Barcelona face uphill task to qualify for 2025 Club World Cup, Atletico Madrid still in pole position

It's been a disappointing week for both Spanish clubs in Champions League action. Atletico Madrid were beaten 1-0 by Inter Milan in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie at the San Siro, while Barcelona was drawn to a 1-1 draw in Naples.

At this stage, Barcelona look more likely to progress to the quarter-final stage of the competition, although their failure to defeat Napoli on Wednesday could have a significant knock-on effect for the future.

This is because Barcelona's chances of qualifying for the 2025 Club World Cup – the first part of the competition with the new 32-team format – are now less than they were at the start of the week. They previously needed to win three games (hoping Atleti were knocked out by Inter) to qualify, but now Xavi Hernandez's side would need to reach the semi-finals to book their place, Sport.

It means that Atletico Madrid remain in pole position to qualify, even if they lose to Inter and Barcelona defeat Napoli in their second leg games in three weeks, you would be desperately hoping that the Catalan side are eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League.