4️⃣ things we learned from Tuesday's Champions League action | OneFootball

We’ve reached the business end of the Champions League group stage.

Here’s what went down on a night of drama, knockout progressions and eliminations.

You can catch up on all the results here.

United crash out

Manchester United are out of the Champions League.

On a night where Erik ten Hag needed everything to go right, almost everything went wrong.

Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, two of United’s strong performers, had to be withdrawn by half-time due to injuries and then there was the sound of a final nail getting knocked into an already-constructed coffin when Lucas Lerager put Copenhagen 1-0 up in the 58th minute of the other game in this group.

There went the hopes of the Champions League last-16, but there still lay the glimmer of continental football in the form of the Europa League until Kingsley Coman washed that away in front of the Stretford End.

Coman’s strike means United have conceded 15 goals during this season’s group stage – the most ever conceded by a Premier League at this stage of the competition.

All the progress made in Ten Hag’s first season feels in another dimension right now.

Boos rang around the stadium at the final whistle. Bayern’s travelling support sang ‘Football’s Coming Home’.

The football feels like it fled the nest at Old Trafford a long time ago.

Elsewhere in Group A

Copenhagen had to ride out stoppage time down to 10 men but they progress to the knockout rounds of the competition for the first time since 2011 as Galatasaray drop to the Europa League.

Ramos makes history

It was a night off for PSV and Arsenal in Group B as both sides had already secured their places in the last-16.

But in France, it was a shootout for the Europa League spot between Lens and the tournament’s perennial winners, Sevilla.

Lens needed a 96th-minute winner from Angelo Fulgini to secure continental football post-Christmas but for one moment it looked as if the script writers had something up their sleeve for Sergio Ramos.

The 37-year-old produced a panenka penalty to level proceedings in the 79th-minute after having an initial spot-kick saved before VAR intervened.

Ramos only went and got booked for kicking the ball out of goalkeeper Brice Samba’s hands post-goal, because let’s face it, he knows nothing else.

He did make Champions League history with the goal however – having now scored the most goals for a defender in the competition (17).

On what could prove to be his last appearance in it, what a send off.

Real perfect

Napoli needed to avoid defeat against Braga to seal progress from Group C, and they achieved just that with a 2-0 win.

But it was a crazy game in the other game in this group between Union Berlin and Real Madrid with Carlo Ancelotti’s side rounding off the campaign in perfect style – making it six wins from six thanks to Dani Ceballos 89th-minute winner.

It’s the third time Los Blancos have won every game in the group stage, following on from 2011/12 and 2014/15, and they reached the semi-finals in both of those campaigns. It is their competition after all.

They might have to get better at taking penalties if they want to win it this time around though as Luka Modrić fluffed his lines from 12 yards tonight.

A third penalty miss from Real this season, making it their worst campaign from the spot in 10 years.

Basque beauty

There could be a story growing for Real Sociedad as they sealed top spot in Group D after holding Inter to a goalless draw at the San Siro.

La Real’s first appearance in the competition since 2014 is going well, it looks like they’ve never been away and with a seeded spot in the last-16 sealed, they will be worth keeping an eye on.

Benfica stole the headlines in the other game in this group, breaking RB Salzburg’s hearts in the 92nd-minute as Arthur Cabral’s goal meant the Portuguese side will be in the Europa League instead of their opponents.