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The Champions League group stage has come to a close, meaning <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/uefa-champions-league-last-16-draw-date-time-teams-how-to-watch/blta9428d7fccc45630" target="_blank">we now know the identity of the last 16.</a>Real Madrid had already secured qualification but they sealed top spot in their pool with a resounding win over Celtic. Napoli also went through as group winners despite losing at Liverpool, while Bayern Munich progressed with a perfect record of six wins from six games.But what were the major talking points from the final matchday? Who were the big winners and losers? GOAL reveals all below...<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

The moment that changed PSG's season? Champions League winners and losers after Benfica pip Messi, Mbappe, Neymar & co to top spot

Well, who saw that coming? Certainly not PSG. Goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma admitted that the players only found out about Benfica pipping the Parisians to top spot after the full-time whistle had blown in Turin. It was always a possibility, of course, given PSG and Benfica were level on points going into matchday six, and had an identical head-to-head record after playing out 1-1 draws at both the Estadio da Luz and Parc des Princes. However, the understandable presumption was that if PSG beat Juventus, they would progress to the last 16 as winners of Group H as they had a superior goal difference (+8 to Benfica's +4). Nobody had counted on Benfica routing Maccabi Haifa, though. After all, PSG had only sealed a 3-1 win in Israel with a late goal from Neymar, while Maccabi had beaten Juve 2-0 in their previous home game. Benfica, though, just kept piling forward, and Joao Mario's 92nd-minute strike from well outside the area means that it is the Portuguese – and not PSG – who will be among the top seeds in Monday's draw.Enormous credit, then, must go to Benfica for completely upsetting the apple cart, first by eliminating Juventus and then pushing PSG into second place. In this era of gross financial inequality, it's heartening to see a team that's very much become a supermarket for the super-clubs showing what can be done with shrewd signings and an adventurous approach.

WINNER: Benfica

It's been an excellent few days for Portuguese football, because it wasn't just Benfica who went through as group winners. Porto also did so by beating Atletico Madrid at the Dragao. Consequently, there was plenty of talk of the relative strength of the Primeira Liga and La Liga, the latter of which will only have one representative in the last 16 for the first time since 1998-99. <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/news/barcelona-back-europa-league-where-they-belong-right-now/bltb94f0b887e0b4ef3" target="_blank">Barcelona's elimination rightly dominated the headlines last week</a> given their summer spending spree, but they at least stumbled into the Europa League. Atletico couldn't even manage that, with Diego Simeone's side finishing rock bottom of a group that, as well as Porto, also contained Club Brugge and Bayer Leverkusen. Some may feel that missing out on the Europa League is a blessing, but it's a tournament that's been very, very good to Atleti. Indeed, the financial implications of having no knockout games in continental competition are grim. Atleti may well now be forced to sell a top player. Simeone would probably be happy to let Joao Felix leave at this stage. As the club's most valuable asset, his sale would at least raise some funds for a rebuild. But they won't get anything like what they paid for him, meaning it will difficult to fund the overhaul that Simeone's squad so desperately needs.It's hard to know where Atleti go from here. The attempt to embrace a more ambitious approach, on the field and in the transfer market, did not pay off, and arguably resulted in Simeone becoming even more stubborn from a tactical perspective.The worrying thing is, though, that Atleti are no longer very good at what they were once renowned for: defending. They didn't keep a single clean sheet in this year's group stage and conceded nine goals – more than any previous campaign under Simeone. The Argentine has worked wonders during his 11 years at the helm but there is a growing fear that Atleti and Simeone, one of the game's great love affairs, may no longer be right for one another...

LOSER: Diego Simeone

AC Milan's elimination from last season's Champions League hit hard. Yes, it was their first appearance since 2014, after a multitude of financial problems, but the fact of the matter was that they went into their final group game, against an already-qualified and much-changed Liverpool side, knowing victory would see them through to the knockout stage.They lost 2-1. Afterwards, Stefan Pioli insisted, "This will be valuable for our growth." And so it proved. Milan are now a different animal from a mental perspective. The way in which a relatively young squad handled the pressure of a Serie A title race was astounding. Inter may have had their regrets, but the resurgent Rossoneri were fully deserving of their first Scudetto success since 2011. Their spot in this season's Champions League knockout stage is also merited.Milan could have fallen apart after suffering damaging back-to-back defeats to Chelsea, but they responded with two resounding wins to claim second spot in Group E. Pioli knows his relatively young side still have a long way to go, but they're undoubtedly ahead of schedule in their recovery from a near-fatal financial collapse.Indeed, qualification will not only do wonders for Milan's bank balance, but also their brand. The Rossoneri haven't yet reclaimed their place among Europe's elite. But they are officially back among the Champions League top 16 teams.

