UCL Recap as Eleven Fan Token Clubs Keep European Dream Alive
We are used to the Champions League delivering big drama, but the final matchday of the group phase surpassed expectations. When the dust settled, four Fan Token clubs cruised into the round-of-16 after finishing in the top eight, with another seven set for a crunch two-leg playoff tie.
Here’s a recap of Wednesday night’s drama.
Arsenal ($AFC) Top Group but $SPURS & $CITY are Biggest Winners
Arsenal had perhaps the easiest-looking tie of the night on paper, a home fixture against bottom-placed Kairat Almaty, and they duly made it eight wins out of eight after a 3-2 victory. The upshot is that the Gunners are guaranteed home ties in the second legs of their knockout ties.
Perhaps because Arsenal had already secured a top-two finish by beating Inter last week, Fan Token activity was modest, with trade volumes hovering around $2m over the course of the day. The value of the Arsenal Fan Token ($AFC) is up almost 3% over the last three days, though.
The next highest-placed Fan Token team was Tottenham Hotspur, who comfortably dispatched Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 away from home to finish fourth. Ahead of the match, the $SPURS Fant Token pumped 11.7% as trade volumes exploded 808%. Although a retracement followed, it is still up 3.7% over the last 24 hours.
Behind Spurs in fifth was Barcelona, who overcame an early setback to thump Copenhagen 4-1 at Camp Nou. The only non-Premier League Fan Token to gain automatic qualification, Barcelona are also top of La Liga at the moment.
In the three days leading up to the Copenhagen match, the Barcelona Fan Token ($BAR) rose from $0.531 to $0.561, a jump of 5.6% – although it started to decline even before kickoff. It’s now hovering around $0.536.
Sneaking into the final automatic qualification berth by the skin of their teeth was Manchester City, who beat Galatasaray 2-0 at the Etihad to gazump Real Madrid (9th) and Inter Milan (10th).
The Manchester City Fan Token ($CITY) had two notable rallies the day before the match (Jan. 27) and the day of, gaining 22.4% intraday then 11.2%. Trade volume also rose as high as $28.5m ahead of the game, up from less than a million the day prior.
Playoffs Beckon for Seven Fan Token Clubs
There is still the prospect of advancement to the last-16 for seven Fan Token clubs, namely Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Monaco, and Benfica.
Despite being Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in Germany, Inter finished tenth, sandwiched between Real Madrid in ninth and Paris Saint-Germain in eleventh. The latter could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Newcastle United.
Speaking of draws, Monaco vs Juventus ended 0-0 in sharp contrast to the goal-fest in Lisbon, where Benfica triumphed 4-2 over Real Madrid, the last goal – a header from their goalkeeper – sending the crowd into raptures and ensuring Benfica grabbed the final playoff spot at the expense of Marseille.
The Benfica Fan Token ($BENFICA) is one of relatively few in the green today, up 3.6% over the last 24 hours, while the AS Monaco Fan Token ($ASM) has increased 1.6%. On the flip side, missing out on automatic qualification has dented the value of $PSG, $INTER, $JUV and $ATM.
Perhaps the biggest loser of the night, at least from a Fan Token perspective, is Napoli, who failed to make the playoffs after losing 3-2 to Chelsea at home. The value of $NAP is down 3.2% over the last 24 hours.
Ronnie McCluskey: Fan Tokens Market Reporter