FC Barcelona managed to secure a massively significant victory over FC Porto. Matchday five of the Champions League group stage offered plenty of drama and suspense, and it did not disappoint. A heated game from start to finish, it was ultimately the Catalans who emerged victorious.
A 2-1 scoreline would allow La Blaugrana to take away all three points from the clash in the Montjuic Stadium. With this victory, Barcelona are now on 12 points and lead Group H by a three-point margin. Porto remain on 9 points, while Shakhtar Donetsk increase their own tally to reach 9 points as well.
Most importantly, Barcelona have now booked their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League through this victory. The Catalan giants will now play in the Champions League Round of 16 for the first team since 2021.
Looking ahead, as highlighted by SPORT, there are many teams Barcelona could face in the knockout stages. Seven groups apart from Group H will provide the selection of opponents that Barcelona could face up ahead.
However, in the event that Barcelona manages to finish the group as leaders, a lot of strong sides can be written off as possible opponents in the Round of 16. This is due to UEFA’s rules for the Champions League, which state that group leaders can not end up facing each other in the first knockout round.
As such, sides like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Real Sociedad, and Atletico Madrid are already impossible opponents for Barcelona. Moreover, other sides will soon enter this list as well depending on how their groups finish.
Arsenal are likely to top their group, while sides like Borussia Dortmund continue fighting to confirm their place as leaders. For now, Barcelona can take a bit of a breather from the European competition.
However, their tests up ahead in La Liga are ones that will ruin all respite. Two consecutive clashes against Atletico Madrid and Girona are up next for La Blaugrana.
Xavi Hernandez and his side will thus want to take the momentum from this victory against Porto and enter those two very crucial games with a positive mindset.