The Bus Stop - January 30th, 2025
The big teams scrape through to the playoffs.
Matchday Review - January 29th, 2025
Champions League - MD 8
PSV Eindhoven 3 vs. 2 Liverpool
All the goals in this game came in the first half. Cody Gakpo gave Liverpool the lead in the 28th minute via a penalty but Johan Bakayoko equalised for PSV in the 35th minute. Harvey Elliott restored Liverpool’s lead in the 40th minute but Ismael Saibari equalised for PSV in the 45th minute. Ricardo Pepi gave PSV the lead before half time and they held on to it for the win. Amara Nallo was sent off for Liverpool in the 80th minute. PSV finish 14th and make it to the playoffs while Liverpool remain top of the table and move on to the final 16.
Bayern Munich 3 vs. 1 Slovan Bratislava
Thomas Muller scored in the eighth minute to give Bayern the lead. Harry Kane doubled the lead in the 63rd minute and Kingsley Coman made it three in the 84th minute. Marko Tolic got a consolation goal for Slovan in the 90th minute. Bayern finish 12th and progress to the playoffs while Slovan finish 35th.
Borussia Dortmund 3 vs. 1 Shakhtar Donetsk
Serhou Guirassy scored a double in the first half to give Dortmund a two goal lead. Marlon Gomes got a goal back for Shakhtar in the 50th minute but Ramy Bensebaini scored a third for Dortmund in the 79th minute. Dortmund finish 10th in the table and progress to the playoffs while Shakhtar finish 27th and miss out.
Bayer Leverkusen 2 vs. 0 Sparta Praha
Florian Wirtz scored in the first half while Nathan Tella scored in the second as Leverkusen cruised past Sparta. The Germans finish sixth in the table and progress to the final 16 while Sparta finish 31st.
Sporting Girona 1 vs. 2 Arsenal
Arnaut Danjuma gave Girona the lead in the 28th minute but Jorginho equalised for Arsenal via a penalty in the 38th minute. Ethan Nwaneri scored the winner for Arsenal in the 42nd minute. Sterling also missed a penalty for the Gunners. Girona finish 33rd while Arsenal finish third and progress to the final 16.
Barcelona 2 vs. 2 Atalanta
Lamine Yamal scored in the 47th minute to give Barcelona the lead but Ederson equalised for Atalanta in the 67th minute. Ronald Araujo restored Barcelona’s lead in the 72nd minute but Mario Pasalic scored in the 79th minute to equalise for Atalanta. Barcelona finish second and progress to the final 16 while Atalanta finish ninth and miss out on the final 16 and will have to take part in the playoffs.
Brest 0 vs. 3 Real Madrid
Rodrygo scored a double while Jude Bellingham scored as well as Real Madrid cruised past Brest. Brest finish 18th in the table and make the playoffs while Real finish 11th and will also participate in the playoffs.
Man City 3 vs. 1 Club Brugge
Raphael Onyedika gave Brugge the lead in the 45th minute but City came back in the second half. Mateo Kovacic equalised in the 53rd minute and Joel Ordonez scored an own goal in the 62nd minute to put City ahead. Savinho made it three for the home team in the 77th minute. City finish 22nd on goal difference and make the playoffs while Club Brugge finish 24th on goal difference and also make the playoffs.
BSC Young Boys 0 vs. 1 Red Star Belgrade
Guelor Kanga scored the only goal of the game as Red Star won their final game. Young Boys finish rock bottom while Red Star finish 29th.
Lille 6 vs. 1 Feyenoord
Osame Sahraoui gave Lille the lead in the fourth minute but Santiago Gimenez equalised for Feyenoord 10 minutes later. Gernot Trauner scored an own goal in the 38th minute to give Lille the lead and Angel Gomes made it three for Lille in the 57th minute. Jonathan David made it four in the 74th minute and Trauner scored another own goal two minutes later to make it five. Remy Cabella sealed the win with a sixth goal in the 80th minute. Lille jump up to seventh and progress to the final 16 while Feyenoord finish 19th and will take part in the playoffs.
