Instead of going straight into the traditional round of 16, the competition will feature a knockout phase play-off. In this stage, the teams that finished ninth to 16th in the group phase will face off against those that placed 17th to 24th, with each tie played over two legs.

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.

Manchester City's Champions League hopes almost went up in smoke against Club Brugge - but a big improvement is needed to make the last 16, says BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty.

The league phase of Champions League has come to a close and Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain avoided disaster by securing their spots in the knockout stage. Buoyed by hat tricks from Morgan Rogers,

And so we come to the final week of the Champions League’s new league phase. Never before has European football known 36 teams jostling for position in its biggest competition and by tomorrow, it will be time to part with 12 of them once and for all.

Another absorbing "Battle of Britain" is in store today in the UEFA Champions League, between Aston Villa of the English Premier League and Scottish champions Celtic. Both sides need a win to boost their hopes of automatic qualification for the last 16.

Aston Villa look a "very tired team" from their Champions League exploits so far, but it is still "worth it" says fan and host of Married to Claret and Blue podcast Rupert Pybus. Unai Emery's side have the opportunity to qualify for the Champions League top eight when they host Celtic on Wednesday night.

Morgan Rogers’s hat-trick sent Villa straight into the Champions League last 16 but transfer questions remain over Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran

Lautaro Martínez became Inter Milan’s top scorer in Europe’s elite competition as he netted a hat trick against 10-man Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday. Lautaro’s treble moved him onto 18 goals in the Champions League,

Captain Lautaro Martinez netted a hat-trick to become Inter Milan’s most prolific scorer in the Champions League as they eased to a 3-0 victory over the 10 men of Monaco at a raucous San Siro on Wednesday.

Reigning Serie A champions Inter saw off 10-man Monaco 3-0 at Giuseppe Meazza in the Champions League’s league-phase finale. In doing so, Simone Inzaghi’s charges equaled an impressive feat at