Champions League: 10 Clubs That Have Surprised in the Group Stage

The Champions League has hosted many surprises throughout its history.

However, the biggest surprise usually deals with how certain clubs perform on Europe's biggest stage.

We have witnessed unknown clubs advance from groups and big clubs unexpectedly collapse and not advance onto the last 16.

This has continued in this group stage, with clubs such as Villarreal and Porto having poor group stages, while clubs such as APOEL and Trabzonspor have achieved unexpected success.

Now that the group stage picture is appearing less murky, these are the 10 sides that have surprised us the most in this group stage.

Current Place in Group Table: Fourth (no points)

After the group draw, people thought it would be hard for Villarreal to advance onto the knockout stage due to the three great sides that they had to play.

Yet no one could have seen this horrible campaign happening.

Villarreal have scored only one goal so far and have been flat-out beaten in every match that they have played.

Quite frankly, Villarreal have also been a shell of their former selves domestically. Currently, they are two points outside of the relegation zone in La Liga and they have also lost their best player, Giuseppe Rossi, for several months with an injury to his cruciate ligament.

Right now, Villarreal can only go out and play their best in their two remaining matches.

After all, they have nothing more to lose.

Current Place in Group Table: Tied for second (five points)

Trabzonspor didn't even qualify for the group stage of the Champions League, yet they have been nothing short of a remarkable story to follow.

After coming into the championship due to the departure of Fenerbache, Trabzonspor have won at the San Siro over Inter Milan and have since drew twice.

They have been fantastic so far, but Trabzonspor will need to play well in their next two matches.

They will host Inter Milan and will have to travel to Lille.

At the very least, they will need to win at least one of those matches if they have any hope of becoming the first Turkish club since Fenerbache in 2008 to advance onto the knockout round.

Current Place in Group Table: First (eight points)

Even though they are on top of their group, Manchester United have been miserable to watch so far in this group stage.

The Red Devils have been a shell of their selves in the competition, and they are not nearly as strong as they were in last year's competition.

United have been let down by a defense that has been leaky at times (against Basel in Matchday 2) and they have lacked a true goalscoring touch.

The group that United are in is not exactly a strong group such as the one that Manchester City find themselves in. The results that United have put in for their four matches have been terrible.

Despite this, United will still advance deep in the competition, but they need to start playing better football soon.

Current Place in Group Table: Third (five points)

Basel have been another surprise in Group C, though they have been a refreshing side to watch.

Odds are that Basel will not advance onto the knockout stage, yet they have put together several strong performances so far.

Of course, Basel's most notable performance came at Old Trafford in Matchday 2, where the Swiss side took a 3-2 lead into the 90th minute against Manchester United.

In Matchday 4, Basel were able to earn a draw in Portugal against Benfica.

Considering their last two matches are at home vs. Man United and away at Otelul Galat, anything is certainly possible for Basel to reach the Round of 16.

Current Place in Group Table: Second (seven points)

After seeing more of their stars depart for greener pastures over the summer, not much was expected of Ajax this season.

However, the Dutch giants have been fantastic so far in the group stage, gaining seven points through four matches.

Ajax have been led by holding possession for 149 minutes and recording 33 corners, both of which are tops in their group.

Ajax does have a difficult trip to the Stade de Gerland in Matchday 5 against Lyon, plus a home match against Real Madrid on Matchday 6.

But at this stage, it looks very likely that Ajax will be able to advance onto the Round of 16.

Current Place in Group Table: Third (four points)

Lyon went into this Champions League group expecting to once again advance onto the knockout stage. However, nothing has gone according to plan for the French giants.

After getting a draw against Ajax to start off the group stage and a win over Dinamo Zagreb, the club has gotten outclassed by Real Madrid, who have outscored Lyon 5-0 in those two matches.

Lyon do have the talent to come back and reach the Round of 16, but they will need to put together a sizable effort in order to make it there.

For starters, Lyon will need to be more efficient in the attacking end (only 32 percent of their shots have been on target—the lowest total by any side in their group) and they have been caught offside more times (20) than their three counterparts.

Lyon will also need to record a win against Ajax in Matchday 5. A failure to do so will mean Lyon will need to win and make up a seven-goal differential in their final match against Zagreb.

Current Place in Group Table: Third (four points)

The winner of the Bundesliga last season, Borussia Dortmund got an automatic berth in the group stage, and they were expected to make a run to advance into the Round of 16.

After a strong 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Matchday 1, Dortmund hit a wall.

They were outscored by Marseille and Olympiakos by a 6-1 aggregate score in their next two matches and were at the bottom of the Group F table with a measly point.

Dortmund were able to defeat Olympiakos in Matchday 4, but they still have only four points in four matches.

If Dortmund have any hope of advancing, they will certainly need a win at the Emirates on Matchday 5.

Current Place in Group Table: First (eight points)

If you had said that APOEL would be on top of the table before the group stage started, almost everyone would have thought you were nuts.

Instead, APOEL have turned the doubters into believers with two wins and two draws so far in the group stage.

APOEL have been lead by Aílton Almeida and Gustavo Manduca, who have scored five combined goals in four matches.

Already, APOEL have secured draws at the Donbass Arena and the Estádio do Dragão in this group stage, and it looks like they will become the first club from Cyprus to advance into the Round of 16.

Current Place in Group Table: Third (four points)

After completing a treble last season, Porto went into the Champions League this season expecting to achieve at least a berth into the Round of 16.

Porto have found moderate success in the Champions League so far, but they now find themselves in third place in Group G's table.

It also doesn't help Porto to get limited to one point by APOEL in their last two matches.

Porto now have to travel to the Donbass Arena in their next match to take on a Shakhtar Donetsk side that will be looking to get out of the group cellar and at least grab a Europa League spot.

If Porto fail to advance, it will be viewed as a massive failure for a club that was predicted to win the group.

Current Place in Group Table: Fourth (two points)

After an impressive Champions League run where they topped Group H and were able to reach the quarterfinals, Shakhtar Donetsk have been a massive disappointment this season.

Shakhtar are currently at the bottom of Group G with two measly points and are certain to exit the competition.

A main reason why the Ukrainian side has faltered this time around has been their abysmal showing away from the Donbass Arena.

Shakhtar have lost both away matches and have been unconvincing in the process.

If Shakhtar get lucky, they could get into the Europa League. But at this stage, I doubt they will be able to make it there.

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