The Champions Blog #2.5

 THE CHAMPIONS BLOG

Only a few months have gone and we've already passed the halfway mark in the inaugural league phase. We've had some big wins but only one team has remained perfect and sits in a comfortable position while the struggles of the reigning champions continue. Some high-profiling teams sit in elimination places while some sit in the bottom half of the table. Will there be redemption from anyone, and will the table leaders maintain perfection? This is the Champions Blog. 

Tuesday 26th: 

Slovan Bratislava vs AC Milan (Tehelne Pole, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Sparta Praha vs Atletico Madrid (epet ARENA, Prague, Czech Republic)

Manchester City vs Feyenoord (Etihad Arena, Manchester, England)

Barcelona vs Brest (Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Spain)

Bayern Munich vs Paris Saint Germain (Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany)

Inter Milan vs RB Leipzig (San Siro, Milan, Italy)

Young Boys vs Atalanta (Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland)

Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Salzburg (BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany)

Sporting CP vs Arsenal (Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal)

The Etihad Arena hosted an encounter between struggling English champions, Manchester City and Feyenoord. The English champions have crumbled in November, having lost all their matches both domestically and in the Champions League, with their last win only coming in late October in a nervy 1-0 win against Southampton. A win against Feyenoord should get Man City back on track. 

City started the game with some full-on counter-attacking and came close in the 9th minute when Erling Haaland's header from close ranger was saved just off the line by Timon Wellenreuther. Phil Foden became the next closest to scoring in minute 22 after his shot from distance was saved by Wellenreuther, but the constant City attacks indicated that the goal was coming. In the 40th minute, a corner for City was swung in. Josko Gvardiol headed the ball down but Quinten Timber brought down Haaland in the penalty area, and the referee pointed to the spot just moments later. Haaland stepped up for the Citizens and blazed his penalty into the bottom right of the corner. City would then take the lead into the first half, as they're 45 minutes away from ending their losing streak. 

City's game got even better in the second half because only five minutes in, Ilkay Gundogan scored a fantastic first-time finish which took a deflection off David Hancko, fooling Wellenreuther while doubling City's lead. Only 3 minutes later, Man City were now in cruise control, following another goal. Gundogan played a superb through ball to Matheus Nunes who made a darting run towards the penalty area. The Portuguese picks out Haaland who pokes the ball into the back of the net, giving sit a very comfortable cushion. With 15 minutes left, it looked like the 3 points would go to City, but Feyenoord had different plans. In the 74th minute, lifelines were introduced to Feyenoord after poor defending in the back from City led to Anis Hadj-Moussa capitalizing from the mistake. Feyenoord quickly made it 3-2 after Jordan Litomb's shot bounced off the woodwork and Ederson before being chested in by Santiago Gomez. The comeback was completed in the 89th minute when Igor Paixao played his run onside as Ederson rushed out of goal. He tapped the ball past the Brazilian keeper and crossed it to David Hancko who headed the ball into an open net, sealing the comeback once in for all. City's winless woes would unfortunately continue, as they would have to end November without a single win while Feyenoord produced an exemplary comeback worthy of points in any match, sealing a vital point in Manchester. 

Barcelona looked to continue their winning streak in the Champions League as they hosted Brest, who are yet to lose a single game in this Champions League season. Barca forward, Robert Lewandowski is now one goal away from becoming a Champions League centurion and becoming only the third player to score 100 Champions League goals. Meanwhile, Brest is among one of six teams who have yet to lose a single game in the Champions League, however, it could change here in Catalonia. 

Barca had a huge opportunity to go in front in just 10 minutes, as Pedri delivered an inviting cross for Robert Lewandowski, who was brought down by Brest goalkeeper, Marco Bizot. This gave the Polish talisman a huge chance to net 100 goals in the Champions League. Lewandowski stepped up and cooly converted his penalty, sending Bizot the wrong way, and etching his name in the Champions League Centurions Book. Barca came close throughout the rest of the first half but couldn't find the goal to double their lead. However, they came close in the 22nd minute when Raphina intercepted the ball just metres outside the penalty area. He squared it to Fermin Lopez whose shot unfortunately went wide. He came close again when Pau Cubarsi flowed the ball after a corner and he headed it goalwards. His header was powerful and it was on target, but a good save from Bizot denied the 21-year-old, and Barca would take only a 1-goal lead into the second half. 

