What Man City Defeat to Bodo/Glimt Means Heading Into Final Round of Games

Manchester City's 3-1 defeat to Bodo/Glimt has had a major impact on the Champions League table heading into the final round of games.

City suffered a shock defeat in Norway on Tuesday after going 3-0 down inside an hour.

Rayan Cherki pulled a goal back via a deflected effort to make it 3-1, but Rodri was sent off shortly after and City had few chances to get back into the contest.

Pep Guardiola's side must now rely on results elsewhere to qualify automatically for the Champions League round of 16 stage.

They host Galatasaray at the Etihad Stadium in their final fixture, but even a win may not be enough.

City end Wednesday night down in 11th place after wins for Newcastle, Chelsea, Barcelona and Liverpool on Wednesday night.

In total, eight teams - including City - sit on 13 points heading into the final matchday.

City would need to win and hope that three of the six teams above them all fail to win, while they would also need to win by a greater margin than Atletico Madrid and Atalanta directly behind them.

Their task will be aided slightly by PSG and Newcastle, who both occupy a position in the top eight on 13 points but play each other in the final set of fixtures.

Every other team on 13 points plays a side that is currently outside of the top eight.

What about the other English clubs?

Arsenal are already through to the Champions League knockouts, and only need a point away at Kairat Almaty to finish as group winners.

Liverpool, who sit in fourth, could be safe with a point against Qarabag but would be relying on results and goal differences elsewhere, while a win guarantees their passage.

The same can be said for Tottenham, who are on 14 points and realistically need a win away to Frankfurt to progress.

Newcastle, meanwhile, occupy seventh place but have a nightmare final round assignment away at holders PSG.

Newcastle are in dream world now 🤩

Harvey Barnes gets his 5th Champions League goal of the season to put the Magpies 3-0 ahead!@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/UoBR0nPalY

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 21, 2026

Their goal difference of +10 could theoretically keep them in the top eight even with a defeat, but they would need a significant number of results to go their way, while a draw may not be enough either.

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And eighth-placed Chelsea are also on the cusp, with Liam Rosenior's side travelling to Serie A holders Napoli on the final day.

Their goal difference is worse than Newcastle's by minus four, making a win even more important to the Blues in order to secure safe passage through to the knockouts.

The four English clubs who are still in play on the last day are at least all secured a spot in the play-offs, regardless of results.

Like last year, the teams who finish between ninth and 24th qualify for the play-off stages, which will be played in February.

Four teams - Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, Villarreal and Kairat - are all mathematically out of contention for the play-offs.