Every year, UEFA organizes a tournament to include select soccer teams from top-division European soccer clubs known as the UEFA Champions League. The competition begins with knock-out qualifications in July through August. The ten remaining teams join twenty-two automatically qualifying clubs in the group stage. This stage consists of thirty-two of Europe’s best squads. The group stage begins in September, and ends in December, with the group winners and runner-ups advancing into the knockout stages. The 2015-2016 season of the UEFA Champions League is halfway done, resuming with the “Round of 16” in February.

So far, the top scorer this season is Cristiano Ronaldo, superstar forward of Spanish giants Real Madrid, with eleven goals scored. The only undefeated teams thus far are Real Madrid, with five wins and one draw, as well as fellow Spanish rival FC Barcelona, with four wins and two draws. Surprisingly, Manchester United will not be proceeding to the “Round of 16” with just two wins, two losses, and two draws in total. This marks the second consecutive season in which “Man U” has not progressed into the “Round of 16” after reaching the knockout stage each season since the 2005-2006 campaign. Last season, storied United failed to qualify because of its seventh place finish in the 2013-2014 English Premier League season.

Despite Juventus’ early domestic struggles in Serie A, the Italian club has managed to remain successful in the Champions League after placing second in last season’s competition. Juventus defeated group D winner Manchester City twice, in weeks one and five of the group stage.

Even though Borussia Mönchengladbach is in fourth place in the Bundesliga, its success has not translated well into the Champions League, as it only has one win. In spite of this, Fabian Johnson, a midfielder for Mönchengladbach, has shown potential in the two goals he has scored in the six games over the course of the group stage.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen did not qualify for the “Round of 16,” even though it has a better goal differential and a greater amount of points than A.S. Roma. This is because Roma managed to win against Leverkusen 3-2 in week four of the group stage. This is unfortunate for Leverkusen striker Javier Hernández, commonly known as Chicharito, who  scored five goals for Leverkusen in the group stage.

Analysis of Groups A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H

Group A:

1. Real Madrid C.F.
2. Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
3. FC Shakhtar Donetsk
4. Malmö FF

Unsurprisingly, Real Madrid is doing well, being one of two unbeaten teams. Paris Saint-Germain has also had success in the group stage, with four wins, one draw, and one loss. Shockingly, when faced against Real Madrid, Paris had drawn 0-0 in week three and barely lost in week four in a game of 1-0. FC Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmö FF predictably did not advance, both having a record of only one win and five losses.

Group B:

1. VfL Wolfsburg
2. PSV Eindhoven
3. Manchester United
4. PFC CSKA Moscow

With four wins and two losses, Wolfsburg has had a successful run in the group stage. An unexpected outcome of this group is that Manchester United finished in third place, thus failing to qualify for the knockout stage. With a record of two wins, two losses, and two draws, United did not live up to the potential of its previous records. In the 2013-2014 season, United was eliminated in the quarterfinals. This shows that the prosperity of Manchester United is wearing thin, as it has become trapped in the shadow of previous achievements without proving anything honorable as of late. To much surprise, PSV Eindhoven had a laudable record of three wins, one draw, and two losses. In its wins, Eindhoven beat Wolfsburg, Moscow, and Manchester United. Regardless of the victories, Eindhoven now faces a challenge against Atlético Madrid in the round of 16.

Group C:

1. Atlético Madrid
2. S.L. Benfica
3. Galatasaray S.K.
4. FC Astana

Atlético Madrid came out victorious in this group (albeit with small mishaps), in a record of four wins, one draw, and one loss. Translating these achievements from La Liga to the Champions League has proven to be a successful endeavor, although the team will be put to the test when they face PSV Eindhoven in February. S.L. Benfica came out with a strong start in victories against Astana and Madrid; however, its momentum was halted by a loss to Galatasaray in week three. Further, the team tied Astana and finished the group stage with a loss against Madrid. This totals Benfica’s record to three wins, one draw, and two losses. In February, Benfica will  face FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, the winner of Group H. Recovering from a loss from the final group stage game, Benfica must beat Zenit in order to prove its worthiness to continue its triumphs in the Champions League.

