The Champions Blog #2.6

 The Champions Blog 

With goals, drama, important points and everything else you can ask for, the Champions League constantly delivers matchday after matchday, all the way until the final. The road to Munich is continuing to take shape. As teams flex their credentials for Europe's greatest title, some big names stutter and are now in danger of elimination. Who will crumble under pressure and who will march on? This is the Champions Blog. 

Tuesday 10th:

Dinamo Zagreb vs Celtic (Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia)

Girona vs Liverpool (Montilivi, Girona, Spain)

Brest vs PSV  (Stade du Roudourou, Guingamp, France)

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Bayern Munich (Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany)

Club Brugge vs Sporting CP (Jan Breydal Stadium, Brugge, Belgium)

RB Salzburg vs PSG  (Red Bull Arena Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria)

RB Leipzig vs Aston Villa (Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany)

Bayer Leverkusen vs Inter Milan (BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany)

Atalanta vs Real Madrid (Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy)

All eyes turned to the Gewiss Stadium as it was a rematch of the UEFA Super Cup final earlier this year, between reigning Europa League champions, Atalanta and reigning Champions League winners, Real Madrid. Real and Atalanta have already met earlier this season, in the Super Cup final in Warsaw, with Real winning a record sixth title, with goals from Fede Valverde and Kylian Mbappe. Atalanta has been doing pretty well this season in the Champions League, having obtained 11 out of 15 points, and sitting in the top half of the table. In contrast, Real Madrid sits in an uncomfortable place in the table, after losses against Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool, and knows a positive result is mandatory to avoid a humiliating exit. 

Real were off to a dominating start as Kylian Mbappe helped register the lead for Los Blancos inside 10 minutes. After Brahim Diaz and Fede Valverde played good football with one another, the former fed a good ball to Mbappe. The Frenchman took a good touch and fired the ball into the bottom corner, giving Real Madrid the start they wanted. They came close moments later when Mbappe made a darting run into the penalty area with Isak Hien on his tail. The former managed to get a shot away but Marco Carnesecchi was able to hold onto it and force a save. Towards the end of the first half, Real's fortunes started to change as Mbappe was withdrawn 10 minutes later due to an injury. Los Blancos also conceded a penalty right before the end of the first half as Aurelien Tchouameni fouled Sead Kolasinac inside the penalty area. Charles de Ketelaere stepped up for the Nerazurri and thumped his penalty past his fellow Belgian teammate, Thibaut Courtois to give the home side the equalizer before half-time.

Atalanta's late first-half strike would see them have the motivation and the thirst for another and they came close when Amodela Lookman's strike from yards out was saved by Courtois, possibly signifying the start of ruthless Atalanta attacks. However, despite Atalanta's attack on goal, Real were the ones who struck first in the second half after a ton of deflections on the edge of the Atalanta penalty box, before falling nicely to Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian slid the ball into the bottom right corner with a perfect first-time finish to give Real the lead once again. Just one minute later, Jude Bellingham added a third for Real after Vinicius Jr's beautiful cross met the Englishmen before he cut back inside and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner, making it 3-1 and leaving Real Madrid in the driving seat. Amodela Lookman looked to make things interesting when he netted a brilliant finish after grabbing the ball beautifully from Lazar Samardzic but it wasn't enough to rescue a point for Atalanta as Real Madrid got the win they so desperately needed. While this marks the end of Atalanta's unbeaten start to the Champions League, this also potentially indicates a turning point for Real Madrid and their campaign might not be over just yet. 

Aston Villa travelled to Saxony, Germany and faced struggling RB Leipzig, who were on the brink of an early exit. Aston Villa have hit some turbulence following a loss of points in their last two games against Club Brugge and Juventus, after winning a run of three consecutive matches, defeating Young Boys, Bologna, and most notably, Bayern Munich. Leipzig have failed to obtain a single point this Champions League season, losing every single game from their 2-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid to the latest 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan. Another loss for Marco Rose's men would see them already eliminated from the competition. 