WINNER: AC Milan

The worst team in Champions League history? <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/lists/worst-teams-champions-league-history/blte518bd355063ae17" target="_blank">That's what the stats say,</a> with Rangers having lost all six group games with a goal difference of minus-20.In fairness, they found themselves in a tough group, alongside last season's runners-up (Liverpool), the form team in Europe (Napoli) and the Dutch champions (Ajax).Celtic's struggles in Group F (two draws, four defeats) also highlighted the struggle Scottish sides now face when pitted against the continent's best, and richest, clubs.However, there is simply no excuse for Rangers' rotten results. Remember, we're talking about a team that reached the final of last season's Europa League.Left-back Borna Barisic admitted that they didn't expect the step up in class to be "that big", and it shouldn't have been.<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Rangers set the record for the worst group stage in Champions League history 😬 <a href="https://t.co/pZ5i1lvuK8">pic.twitter.com/pZ5i1lvuK8</a>— GOAL News (@GoalNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoalNews/status/1587578957528170496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

</center>Rangers may have lost a couple of key players during their summer, but some of their play, particularly from a defensive perspective, was absolutely shocking.Indeed, the way in which they capitulated in the final half hour of the 7-1 loss at home to Liverpool suggested that Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team lacked not only quality – but also heart, which is inexcusable at any level.Rangers fans had waited 12 years to see their team in the Champions League group stage again. They deserved better.

LOSER: Rangers

Igor Tudor's face said it all. The Marseille boss was in a state of disbelief, incapable of comprehending how Sead Kolasinac had construed to head the ball wide of the Tottenham goal.There were only three minutes of normal time to play, and the two teams were tied at one goal apiece. Had Kolasinac scored, Marseille would have been propelled into second spot in Group D, and thus secured qualification for the last 16.Incredibly, worse was to follow for Tudor. Amid the mayhem in Marseille, the noise reached such a high decibel that he struggled to communicate with his players. He tried to tell them in injury time not to go all-out attack, given a draw would have earned the hosts a consolation prize: a spot in the Europa League.But they continued to pour forward and were caught on the break, with Harry Kane putting Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg clean through to score a winner."The last minute was confusing. It was so noisy that we couldn't hear each other," a crestfallen Tudor lamented.As for Kolasinac, the former Arsenal man will have to live with forever having a place in the hearts of Spurs fans for one of the most infamous misses in Marseille's history.

LOSER: Sead Kolasinac

One of the knock-on effects of Benfica's late heroics against Maccabi Haifa is Monday's draw for the last 16 becoming even more interesting. Firstly, PSG could now be drawn against the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, making more Champions League misery a distinct possibility for the French club.Secondly, there were already some big names among the second seeds. Liverpool, for example, have endured a difficult start to the season but they've reached three finals in the past five years and could be a very different proposition in the new year, when they should have a couple of key players back from injury.Inter have had to deal with their own key absentees in recent weeks and yet still beat Barcelona to second spot in Group C. As already mentioned, the Nerazzurri's city rivals Milan are improving at a rapid rate, while Borussia Dortmund showed what they're capable of by holding Manchester City to a draw on their way to a runners-up finish in Group G. When you now consider that Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will also be among the second seeds, it becomes clear that we're guaranteed some heavyweight clashes in the last 16.For once, it really will be worth putting up with all of the interminable chit-chat to get to the draw!

WINNER: The draw for the last 16

The moment that changed PSG's season? Champions League winners and losers after Benfica pip Messi, Mbappe, Neymar & co to top spot | Goal.com US

A 92nd-minute strike from Benfica&apos;s Joao Mario means Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe of the mighty Paris Saint-Germain will be among the second seeds for Monday&apos;s draw for the last 16 of the Champions League

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