Champions League winners and losers of the group stage
At the time, Istvan Vad's controversial decision figured to haunt Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini. Maybe even cost him his job.
The Hungarian referee awarded CSKA Moscow a penalty after he saw (or thought he saw) City's Aleksandar Kolarov foul Seydou Doumbia inside the box. Bebras Natcho stepped up to convert the 86th-minute equalizer and complete a shocking comeback from a 2-0 halftime deficit. For City, the 2-2 draw was just the latest disappointment and the type of collapse that could've marked the beginning of the end for Pellegrini, who was struggling to meet the high expectations of owners desperately seeking European glory.
That misfortune happened in October. Since then, Pellegrini's luck has changed considerably.
The Chilean has bought himself some time by squeezing just enough points from the Citizens' return fixtures to survive Group E and advance to the last 16. Pellegrini could very well still be fired for not taking the Premier League champions far enough in the tournament, but for now, he and his side are alive and well in the Champions League. And he stands as the biggest winner of the group stage.
Here are the other big winners, followed by the group stage's biggest losers.
WINNERS
German Bundesliga. Bayern Munich's continued dominance, combined with Borussia Dortmund's bizarre plummet domestically this season, hasn't done much to change the perception that Germany's top division is a one-club league. But when all four of your Champions League representatives go through to the last 16 – which is what Bayern, Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke did – forget what anyone says: Your league is legit. And Fox Sport 1's coverage of the Bundesliga can't come soon enough.
Real Madrid. This year's side still might not be as good as last year's European champion version, but no one in their right mind would count out Real Madrid for a title repeat. Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso aren't being missed, not with the way James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos seamlessly settled into the squad. Iker Casillas could still be the weak link against better competition, but with a devastating attack led by the relentless Cristiano Ronaldo, suspect goalkeeping might not even be a factor.
Monaco. No James, no Falcao – no problem. After seeing the club's two best players shipped out – James Rodriguez to Real Madrid on a $107 million transfer and Radamel Falcao on loan to Manchester United – fans demanded refunds for their season tickets. They ended up getting their money's worth. The Red and Whites beat Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0 on Tuesday to leapfrog Bayer Leverkusen, win Group C and complete an inspired run to the knockout round.
Lionel Messi. The Barcelona star continues to rewrite the record books, surpassing former Real Madrid legend Raul's all-time Champions League scoring mark of 71 during a memorable Matchday 5. Messi is currently at 75 goals and counting, but Ronaldo is lurking with 72. Their duel to hold the record outright will no doubt be entertaining in the coming years. Interesting stat: All eight of Messi's goals in the group stage were scored with his supposedly weaker right foot.
LOSERS
Brendan Rodgers. Just months ago, the Liverpool boss was hailed as a genius for bringing Champions League football back to Anfield. Now, his future is being questioned due to the Reds' regression to mid-table status in the Premier League and failure to advance to the round of 16. Life after Luis Suarez was never going to be easy despite the lavish splashing of Barcelona's cash from the striker's sale (Daniel Sturridge's absence due to injury didn't help, either), but Rodgers only has himself to blame for investing so much time on reviving Mario Balotelli.
Roma. The Giallorossi have been on the heels of Serie A leader Juventus all season long in Italy and were in position on Wednesday to advance to the Champions League knockout stage. All they had to do was beat a Man City side missing its two best players in Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure. Despite playing at home, Roma lost 2-0 to fall into the Europa League. Inexcusable.
Benfica. The Portuguese power sits atop the Primeira Liga but fell flat on its face in the Champions League and even failed to qualify for Europa League. A 2-0 home loss to Zenit St. Petersburg on Matchday 1 was a sign of things to come as Benfica only won one group game in finishing at the bottom of Group C with five points.
BATE Borisov. The Belarusian club was just happy to be in the Champions League group stage, until it encountered Shakhtar Donetsk's Luiz Adriano. The Brazilian striker gave BATE defenders fits as he scored a combined eight goals against them, including an incredible five in a 7-0 stomping. BATE finished dead last in Group G with a shocking goal differential of minus-22.