RB Leipzig's alarm bells started ringing very early on in the game as Aston Villa took the lead inside 3 minutes. Matty Cash played a superb cross to Ollie Watkins in the penalty area, with the latter heading the ball down for John McGinn to smash home, giving the visitors an early lead. Villa would have some really good chances that would go begging but little did they know, it would come back to bite them. Nicolas Seiwald intended to play a through ball to Lois Openda. It looked as though the Aston Villa defence would scoop the ball out in their possession, but confusion from Emiliano Martinez and Diego Carlos caused Openda to round the goalkeeper and tap the ball into an open net, equalising things for Leipzig. The rest of the first half would see the teams carefully maintain possession and end the first half with 1 a piece. 

In the second half, Aston Villa decided to be daring and replace Ollie Watkins for Jhon Duran, in hopes of finding a potential winner. Unai Emery's decision would prove wonders as within seven minutes of the second half, Duran scored an incredible goal, 25 yards out as it nestled into the back of the net, giving Villa a deserved lead. Duran proved once again why he is one of the best clutch players in the world right now. Leipzig drew level 10 minutes later when Christoph Baumgartner scored a scintillating wide-foot volley following a genius cross from Lois Openda, catching Martinez off guard and indicating game on in Leipzig. With less than 10 minutes on the clock, and with the score at 2-2, Emery made another faithful decision to withdraw Youri Tielemans for Ross Barkley. It would prove wonders as two minutes after coming on, he netted his first Champions League goal, as his shot took a heavy deflection off Lukas Klostermann, who got the touch that mattered. The shot fooled Gulasci and the ball went into the back of the net, and Aston Villa were ahead for the third time that day. This time, they managed to hold onto their lead and capped off an important 3-2 victory, Unfortunately, it's the end of the round for RB Leipzig as this loss signifies the end of their campaign. 

Picture Above: Real Madrid players celebrating after a goal against Atalanta. RB Leipzig midfielder, Nicolas Siewald with the ball while Morgan Rogers of Aston Villa tries to intercept. 

Dinamo Zagreb have made mixed progress in the Champions League, as they started with the worst defeat in UCL history, a 9-2 defeat away at Bayern. Since then, they've obtained 7 out 9 points but fumbled recently, losing 3-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund. They face Celtic who've impressed so far and are on a three ganme unbeaten streak. Their streak continued as the teams drew 0-0 in Zagreb, as Celtic are now 21st in the league phase while Dinamo are 24th. 

Liverpool travelled to Catalonia to face Girona in a contest of contrasts. Liverpool sit proudly at the top of the table, winning all five matches so far while Girona sit not far from last, having only three points so far. Liverpool dominated possession early on but Girona started to find themselves back in the game. However, Liverpool managed to steal the win and the three points, thanks to a Mohamed Salah penalty which sealed Liverpool a place in the top half of the table. 

Brest have surpassed all odds in their debut Champions League season, by winning three and drawing once, obtaining a total of 10 points out of a possible 12 in their opening four matchdays. However, a brutal test against Barcelona dismantled the French side in Catalonia. They seek redemption against PSV, who had a stuttering start to the tournament but looked to get back up on their feet after wins against Girona and Shakhtar Donetsk. Brest managed to grab the points thanks to a close-range strike from Julien Le Cardinal, which left them in 7th. 

Bayern Munich travelled up north to Gelsenkirchen to face Shakhtar Donetsk. The dethroned Bundesliga champions hit some turbulence after winning 9-2 against Dinamo Zagreb, after losses against Aston Villa and Barcelona, but recently returned to winning ways with 1-0 wins against Benfica and PSG. They face Shakhtar Donetsk who know a win is mandatory if they want to survive elimination. The Ukranians got off to the perfect start when Kevin scored within five minutes, but Bayern turned on full force and struck back within six minutes via Konrad Laimer. Thomas Muller grabbed his first of the campaign right before halftime while second-half strikes from Michael Olise (2) and Jamal Musiala put the icing on the cake as Bayern have finally got the redemption they desperately needed since their defeat at Barcelona. 

