2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage
The 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage matches took place between 16 September and 10 December 2008.
Seeding structure
Seeding was determined by the UEFA coefficients: Pot 1 held teams ranked 1–10, Pot 2 held teams ranked 11–23, Pot 3 held teams ranked 25–45, while Pot 4 held teams ranked 46–193 and unranked teams.Clubs from the same association were paired up to split the matchdays between Tuesday and Wednesday. Clubs with the same pairing letter played on different days, ensuring that teams from the same city did not play on the same day.
| Group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 16 |
| Third-placed teams entered the UEFA Cup at the round of 32 |
| TH = Title holder |
Of the 16 teams in Pots 1 and 2, 14 eventually qualified for the first knockout round. The exceptions were Werder Bremen and PSV Eindhoven. Their places went to Panathinaikos and Atlético Madrid. Aalborg BK were the lowest-ranked Pot 4 team to qualify for the UEFA Cup Round of 32.
Tie-breaking criteria
Based on paragraph 6.05 in the for the current season, if two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria were applied to determine the rankings:- higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question;
- superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question;
- higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question;
- superior goal difference from all group matches played;
- higher number of goals scored in all group matches played;
- higher number of coefficient points accumulated by the club in question, as well as its association, over the previous five seasons.
Groups
Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Group D
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Group E
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Group F
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Group G
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Group H
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