Early on in the second half, another Fermin Lopez shot was saved by Bizot, as his shot intended to go to the bottom right corner, but was saved by the feet of Bizot. Dani Olmo came close again as his shot beat Bizot but was saved off the line by Brendan Chardonnet, keeping the score at 1-0. Despite Brest's good defensive work, they would eventually crack. In the 66th minute, after Gerard Martin played a low cross to Olmo within the penalty area, the latter showed great skills to brush off a couple defenders before slotting the ball past Bizot, finally scoring Barca's second of the night. Pierre Lees-Melou looked to bring the French side back into the game, but his goal was offside as the Barca high-line proved effective again. Barca sealed the win in the second minute of stoppage time, as Alejandro Balde pulled back and passed to Lewandowski who scored another superb finish to seal the three points and score Champions League goal no. 101. It then finished with another big win for Barca in the Champions League as Robert Lewandowski became the third player to score 100 or more Champions League goals, following Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, while bringing him to the top of the goalscoring charts this season with 7 goals.

Pictures Above: Manchester City players dejected after conceding a last-minute goal from Feyenoord. Barcelona players celebrating a goal.

Across Europe, AC Milan travelled to the Slovakian capital to face struggling debutants, Slovan Bratislava, whose struggles continue matchday after matchday. Milan started off well as Pulisic scored within the first 20 minutes, but Slovan replied quickly through Tigran Barseghyan. Second-half goals from Rafael Leao and Tammy Abraham looked to see off Milan but an 88th-minute strike from Nino Marcelli looked to reinstall hope into the home side, but it wouldn't be enough and Milan sealed their third consecutive win.

Atletico Madrid has had a mixed start to the Champions League after losing twice after their Matchday 1 win against RB Leipzig. However, a win at the Parc des Princes last time gave a bit more hope to Diego Simeone's side as they took on Sparta Praha. Simeone's men were ruthless in Prague as they routed the Czech side, winning by a resounding 6-0 scoreline with goals from Julian Alvarez, Marcos Llorente, Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa. 

In a highly-anticipated evening in Bavaria, Bayern Munich hosted Paris-Saint Germain, with both sides struggling after they've made winning starts to the Champions League. Still, Bayern managed to get another win after Matchday 1, with them defeating Benfica last matchday. PSG's Champions League wasn't looking too good as they only grabbed four points from their earlier four games. Unfortunately for Luis Enrique, the woes in Europe continued as they lost again through a Kim Min-Jae header and a sending-off of Ousmane Dembele, leaving PSG in a tough place.

Inter Milan hosted RB Leipzig in the prestigious, San Siro, in hopes of continuing and maintaining their unbeaten start to the competition. Leipzig looked to finally get their first points on the board as they lost four consecutive matches, making it their worst start to the Champions League. It would only get worse for Marco Rose and his men as Castello Lukeba's own goal in the 27th minute would prove to be decisive, leaving Leipzig with a critical challenge in hopes of redemption, and Inter in a comfortable position in the top eight to the table.

Atalanta has surprised everyone with how well they've been doing in the Champions League this season. The Europa League champions' next task was to face Young Boys, who are now in danger of finishing in the bottom quarter of the group. Atalanta became ruthless in Bern after Silvere M'boussy's equalizer 11 minutes in, with them scoring five goals between minutes 40 and 90. After Charles de Ketelaere regained Atalanta's lead in the 28th minute, another goal from him while goals from Mateo Retegui, Sead Kolasinac and Lazar Samardzic, capped off a resounding 6-1 win for the Italian side. 

Bayer Leverkusen looked to get their campaign back on track after they were annihilated in Merseyside against Liverpool last matchday. They look to do so against RB Salzburg who's campaign had a potential revival after their 3-1 win at Feyenoord. However, Salzburg's hopes died down immediately, as quick goals within 15 minutes from Florian Wirtz and Alejandro Grimaldo but the German champions in charge. Wirtz completed his brace at the half-hour mark, while second-half goals from Patrik Schick and Aleix Garcia sealed off an emphatic 5-0 victory at the BayArena. 

Sporting looked to continue their impressive start to the Champions League and look to do so without their manager, Ruben Amorim who left for Manchester United earlier in November. They face a highly-anticipated Arsenal side who look to redeem themselves after a 1-0 loss at the San Siro against Inter Milan. The visitors were ruthless in the first half, with goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhaes, giving the London side a very comfortable cushion. An early second half strike from Goncalo Inacio looked to revive hope to the home fans, but Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard's goals capped off an emphatic 5-1 victory while ending Sporting's unbeaten start to the season, both in Europe and domestically. 

Pictures Above: Atletico Madrid striker, Julian Alvarez celebrating after scoring against Sparta Praha. Bayern Munich defender, Kim Min-Jae celebrates after scoring against Paris Saint German. A view of the RB Leipzig penalty moments before Castello Lukeba's own goal. Arsenal captain, Martin Odegaard attempts to pass the ball while Sporting CP captain, Morten Hjulmand attempts to intercept. 