Sporting's life without Ruben Amorim has taken a toll on them, as main striker, Viktor Gyokeres has started to lose his scoring touch. Joao Pereira looks to find a way back for his side as they travelled to Brugge to face Club Brugge who have been doing well so far. Sporting got off to a dream start with Geny Catamo scoring inside three minutes. However, disaster struck as Eduardo Quaresma's own goal, equalised things for the home side. It looked as though Sporting would return to Portugal with a point to salvage but Casper Nielsen, having only been on the pitch for three minutes, put a dagger in Sporting hearts by slotting a great finish past Franco Israel, adding more worries in the post-Amorim era. 

PSG's route to redemption is the Champions League has to happen soon if they want any shot of making the knockout rounds. They face an RB Salzburg side, who knows that anything besides a win, would intensify the situation they're in. PSG's first half saw them comfortably hold onto a 1-0 lead thanks to Goncalo Ramos who made no mistake after his jaw-dropping miss. PSG sealed the deal in the second half with goals from Nuno Mendes and Desire Doue securing the three points for Luis Enrique's side while easing the pressure a bit.

Inter travelled to the home of the Bundesliga champions, Bayer Leverkusen hosted Inter Milan, the reigning Italian champions. Inter have had a fantastic start to the competition, having kept a clean sheet in every game they've played so far while playing with the likes of Manchester City, RB Leipzig and Arsenal. They face a Bayer Leverkusen side who recently got back on their feet after their 4-0 defeat to Liverpool, by annihilating RB Salzburg 5-0 last time out. Coming towards the 90th minute in Leverkusen, it looked as though the teams would share the points, but Leverkusen did what they do best, as Nordi Mukiele scored a 90th-minute winner to put a dagger into Inter hearts as he put the breaks on the Nerazzuri's unbeaten start to the season. 

Pictures Above: Liverpool forward, Mohamed Salah scoring his penalty against Girona. Michael Olise of Bayern Munich celebrates after scoring one of his goals. PSG full-back, Achraf Hakimi attempting to pass. Bayer Leverkusen players celebrating their last-minute winner. 

Wednesday 11th:

Atletico Madrid vs Slovan Bratislava (Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain)

Lille vs SK Sturm Graz (Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille, France)

Benfica vs Bologna (Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal)

AC Milan vs Crvena Zvezda (San Siro, Milan, Italy)

Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona (Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany)

Feyenoord vs Sparta Praha (De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands)

Juventus vs Man City (Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy)

VfB Stuttgart vs Young Boys (MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany)

Arsenal vs Monaco (Emirates Stadium, London, England)

 The next day, high-flyers, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona took to the stage in the Signal Iduna Park in northwestern Germany. Both sides have achieved the same amount of points, winning 4 while losing 1, and they both sit comfortably in the top 8 of the table. Barca's only loss came on the opening day against Monaco, losing 2-1 while Dortmund's only defeat came in a repeat of last season's final, losing 5-2 to Real Madrid.

The game kicked off at 9:00 pm, local time and the away side attacked within the early spells of the first half. Arguably their best chance came in the 14th minute when Lamine Yamal played a superb trivela cross to Raphina, who got a touch from Yamal's cross. However, his attempt went wide off the post and the score remained 0-0. Dortmund had a crucial chance just a few moments later when Julien Duranville made a darting run into Barcelona's penalty area. The Belgian squared the ball to Marcel Sabitzer but the latter unfortunately tipped his shot over the bar, leaving the chance to go begging for Dortmund. Dortmund's defence proved strong as Gregor Kobel saved shots later on in the first half from Barcelona and kept the scores at 0-0, indicating that all was to play for in the second half. 

