Winners & Losers of the 2025/26 Champions League League Phase

The curtain came down on the revamped UEFA Champions League league phase with the kind of all-at-once drama UEFA hoped for when it redesigned the competition. Eighteen simultaneous kick-offs, tables reshuffling by the minute, and qualification decided by goals scored in the final moments.

Over five months and 144 matches, the new format delivered spectacle, stress and more than a few storylines that will linger long into the knockout rounds.

From flawless campaigns and unlikely heroes to heavyweight disappointments and coaches once again haunted by Europe, here is a winners-and-losers look at how the league phase shook out.

WINNER: Arsenal

Arsenal could not have scripted a better league phase if they tried. Eight games, eight wins, top of the table and straight into the last 16 with momentum firmly on their side. Rotation barely dulled their edge, squad depth proved decisive, and Mikel Arteta’s side looked more comfortable in Europe than at any point in the Emirates era.

From flawless campaigns and unlikely heroes to heavyweight disappointments and coaches once again haunted by Europe, here is a winners-and-losers look at how the league phase shook out.

WINNER: Arsenal

Arsenal could not have scripted a better league phase if they tried. Eight games, eight wins, top of the table and straight into the last 16 with momentum firmly on their side. Rotation barely dulled their edge, squad depth proved decisive, and Mikel Arteta’s side looked more comfortable in Europe than at any point in the Emirates era.