The Champions League group stage (or league phase since 2024/25) has split opinion.
To some, it’s too predictable, a procession for the biggest teams to earn more money and set up the standard field in the knockout rounds.
To others, it’s a chance for smaller clubs to play against Europe’s elite sides and provides drama in the first half of the season before we get into the high stakes of knockout football.
Most seasons in the Champions League era have seen a surprise team or two in the knockout rounds. When looking through the group stages, we found 10 major shocks since 2010:
Club Brugge – 2024/25
The consensus seemed to be that expanding the Champions League first round to a 36-team league phase would make it easier for the continent’s richest clubs to avoid upsets.
Instead, the first edition saw teams from the Bundesliga, La Liga, and Serie A fail to reach the knockout playoff. Manchester City, Atalanta, and Juventus then fell in the playoffs.
Club Brugge, after finishing 24th in the league phase, overcame Atalanta in the playoff round to reach the knockout proper.
The Belgian club needed some luck, but they managed to beat Atalanta in both legs and got results against Aston Villa, Celtic, Sporting, and Juventus in the first round.
Feyenoord – 2024/25
Feyenoord weren’t expected to reach the last 16. Wins over Girona, Benfica, and Bayern Munich, and a spectacular draw away to Manchester City, set up a playoff with Milan.
A 2-1 aggregate win over the Rossoneri secured Feyenoord’s place in the round of 16 and another trip to Italy with a tie against Inter.
They hadn’t gone beyond the first round of the Champions League in over 30 years.
Copenhagen – 2023/24
Copenhagen reached the round of 16 in 2010/11 before losing to Chelsea.
The Danish club didn’t make much noise in the competition between that season and the 2023/24 campaign when they improbably made it out of Group A ahead of Manchester United and Galatasaray.
A 6-2 aggregate defeat to Manchester City ended Copenhagen’s European adventure in the first knockout round. They finished third in the Danish topflight, resulting in a Conference League spot for 2024/25.
Club Brugge – 2022/23
Can a team be a surprise twice in three seasons? In this case, yes, they can.
Club Brugge’s success in 2022/23 didn’t make them a favourite for progression in 2024/25.
While Brugge’s group was more group of underachievers than group of death, it was still a remarkable achievement to progress.
They won three and drew two in a section with Porto, Bayer Leverkusen, and Atletico Madrid to reach the second round of the competition for the first time since 1998/99.
Basel – 2017/18
The Champions League group stage was all a bit predictable between 2018 and 2022.
The outcomes were pretty much as expected in 2017/18, aside from Basel collecting 12 points from a group featuring Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, and Benfica.
Basel beat Benfica twice – the Portuguese club didn’t get a point in the group – and beat United at home. Their reward was a last 16 tie with Manchester City, which was over after a 4-0 home defeat in the first leg.
Dynamo Kyiv – 2015/16
A home draw with Chelsea, and a win away to Porto set Dynamo Kyiv up to progress from Group G in 2015/16. The Ukrainian club didn’t have the most daunting group, but no one expected them to pip Porto to the runner-up spot.
Conceding only four goals in six matches left only a handful of teams with a better defensive record.
Like so many teams to feature on this list, Dynamo’s round of 16 tie was against Manchester City. They lost 3-1 on aggregate.
Gent – 2015/16
Zenit, Valencia, and Lyon weren’t the scariest group-stage opponents for Gent in 2015/16.
Still, the Belgian club was rank outsiders to progress to the last 16, considering they had never played in the European Cup or Champions League, and hadn’t reached the first round of the Europa League in half a decade.
Seven points from three home matches and a win away to Lyon was enough for Gent to progress to the round of 16.
Basel – 2014/15
Drawn with Ludogorets, Liverpool, and Real Madrid, Basel were clearly the third-strongest team in Group B. Liverpool were only a few months removed from Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip and a runners-up finish in the Premier League.
Real Madrid had added Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, and Keylor Navas to a Champions League-winning squad.
Basel, though, kept three clean sheets in the group, beat Liverpool and Ludogorets at home, and held Liverpool to a draw at Anfield to finish with seven points.
Olympiacos – 2013/14
Olympiacos weren’t expected to make the knockouts according to the football betting markets in 2013/14.
Drawn with PSG, Benfica, and Anderlecht in Group C, the Greek club didn’t have the toughest draw, but it was still a big ask to snatch a top two spot.
This was Olympiacos’ first Champions League knockout appearance in four years and only their third since 1999.
APOEL – 2011/12
Group G in 2011/12 wasn’t exactly a group of death. APOEL were joined by Porto, Zenit, and Shakhtar Donetsk. While the draw hadn’t been cruel to the Cypriot outfit, they were still the weakest team in the section on paper.
A high percentage of draws led to a low-scoring group. The teams finished within four points, with APOEL improbably taking top spot after winning only two of their six matches (home to Zenit and home to Porto).
Six goals scored and six conceded took APOEL to nine points, which has rarely been enough to qualify, let alone win the group. APOEL, however, continued to defy Champions League betting odds by beating Lyon on penalties in the last 16, setting up a glamour tie with Real Madrid in the quarters.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Adobe*
