That's all, folks
Another day, another chaotic series of Champions League matches with Barca's elimination no doubt the talking point
The good news is we have one more group stage game left as Atalanta battle Villarreal tomorrow, while we'll also have plenty of games in the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
So, with that, we'll say goodnight and thanks for following along!
The fall of Barcelona: Swift, self-inflicted and humiliating
Barcelona's Champions League failure was stunning but inevitable after years and years of mismanagement.
Rik Sharma looks at the self-inflicted mess that Barca has become as they head to the Europa League.
Muller: I didn't see it coming
Thomas Muller spoke to DAZN about Barca's demise.
"I didn't see it coming, in the group, that they would be outclassed like that," he said.
"They have great individual players from a technical and tactical point of view. But they can't keep up with the intensity that currently prevails in top-class football. We took advantage of that."
Manchester United's future stars
Manchester United featured six teenagers tonight (Shola Shoretire, Amad Diallo, Anthony Elanga, Teden Mengi, Charlie Savage and Zidane Iqbal).
This was only the fifth time a club has ever played five teenagers in a Champions League match and the second time by an English side, after Arsenal vs Olympiakos in December 2009.
Barca's 21-year low
With Wednesday's elimination, Barcelona have been knocked out of the Champions League group stage for the first time in 21 years.
Time set for final match
After appealing to UEFA to push the kickoff time back to get fans into the stadium, Atalanta's clash with Villarreal will kick off at 19:00 CET tomorrow.
🚨⚽️ #AtalantaVillarreal si disputerà domani, giovedì 9, alle ore 19.
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) December 8, 2021
🚨⚽️ Atalanta-Villarreal will be played tomorrow, Thursday 9, at 19 CET.#UCL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/bCw1ILKnpl
Xavi: Barca don't belong in the Europa League
"They were better than us," Xavi told Movistar after the loss to Bayern. "This is the reality that now faces us. We're in the Europa League.
"A new era starts today. Barcelona don't belong in the Europa League, they belong in the Champions League. We start again from zero."
Show's over for Barca
Barcelona will play in the Europa League in 2022 😳 pic.twitter.com/b6Qp0IDF9k
— GOAL (@goal) December 8, 2021
What we learned today
With today's results, we know virtually the entire knockout stage picture, although that picture is still incomplete due to Atalanta-Villarreal being postponed.
In Group E, Bayern have finished atop the group, which we knew, while Benfica will go through in second place. Barca, meanwhile, finish third and are Europa League-bound.
Group F remains in flux, although we know that Man Utd will go through as group winners after defeating Young Boys, who finish in fourth. Atalanta, meanwhile, will go through with a win or a draw against Villarreal tomorrow.
Lille have taken the top spot in Group H after battering Wolfsburg, who are out of Europe after finishing fourth. RB Salzburg will head into the knockouts in second place with Sevilla returning to their familiar home in the Europa League.
Finally, from earlier, Juventus have won Group H with Chelsea second and Zenit claiming third.
FULL TIME!
Barca are officially out.
What a day of games, but the big news is surely that Barca's Champions League run is over.
Here's a closer look at today's scores:
Wolfsburg 1-3 Lille
RB Salzburg 1-0 Sevilla
Benfica 2-0 Dynamo Kiev
Bayern Munich 3-0 Barcelona
Manchester United 1-1 Young Boys
3-0 TO LILLE!
The French champions are CRUISING.
Angel Gomes makes it 3-0 as Lille will surely win the group now.
2-0 TO LILLE!
Jonathan David is on fire!
The Canadian star's strong start to the season continues with another goal as he pushes Lille up 2-0 in the 72nd minute.
With that, the French champions should finish atop the group.
BAYERN MAKE IT THREE
A sad, sad day for Barca. Musiala the latest goalscorer as Bayern are now up 3-0.
Davies wrongfoots Araujo before finding Musiala in the centre of the box, leaving him free to tuck a shot into the corner.
Sevilla down to 10 men!
Jordan sent off for Sevilla as he's booked for the second time of the evening.
As a result, 10-man Sevilla will now somehow have to score twice to stay in the Champions League.
SALZBURG SCORE!
A massive, massive goal for Salzburg as Adeyemi finds Okafor just moments after halftime.
With that goal, Salzburg essentially have a two-goal lead as Sevilla will need a win to move on.
Second half is underway
Plenty left to play for, even if the headlining group looks all but wrapped up.
Let's see what happens.
HALFTIME
Wow. What a ridiculous 45 minutes of football.
As things stand, Barca are out and Benfica are though, but there's plenty left to be decided.
