Sporting CP, Monaco and Brest are all in the top four. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are 17th and 18th, respectively, behind Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb. PSG and RB Leipzig are on the outside looking in. This isn't what we were expecting from the Champions League, but things are getting awfully fun and interesting.
It's okay to admit it: It has been a little difficult following the stakes and consequences in the Champions League's new league phase.
With more teams playing more games, no single result has been damning or definitive. Real Madrid have lost to Lille and AC Milan, Bayern lost to Aston Villa and got throttled by Barcelona, and PSG lost to Arsenal and drew at home with PSV Eindhoven, but none of these teams are actually in particular danger when it comes to advancing to the knockout rounds -- they're just less likely to earn a top-eight seed and a bye to the round of 16.
We have officially reached the midway point of the group phase, however, and at this point we largely understand who's in trouble -- RB Leipzig, primarily -- and what's at stake moving forward. We've got some delightful underdog stories to follow, and we've seen some star turns as well.
With matchday four in the books, let's step back and take a big-picture look at where things stand in this competition as we head down the stretch.
