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4 European heavyweights in danger of missing the knockout stage

REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

The first half of the Champions League group stage wasn't short on surprises, with a handful of European heavyweights leaving their hopes of advancing in the balance after a string of uninspired performances.

Here are four perennial contenders whose prospects of progressing to the knockout stage have dwindled:

Borussia Dortmund

Tuesday's results were a disaster for Borussia Dortmund.

The German side's chances of reaching the knockout stage were dealt a devastating blow when Peter Bosz's men collected just their first point of the competition after a disappointing 1-1 draw with APOEL Nicosia.

The situation was made worse by the result in Spain, with Tottenham receiving loads of praise for its admirable draw with Champions League titleholder Real Madrid.

Although Dortmund gets another crack at APOEL on Nov. 1, the club has left itself in a perilous position. Collecting points in the final two matches will now decide if the Bundesliga outfit progresses to the round of 16 for a sixth consecutive season.

Those final two contests will be far from straightforward. Dortmund will, in all likelihood, need to beat Tottenham at the Westfalenstadion before the final group stage match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. have not lost a Champions League match since a shock 4-3 defeat to Dortmund's domestic rival FC Schalke 04 in 2014.

AS Monaco

Home or away, the poor results just keep piling up for AS Monaco in Europe.

Last season's Ligue 1 champion is in danger of following up a stellar Champions League campaign with an early exit after the latest calamity.

Monaco is in danger of missing out on a place in the Europa League if the club is unable to climb out of the pit of Group G after collecting just one point through three games.

Tuesday's loss to Besiktas marked Monaco's second at home, leaving Leonardo Jardim's men with two of their remaining three matches on the road.

But hope hasn't completely fizzled out. With Besiktas seemingly running away with the group following the Turkish side's perfect start, Monaco is within shooting distance of RB Leipzig and FC Porto.

Napoli

Napoli's success in Serie A hasn't carried over to the European stage, as the continent's most potent attack failed to prevent a second loss of the Champions League group phase.

Tuesday's match was always going to be a difficult task against a Manchester City outfit enjoying similar domestic success. The two league leaders, however, looked far from balanced during the opening half hour at the Etihad Stadium, as City bombarded the Napoli goal with a barrage of chances that saw the host go up 2-0 after 13 minutes.

Napoli managed to compose itself and prevent a blowout in a match that the Italians will be disappointed not to come away with a point, as Dries Mertens' missed penalty preceded Amadou Diawara's converted spot-kick in the second half.

With two home fixtures remaining against City and Shakhtar Donetsk, the situation is far from dire. Barring disaster, Napoli should still book a ticket into the next round before the final group game against Feyenoord in the Netherlands.

Altetico Madrid

The first-ever Champions League point for a team from Azerbaijan came at Atletico Madrid's expense, as the Spanish side's woes in the competition mounted with Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Qarabag.

Los Rojiblancos lost the possession battle, and the team's ineptitude in front of goal likely had supporters pulling their hair out.

Atletico's failure to pick up three points put a massive dent in the club's hopes of getting out of Group C, with Diego Simeone's side only managing to accumulate two points at the halfway point.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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