Here are the scores so far:
Wolfsburg 0-1 Lille
RB Salzburg 0-0 Sevilla
Benfica 2-0 Dynamo Kiev
Bayern Munich 2-0 Barcelona
Manchester United 1-1 Young Boys
YOUNG BOYS LEVEL WITH MAN UTD
Bad giveaway from Man Utd, with Van de Beek handing it right to Rieder atop the box.
He takes two touches before curling in a stunner as Young Boys equalise just moments before halftime.
FABIAN REIDER WITH A GOLAZO 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VbWXqh9FyI
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 8, 2021
What a strike to draw Young Boys level 🚀
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 8, 2021
Fabien Rieder gets his name up in lights at Old Trafford with a brilliant curling effort from outside the box!#UCL pic.twitter.com/QlKzmqy9Wi
SANE MAKES IT TWO!
Bayern gonna Bayern.
Sane with an absolute missile from distance, as Ter Stegen is powerless to stop Bayern from taking a 2-0 lead.
Barcelona will need a miracle.
Tuchel on Chelsea finishing second in their group
"Well you know if you coach Chelsea and we concede six goals in two matches, we gave four times the lead away in these two matches," Tuchel said.
"Then my ambition to talk about individual performances is not so high, because nobody can be happy today, and nobody can be happy in West Ham.
"So it's absolutely not the moment to talk about individual performances, about what we are happy or not happy, nobody can be happy."
GOAL BAYERN!
Barcelona are in big, big trouble.
Bayern take the lead on a goal from Muller that required a bit of goal-line technology.
Lewandowski loops a cross to the back post for Muller to head home and, despite Araujo's attempt to clear, it's 1-0 Bayern.
As things stand, Barca are heading to the Europa League.
BENFICA AGAIN!
Make it 2-0 to Benfica, who are doing their part to try and qualify for the knockouts.
Gilberto with a stunning finish considering he's a fullback, and it could be an important one as Barca will surely need a win now.
Can they pull it off?
BENFICA GO AHEAD!
Benfica are the latest to join the goal party, and it is a big one for them.
With Yaremchuk's 16th-minute goal, the Portuguese side leapfrog Barcelona and into second place of their group.
All the pressure is now on Barca as they attempt to take down the machine that is Bayern.
Atalanta-Villarreal postponed
As it turns out, the group stages will continue on through tomorrow.
Atalanta's clash with Villarreal has been pushed back to tomorrow due to the snowy conditions.
Not even an orange ball could salvage this one today...
Debido a la incesante nevada 🌨 que cae sobre Bérgamo, la @UEFAcom_es ha decidido finalmente APLAZAR el partido @Atalanta_BC 🆚 #Villarreal para mañana jueves en horario aún por determinar.#UCL pic.twitter.com/Hgm4e6rdsc
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) December 8, 2021
LILLE IN THE LEAD!
Lille already sit atop the group, but they have a stranglehold on it now.
Yilmaz fires the French champions ahead in the 11th minute and, with a win, Lille will be clear as group winners.
GOAL MAN UTD!
Greenwood!
Man Utd have the early lead through the English star, who scores an absolute stunner in the ninth minute.
A great start for a very, very young Man Utd team.
MASON GREENWOOD. 😳 pic.twitter.com/UfW4PdTsGh
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 8, 2021
Mason Greenwood that is absolutely top drawer 🔥
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 8, 2021
Luke Shaw whips in the cross and... Wow!#UCL pic.twitter.com/NEG8LY2nCf
Can Lewa do it again?
Robert Lewandowski scored nine goals in this season's Champions League, putting him one behind Sebastian Haller for the competition lead.
With a goal today, though, the Polish star could become the only player in the history of the competition to hit double-digits in the group stage on multiple occasions, having previously done so in 2019-20 with 10.
Kickoff and we're underway!
Well, not if you're Atalanta or Villarreal, but the rest of the late games are now live!
Atalanta- Villarreal delayed
Going to need a snow removal team for this one.
A causa delle condizioni meteo avverse, il match è posticipato alle 21:20.
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) December 8, 2021
Due to the weather conditions, #AtalantaVillareal has been postponed to 21:20 CET.#UCL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/4ec1LvspCj
What's up with Chelsea defence?
After conceding three goals to West Ham this past weekend, Chelsea have done it again against Zenit.
Very unlike the Blues under Tuchel.
3+ - A Thomas Tuchel side has conceded 3+ goals in consecutive games for the first time since April 2019 (Lille 5-1 PSG, Nantes 3-2 PSG). Leaky. pic.twitter.com/X1xxO1NH4U
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 8, 2021
Full time!
It's all over as Chelsea have squandered their chance to finish atop the group.
Last season's Champions League winners had the lead twice, but relinquished it both time as Zenit stormed back for a stunning 3-3 draw.
