The UEFA Champions League's first-ever league phase came to a dramatic close on Wednesday, setting up for an equally entertaining knockout stage that begins in two weeks' time. The introduction of the new format means the Champions League will introduce a new phase of competition in February when 16 teams will take part in the knockout round playoffs.

Matchday 8 of the revamped UEFA Champions League group stage lived up to the hype. With 36 different teams playing simultaneously in 18 different games on Wednesday, there was drama galore, headlined by Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain avoiding a humiliating early exit and Liverpool holding onto the spot in the standings despite a loss to PSV.

Manchester City scored three second half goals to come back from the brink of elimination and advance to the UEFA Champions League’s inaugural knockout round playoffs following a thrilling 3-1 victory over Club Brugge on Wednesday night.