Group D:

1. Manchester City F.C.
2. Juventus F.C.
3. Sevilla F.C.
4. Borussia Mönchengladbach

After losing to Juventus twice in the group stage, it did not look like Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini and his men were going to make it out as the top in the group. However, three goals by City in the last 10 minutes of the game vs Borussia Mönchengladbach, two of them from Raheem Sterling, gave the Blues hope that they may finish at top of Group D. On the other side of the story, Fernando Llorente of Sevilla helped City with his header in the 69th minute to beat Juventus 1-0. That would mean City finishes with twelve points and Juventus with eleven. Despite Fabian Johnson of Mönchengladbach playing well, it was not enough to take down the English giants Manchester City. With ten minutes remaining, Manuel Pellegrini put on the attack as City won Group D and advanced to the knockout stages to face Dynamo Kiev, an opponent it would be delighted to face, unlike its “Round of 16” opponent, Barcelona, last season.

Group E:

1. F.C. Barcelona
2. AS Roma
3. Bayer 04 Leverkusen
4. FC Bate Borisov

Barcelona once again made it out at the top of its group unsurprisingly. While the champions are back and confident from last season,  they are in need of players from the injury list. With players like Messi, Neymar, and Suarez, it does not look like this team can lose, but Real Madrid looks to give it everything and steal the cup from one the best attacks ever compiled on a single field. Bayer 04 Leverkusen did not make it through to the “Round of 16,” even though they have the a better goal difference and same amount of points as A.S. Roma. The reason for this is because Roma won against Leverkusen 3-2 in the fourth week of the group stages. For Javier Hernández, more known as Chicharito, this is unfortunate. He scored five goals for Leverkusen in the group stages and seventeen goals in his last fourteen fixtures. He is in his best form of his career and looks to continue this quality throughout the Bundesliga season.

Group F:

1. Bayern München
2. Arsenal
3. Olympiakos
4. Dinamo Zagreb

After winning Group F, FC Bayern München is looking for dominant performances in the knockout stages. München is in familiar territory, and looks to make it back to the Final after winning the cup just three years ago. With world-class players like Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski, and Arturo Vidal, the German side has been dominant throughout much of the Bundesliga season. One of the more versatile center backs in the world, David Alaba, has shown that he can play not only on the defensive side of the ball, but also on the offensive. For Arsenal, they took all three points in a crucial match against Olympiakos in the final week of games. This means that with Olivier Giroud’s hat trick, the Gunners make their way back to the knockout stages. On the other side, it is unfortunate for the Greek Super League side to fail even a draw from the BPL Giants Arsenal. The squad ended up losing 3-0 and were sent off to the Europa league with the other 3rd place teams. For teams like Dynamo Zagreb, they are not strong enough to compete with skilled teams such as Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Olympiakos.

Group G:

1. Chelsea F.C.
2. Dynamo Kiev
3. F.C. Porto
4. Maccabi Tel-Aviv

With its rather favorable group, Chelsea looks to continue its success in the knockout stages. The English Premier League champions are not doing well thus far in domestic play, leading to the removal of its manager Jose Mourinho. Chelsea is known to play very well defensively, but that is not the case this season in the English Premier League, as opponents have figured out how to break down John Terry and his 2014-15 league leading Blues. On the other side, Dynamo Kiev faces a very tough task in Manchester City in the “Round of 16,” another English giant, and it will not be easy for the Russian side after finishing 2nd place in Group G. For Porto, it is unfortunate to see an exit after its success of making it through last year; however, it will look to regain focus into the Europa League.

Group H:

1. Zenit Saint Petersburg
2. KAA Gent
3. Valencia CF
4. Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon FC)

In Saint Petersburg, Russia, Hulk is playing on another level right now and hopes to take his team far into the group stages. He is one of the top playmakers in terms of ball control and finding open space behind more renowned names such as Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez, and Neymar. The Russian side won the group finishing with fifteen points; Artem Dzyuba is the top goal scorer for the squad in the group stages. Zenit looks to carry that confidence into the knockout stages. For K.A.A. Gent, Danijel Milicevic is also a very good playmaker for this Belgian League side, as his presence making crosses from the flanks may spark a bit of confidence even though the team faces a tough team in VFL Wolfsburg in the first round. For Valencia, it is surprising to see this La Liga team go early. With players like Alcacar, Mustafi, and Negro, one would expect this team to at least secure second place in its respective group. While making the most crosses in the box as a collective team, the Eastern Spanish squad was unable to take advantage of endless chances. For Lyon, they just did not play well, a surprising revelation with talented players like Lacazette and Valbuena.