of Tevez and Llorente in the summer of 2013.
As a result, the club went into the new Champions league season with a renewed sense of hope. But the Italian club never got going and were win-less in their first four matches, drawing three and losing the other one against the eventual champions Real Madrid.
Juventus finally managed to get a win under their belt when they beat København 3-1 in the fifth group match. So, with the Old Lady sitting in second place with six points, and leading Galatasaray, who were third, by two points, all they needed was a draw against the Turkish club in the last match to go through.
But Juventus were unable to overcome the snowy weather in Turkey as they were undone by a late goal from Sneijder. In truth, the terrible weather on the night suited the Turkish club more then Juventus. However, the Italian club did not get knocked out at the group stage because of that defeat, but their poor performance right through the competition was the reason for their elimination.