Juventus, meanwhile, won the group on a goal from Moise Kean, whichw as just enough to see them top Malmo.
Zenit, meanwhile, finished third and will head to the Europa League.
What. A. FInish.
GOAL ZENIT!
Zenit at the death!
Ozdoyev scores in the 94th minute, levelling the score at 3-3 while effectively ending Chelsea's hopes of finishing atop the group.
Juventus, meanwhile, have held on to defeat Malmo so, unless Chelsea pull off a miracle, the Italian side will win the group!
A stunning strike from Magomed Ozdoyev 😮💨
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 8, 2021
A wonder goal right at the death from Zenit stops Chelsea from topping #UCL Group H 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Rajrv6Hfx7
DRAMA AT THE DEATH.
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 8, 2021
Zenit's Magomed Ozdoyev just did this in the 94th minute😳 pic.twitter.com/Plx8ng1H1S
Rangnick on Man Utd's young lineup to face Young Boys
Rangnick on the young players in the squad to MUTV: "They should just enjoy themselves, no near, always on the front foot, proactive and that is what I would like to see and then they can even make a mistake and it doesn't matter."
— Charlotte Duncker (@CharDuncker) December 8, 2021
CHELSEA TAKE THE LEAD!
Timo does it again!
That's two goals and an assist for Werner, as he wiggles past a defender and slots home to put Chelsea back on top in the 85th minute!
The Blues lead 3-2 and, if these scorelines hold, they'll finish atop the group with Juventus in second.
What's at stake in Group G?
Heading into today's games, Group G is, for lack of a better term, a big ole mess.
Lille sit atop the group on eight points while their opponents, Wolfsburg, are in last on five.
RB Salzburg and Sevilla, that means, sit in second and third with seven and six points, respectively, leading it all to play for on this final day.
Turbo Timo: the star of the show
1+1 - Timo Werner is the first @ChelseaFC player to both score and assist in a UEFA Champions League match since Werner himself away to FK Krasnodar in October 2020. Immersed. pic.twitter.com/3w48LbEZLR
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 8, 2021
What's at stake in Group F?
Manchester United are through, we know that. But there are still things up for grabs in Group F.
Man Utd sit atop the group with 10 points as they face Young Boys, who sit on four. Atalanta and Villarreal, meanwhile, have seven and six points respectively.
It could all get very interesting...
GOAL CHELSEA!
Lukaku levels it!
The Belgian star is back amongst the goals as he makes it 2-2 in the 62nd minute, tapping home an assist from Werner into an open net. One of the easiest he'll ever score!
Chelsea will need one more to go back atop the group, though, as it seems the group will go down to the wire.
That is a superb team move from Chelsea! 🔥
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 8, 2021
The ball starts with Kepa, Werner breaks the line with a brilliant one-two before putting it on a plate for Romelu Lukaku 🎯 pic.twitter.com/PxUQaq9F19
2': Goal ⚽
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 8, 2021
62': Assist 🅰️
Timo Werner is feeling it today. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/fG09UZgW2Z
What's at stake in Group E?
We all know the deal here: Barca's Champions League fate will come down to a clash with big, bad Bayern.
Barca currently sit second in the group with seven points, two ahead of Benfica.
The Portuguese side, though, face bottom dwellers Dynamo Kiev knowing that a win combined with a Barca loss would see the Catalan giants tossed to the Europa League.
Lineups: Manchester United vs Young Boys
Ralf freshens up his side for tonight's #UCL encounter! 📋👊#MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 8, 2021
So spielt YB heute Abend in Manchester 💛🖤
— BSC YOUNG BOYS (@BSC_YB) December 8, 2021
Nicht mit dabei sind: Von Ballmoos, Garcia, Mambimbi, Fassnacht, Petignat (verletzt), Nsame, Monteiro (rekonvaleszent), Spielmann, Ammeter (nicht im Aufgebot).#BSCYB #MUFCYB #UCL pic.twitter.com/o5mZg6a65S
Lineups: Bayern Munich vs Barcelona
🚨 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗖̧𝗔 𝗫𝗜 🚨 #BayernBarça pic.twitter.com/kM8sr4J5ci
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 8, 2021
♦️ Starting XI for #FCBFCB ♦️#packmas #UCL pic.twitter.com/C9UpTVFOsO
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) December 8, 2021
Second half is underway
Can Juventus hold on atop the group? Can Chelsea turn it around against Zenit?
We'll find out over the next 45 minutes or so!
The conditions in Bergamo
Atalanta's clash with Villarreal is going to be a COLD one....
📍🏟 #GewissStadium, Bergamo ☃️
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) December 8, 2021
👀 Da dove guarderete la partita?