Wednesday 27th: 

Crvena Zvezda vs VfB Stuttgart (Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia)

SK Sturm Graz vs Girona (Worthesee Stadium, Klagenfurt, Austria)

Aston Villa vs Juventus (Villa Park, Birmingham, England)

Monaco vs Benfica (Stade Louis II, Monaco, France)

PSV Eindhoven vs Shakhtar Donetsk (Phillips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands)

Liverpool vs Real Madrid (Anfield, Liverpool, England)

Celtic vs Club Brugge (Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland)

Bologna vs Lille (Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna, Italy)

Dinamo Zagreb vs Borussia Dortmund (Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia)

For the fourth time in five seasons, Liverpool meets Real Madrid. The latter side always comes on top with Liverpool's last win against Real Madrid coming all the way back in 2009 when they dismantled Los Blancos 4-0 at Anfield. Two of Liverpool's last three Champions League finals came against Real Madrid, but they have yet to get the better of the side in both finals in Kyiv and Paris. However, Liverpool's chances of beating Real Madrid are now better, given that they're the only team who maintained a winning start to the competition, while Real Madrid has obtained only 6 out of 12 points so far. 

Liverpool dominated large spells of the first half, leaving Real Madrid without much chance to attack. One of their best chances came in the 22nd minute when there was a bit of scramble within the Real Madrid penalty area. Darwin Nunez poked his foot out and the ball headed towards goal, but Thibaut Courtois made an excellent save to deny the Uruguayan. They came close again around 10 minutes later when Alexis Mac Allister played a superb lobbed cross to Luis Diaz. The Colombian headed the ball towards goal but he was denied by Courtois. Liverpool would then go into the half drawing 0-0, with them coming close on goal with each passing chance. 

Liverpool's attack continued into the second half, and they already had some chances within the first couple of minutes in the second half. Around the 51st minute, Mac Allister played a very pin-point cross towards Conor Bradley, who would've made it 1-0 if it weren't for the heroics of Courtois, who clawed out Bradley's header to keep it at 0-0. Just a minute later, Liverpool finally got the goal they needed. Mac Allister played fantastic one-two football with Bradlet at the edge of the penalty area, leaving the Argentinian to bury the ball into the bottom corner of the net, giving the English side a well-deserved lead. Real Madrid looked to respond quickly and had the perfect chance to do so when Lucas Vasquez was brought down in the penalty area by Andy Robertson, awarding the visitors a penalty. Kylian Mbappe stepped up for Liverpool but his shot was saved brilliantly by Caoimhin Kelleher, who continued his impressive form during the absence of Alisson. Liverpool won a penalty of their own soon after Mohamed Salah cut back inside following a deadly Liverpool counter-attack. The Egyptian was fouled by Ferland Mendy and the referee, without hesitation, pointed to the spot. Unfortunately for Liverpool, Salah was unable to answer the call for Liverpool as his shot blazed wide of the post, giving Real a bit of hope. All Real hope was soon relinquished as Cody Gakpo scored a towering header to wrap up the points just moments later to make it 2-0. Liverpool finally got their revenge on Real Madrid after all these years of and are now the only team to win all their games in the league phase this season, leaving Real Madrid bruised, draggled, and with real work to do. 

Borussia Dortmund looked to continue their path of redemption in the Champions League, after grabbing a win following their catastrophic defeat at Real Madrid on Matchday 3. Dinamo Zagreb have had quite an impressive redemption after their calamitous 9-2 defeat against Bayern Munich on opening day. They've done so by racking up 7 out of 9 points, including resounding wins against RB Salzburg and Slovan Bratislava. The Croats face their next big test in Borussia Dortmund and look to get an impressive result in Zagreb. 

The German side's first of many attacks started early on, as they came so incredibly close in the 7th minute when Ryan Bensebaini's header rattled against the crossbar before Ronael Pierre-Gabriel could make a vital clearance. Donyell Malen came close in the 27th minute when his chipped ball sailed over the bar, giving Dinamo Zagreb another let-off. The persistent counter-attacks of Dortmund would soon pay off because just minutes before half-time, they finally hit the front following a thumping hit from Jamie Gittens, whose strike was hit with power and veracity as it struck into the top corner of the Dinamo Zagreb net. Going into the half, Dortmund took in a well-deserved lead into half-time but weren't done there for the day. 

