Top spot? No thanks – Champions League group winners struggle

Finishing top of your group in the Champions League may not be such an advantage after all.

Well, that is the case after the opening four matches of the round of 16.

Group winners Barcelona and Arsenal were humbled by Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich respectively in heavy defeats.

The combined scoreline through four matches sits at 13-2 in favour of the teams which finished as runners-up.

That comes as a surprise, given the previous two seasons have seen six of the eight group winners advance to the quarter-finals.

But with Arsenal finishing top for a change, anything was always going to be possible.