🗺 Where in the world are you watching #AtalantaVillarreal from?#UCL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫️🔵 pic.twitter.com/jYUC0jQmbS
A bad day for Chelsea (so far)
Chelsea had only conceded one goal in this season's Champions League...
— GOAL (@goal) December 8, 2021
Until today ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/GtLK3JENmR
HALFTIME
A big shock in Russia so far as Zenit head to the dressing room up 2-1 on Chelsea.
And, to their credit, it feels fairly deserved as Chelsea haven't done too much since the opening minutes.
Meanwhile, as things stand, Juventus are leading the group as they lead Malmo 1-0 on a goal from Moise Kean.
That win would be enough for Juve to win the group as long as Chelsea can't turn it around and earn three points of their own.
ANOTHER GOAL FOR ZENIT!
Make it 2-1 to Zenit as Chelsea are all over the place!
Azmoun fires the hosts into the lead, putting Chelsea's chances of winning the group in severe danger.
Two goals in three minutes as Azmoun gives Zenit the lead!🔥 pic.twitter.com/aRWhTT7zkf
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 8, 2021
GOAL ZENIT!
A blow to Chelsea as Zenit have equalised!
Claudinho fires the Russian side right back in it, making it 1-1, as he heads past Kepa in the 38th minute.
As things stand, Juve will go through as group winners, but we have a long way to go!
Timo takes down Terry record
1:23 - Timo Werner's goal after just 1 minute and 23 seconds is the fastest goal @ChelseaFC have ever scored in the UEFA Champions League, overtaking @JohnTerry26 against FC Schalke in November 2014 (1:26). Rapid. pic.twitter.com/0F9YQAqPiv
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 8, 2021
GOAL JUVE!
Juventus are keeping pace with Chelsea as they too are now up 1-0.
Kean is the goalscorer, as the Italian forward heads home Bernardeschi's perfectly-hit cross in the 18th minute.
The race for the top spot heats up...
THE CROSS FROM BERNARDESCHI 🤯
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 8, 2021
THE FINISH MOISE KEAN 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Wpu4ZryY59
⚽➡️🕺
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 8, 2021
Moise Kean heads home a beautiful outside-of-the-boot cross from Federico Bernardeschi and then hits the Griddy 🥶#UCL pic.twitter.com/f63F1tR1Pd
GOAL WERNER!
Chelsea are already ahead!
It takes two minutes for the Blues to take the lead, with Werner providing the goal from extremely close range.
There was no missing from there and, as a result, Chelsea are in pole position to win the group within two minutes.
Timo Werner stayed onside and Chelsea lead 83 seconds in. 😏 pic.twitter.com/SdSq7NvvKE
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 8, 2021
We're underway!
Kickoff and here we go!
Lineups: Chelsea vs Zenit
📋 Our starting XI to take on @ChelseaFC! #ZENCHE #UCL pic.twitter.com/AYUfZbqIEb
— FC Zenit in English✨ (@fczenit_en) December 8, 2021
Your Chelsea side tonight! 👊@ParimatchGlobal | #ZenChe pic.twitter.com/Ug1UhLgYWv
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 8, 2021
Lineups: Juventus vs Malmo
Så här ställer vi upp mot juventus FC ikväll!
— Malmö FF (@Malmo_FF) December 8, 2021
▫️ Diawara i mål
▫️ Olsson kliver in
▫️ AC tillbaka i startelvan pic.twitter.com/yLMEyb6LaW
#JuveMFF
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) December 8, 2021
𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕏𝕀#JuveUCL
⚪️⚫️✨ pic.twitter.com/AURpJq7q0I
What's at stake in the early games?
The day will kick off with Group H, and we already know which two teams will be heading to the knockouts.
What we don't know, though, is in which order. As things stand, Chelsea and Juventus both sit level on 12 points ahead of their matches against Zenit and Malmo, respectively.
Chelsea currently sit atop the group, though, so they'll go through as winners as long as they match Juve's result.
Today's schedule
It's another busy one today, with Groups E-H wrapping up to set up the final teams in the knockout round.
Here's a look at today's games (all times GMT):
5:45 pm - Zenit vs Chelsea
5:45 pm - Juventus vs Malmo
8 pm - Wolfsburg vs Lille
8 pm - RB Salzburg vs Sevilla
8 pm - Atalanta vs. Villarreal
8 pm - Benfica vs Dynamo Kiev
8 pm - Bayern Munich vs Barcelona
8 pm - Manchester United vs Young Boys
Welcome!
Welcome back for what should be another busy, busy day of Champions League football!
It's the final day of the group stage, and it's sure to be a crazy one with plenty on the line for some of world football's biggest clubs.
Goal will have you covered throughout the day, so strap in, follow along and enjoy what should be another fun one!