FC Barcelona confirmed a Champions League playoff place (at least)

The 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion, the fifth in a row in the Champions League, moves Barça up to second place in the League Phase table with 15 points. Only Liverpool, who have won every game to date, can boast a better record with just two games left to play.

The three points in Germany means that whatever happens in those games, Barça will be among the 24 teams that continue in the competition after January. That's because PSG, who are currently 25th, have 7 points and clearly can't get anywhere near Barça now.

Aiming higher

But while the teams ranked 9th to 24th in UEFA's new system will have to play off for a place in the last sixteen, Barça are within touching distance of being able to skip straight into the next round. That's an honour only afforded to the eight highest ranked teams, and as it stands, Barça are very well poised indeed to be one of those.

There are two games left, at home to Atalanta and away to Benfica. Barça currently have a three-point cushion to work with, and also have the best goal difference (+14) out of all 36 teams. A win and a draw would be enough to make mathematically certain of a place in the top eight, although depending on how other games go, there's a strong chance that Barça could even get away with less. The long and short of it is, things are looking very good indeed in Europe!