Dortmund's persistence continued into the second half and came close a couple times within the first 10 minutes. Following a corner from Pascal Groß, Bensebaini headed the ball, and with Danijel Zagorac not even moving an inch, the Algerian's header sunk into the back of the net, making it 2-0 for Dortmund, putting them in cruise control. The home side didn't get many chances to attack, as Dortmund's Donyell Malen was denied his first goal of the evening as his deflected shot was brilliantly saved by Zagorac. Eventually, Dortmund's convincing and well-earned win in Zagreb was capped off a while later in the 90th minute when Serhou Guirassy latched onto a deflected ball and struck it past an oncoming Zagorac, sealing the win for Nuri Sahin's side. 

Pictures Above: Liverpool defender, Conor Bradley making a superb tackle to thwart Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid. Borussia Dortmund forward, Jamie Gittens striding past Dinamo Zagreb defender, Kevin Theophile-Catherine. 

Earlier that day, Stuttgart travelled to Belgrade to face off against Crvena Zvezda, in what would be the club's first meeting with the Serbs. Stuttgart could win consecutive Champions League games for the first time in their history if they were to win in Serbia while Crvena Zvezda are on a losing streak of 8 games. Stuttgart started strong as Ermedin Demirovic scored inside the opening five minutes. However, a five-star display from the hosts ruined Stuttgart's night in Belgrade as Crvena Zvezda scored five with goals from Silas, Rade Krunic, Mirko Ivanic, and Nemanja Radonjic, to cap off an emphatic 5-1 victory and their first win in the Champions League since October 2019. 

SK Sturm Graz hosted Girona at the Worthesee Stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria. Neither side has had a favourable start to the competition as they had a combined total of 5 goals and 3 points. However, this would be Sturm Graz's night in Klagenfurt as Danish striker, Mika Biereth's 58th-minute strike was enough for Sturm Graz's first Champions League win since 2001. 

Juventus took a trip to Birmingham to face Aston Villa, who seem a little shaken after their defeat last matchday against Club Brugge. Juventus haven't had much to celebrate in recent times either as they only grabbed a total of 1 point in their last two games. The game was close and both teams have had fair chances and an equal amount of possession. However, tensions flared in stoppage time as Morgan Rogers tapped home into an open goal. The goal was disallowed after it was revealed from VAR that in the build-up, Diego Carlos fouled Juventus goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio, leaving Rogers to tap it in. Villa fans weren't happy as their players had to salvage a draw against the Italian side.

It's only the third-ever encounter in the Champions League between Monaco and Benfica, as the sides contested each other in the French Riviera. Monaco took an early lead within 13 minutes through Eliesse Ben Seghir's close-range strike and took the lead into the second half. Benfica responded quickly to the second half when Vangelis Pavlidis struck the ball past Radaslow Majecki, just three minutes into the second half. Between the 50th to 60th minutes, we witnessed incredible drama as Monaco and Benfica both had goals disallowed by VAR, while Wilfred Singo of Monaco was sent off for picking up another yellow card. Monaco retook the lead in the 67th minute through Soungoutou Magassa, and took it into the 85th minute. However, quick fire goals from Arthur Cabral and Zeki Amdouni sealed the comeback win for Benfica.

Impressive fliers, Celtic, who have been making good progress in this Champions League took on Club Brugge in Glasgow. Both teams had a fair amount of chances and an equal amount of possession but the game couldn't see a winner as the teams settled for a point. Cameron Carter-Vickers's own goal in the first half gave the Belgians the lead into the first half, but Daizen Maeda's strike on the hour mark salvaged a point for the Scots as they sit in an unseeded last 16 half quarter of the table. 

Lille made a 750-mile journey south to face Bologna, who appear to be struggling in their debut appearance of the Champions League, having gained only one point from their opening game against Shakhtar Donetsk. In contrast, Lille have enjoyed themselves so far this Champions League as they grabbed sensational victories against both Madrid teams. Lille would continue their great Champions League performance as Ngal'ayel Mukau's brace was enough to seal Lille's third win of the season and add more worries to Vincenzo Italiano's squad. 

Pictures Above: Crvena Zvezda players celebrating after scoring against Stuttgart. Juventus goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio attempting to catch the ball while being fouled by Diego Carlos of Aston Villa. Benfica midfielder, Zeki Amdouni headering the winner against Monaco. Celtic forward, Daizen Maeda celebrating the equalizer against Club Brugge. 

Another matchday of the Champions League has come and gone. This week, we were treated to emphatic victories everywhere, all the way from Germany to Serbia. Some teams have proven once again that they can be deadly when they're at their best while some teams have started to lose their sharp edge. We're halfway through the league phase and some teams look like they're going to make the last 16. The Champions Blog will return soon for Matchday 6 as the first few teams set to seal their place in the last 16.