Juventus 0 vs. 2 Benfica
Vangelis Pavlidis and Orkan Kokcu scored the goals as Benfica beat Juventus. Juventus finish 20th and Benfica finish 16th as both teams progress to the playoffs.
Aston Villa 4 vs. 2 Celtic
Morgan Rogers scored a double within the first five minutes to give Villa two goal lead. Adam Idah scored in the 36th and 38th minute to equalise for Celtic. Ollie Watkins scored in the 60th minute to give Villa the lead and Rogers completed his hattrick with a third goal in extra time as Villa picked up three points. Villa finish eighth and take the last automatic qualification spot while Celtic finish 21st and will take part in the playoffs.
Dinamo Zagreb 2 vs. 1 AC Milan
Martin Baturina scored in the 19th minute to give Dinamo the lead and Yunus Musah was sent off for Milan in the 39th minute. Christian Pulisic equalised for Milan in the 53rd minute but Marko Pjaca scored the winner for Dinamo in the 60th minute. Dinamo miss out on the playoff spots because of goal difference though as they sit 25th while AC Milan drop down to 13th and will have to take part in the playoffs.
Inter Milan 3 vs. 0 AS Monaco
Lautaro Martinez scored a hattrick and Christian Mawissa was sent off for Monaco in the 12th minute as Inter picked up three points. Inter finish fourth and move on to the final 16 while Monaco finish 17th and make the playoffs.
SK Sturm Graz 1 vs. 0 RB Leipzig
Arjan Malic scored the only goal of the game in the 42nd minute as Sturm Graz beat Leipzig. The teams finish 30th and 32nd.
RB Salzburg 1 vs. 4 Atletico Madrid
Giuliano Simeone scored in the fifth minute to give Atletico the lead and Antoine Griezmann scored a double before half time to make it 0-3. Marcos Llorente made it four for Atletico in the 63rd minute while Adam Daghim got a consolation goal for Salzburg in the 91st minute. Salzburg finish 34th while Atletico finish fifth and progress to the final 16.
Sporting Lisbon 1 vs. 1 Bologna
Tommaso Pobega scored in the 21st minute to give Bologna the lead but Conrad Harder equalised for Sporting in the 77th minute. Sporting finish 23rd and make the playoffs while Bologna finish 28th.
VfB Stuttgart 1 vs. 4 Paris Saint Germain
Bradley Barcola scored in the sixth minute to give PSG the lead while Ousmane Dembele scored a hattrick as PSG took a 0-4 lead by the 54th minute. Willian Pacho got a consolation goal for Stuttgart in the 77th minute. Stuttgart finish 26th and miss out on the playoffs while PSG finish 15th and make the playoffs.
Matchday Preview - January 30th, 2025
Europa League - MD 8
Twente vs. Besiktas
Real Sociedad vs. PAOK
FCSB vs. Man United
Nice vs. Bodo/Glimt
Olympiacos vs. Qarabag
Dynamo Kyiv vs. RFS
Tottenham vs. Elfsborg
Midtjylland vs. Fenerbahce
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. FC Porto
Slavia Praha vs. Malmo
AS Roma vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Ajax vs. Galatasaray
Lyon vs. Ludogorets
Athletic Bilbao vs. Viktoria Plzen
Anderlecht vs. Hoffenheim
Braga vs. Lazio
Rangers vs. Union Saint-Gilloise
Ferencvaros vs. AZ Alkmaar
Lazio are guaranteed to finish top of the table while Frankfurt and Bilbao should finish second and third and are guaranteed to progress to the final 16. United, Lyon, Tottenham, Anderlecht, FCSB, Galatasaray, Bodo/Glimt, Viktoria Plzen and Olympiacos should all make the playoffs while along with these teams Rangers, AZ Alkmaar, and Union Saint-Gilloise are fighting it out for a top eight spot as well. Ajax, PAOK, Real Sociedad, Midtjylland, Elfsborg, Roma, Ferencvaros, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas currently make the other play off spots but are in danger of dropping out if they lose. Porto, Twente, Braga, and Hoffenheim stand a chance of making the playoffs but currently sit outside the spots. Let’s see who makes it.
Have a great Thursday everyone!