Barca finally made their persistent attacks pay off in the second half as only six minutes in and they found the lead. Dani Olmo played a through ball to Raphina, who bursts with speed towards the Dortmund penalty area, before slotting the ball past Kobel to finally give Barca the lead. Dortmund were given a huge chance to equalize later on when Pau Cubarsi shoved Serhou Guirassy, awarding the home side a penalty. Guirassy made no mistake from the spot as his shot sent Pena the wrong way, making it 1-1 of the evening. Barca didn't take long to regain their lead as only 15 minutes later after Fermin Lopez's volley was saved by Kobel, Ferran Torres pounced on the rebound, making an impact after having been on the pitch for only four minutes. Barca's lead didn't last long as Guirassy completed his brace only three minutes later, when Yan Cuoto played a pinpoint cross to Pascal Groß who squared it to Guirassy, leaving the latter to tap the ball into an open net after Pena initially raced out of the penalty area in an attempt to stop Groß. Barca weren't giving up just yet, but with five minutes to go, it looked as though the Blaugrana were going to take their first draw of the campaign but Ferran Torres fired his shot across goal from a clinical Barca counter-attack, making it 3-2. This time, the visitors held onto their lead and went home with their fifth consecutive win, putting them one foot into the last 16. Dortmund faces another brutal reality check and looks to bounce back in January. 

Elsewhere, Juventus and Manchester City were ready to take to the stage in Turin. Life as a Manchester City fan has not been enjoyable lately, as the loss of Rodri, such a pivotal player for the team, starts to take shape in a potential downfall of the club. However the club recently found the win they so desperately needed before the journey in Turin, following a 3-0 win at home to Nottingham Forest. Juventus's only defeat all season came on Matchday 3 of the Champions League when El Bilal Toure's last minute strike gave Stuttgart a famous win in Turin.

The first half contained very few counter attacking chances from both sides as Juventus started to try and pressurise the visitors in hope of initiating counterattacks. Pep Guardiola's side have dominated possession in the first half but have failed to make the most of it, only registering one crucial chance on goal within the 45 minute time period. Juventus's best chance of the half came in the 20th minute when Kenan Yildiz cut inside the City defence before blazing his shot just wide off the post. City's best chance of the half came towards the end of it, when Erling Haaland's chipped effort was smartly saved by Michele Di Gregorio keeping the scores at 0-0. 

In the second half, Man City started to crumble in defence and Juventus were able to take advantage. Within the first seven minutes, immediately after Federico Gatti was denied a spectacular acrobatic effort, Dušan Vlahović headed the ball goal wards. Ederson saved the headed shot but luckily for the Serbian, the ball just went past the line, much to Juventus's luck. City came close to scoring in the 67th minute when Ilkay Gundogan tried his luck from distance, but was denied by a flying save by De Gregorio, with City still unable to make it count. A while later, Thiago Motta made a crucial decision to bring on the American duo, Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie in the place of Khephren Thuram and Francisco Conceicao, but little did The Old Lady know that this substitution would work wonders for Motta. Within Weah and McKennie's first couple minutes on the pitch, the two combined when the latter found Weah who drove to the inside of the penalty area. Rico Lewis initially blocked the pass, but it went back into Weah's path. The American chipped the ball to his fellow American who produced a stunning volley to double the home side's lead. McKennie's stunner sealed an impressive win for Motta's men and probably the most famous win so far in the Thiago Motta era at Juventus. City's troubles continue as they sit 22nd in the table, just 1 point off elimination places. Guardiola's men need to act soon if they want to progress to the last 16.

Picture Above: Ferran Torres of Barcelona celebrating next to Borussia Dortmund defender, Yan Cuoto. Juventus players celebrating after their impressive victory against Manchester City.

Earlier on that day across Europe, Atletico Madrid looked to continue their impressive run of victories as they face struggling and desperate, Slovan Bratislava who now can't make it to the last 16 directly but can at least make the play off places. The first half was Atletico's half as Julian Alvarez's stunning strike and Antoine Griezmann's pin-point header gave the hosts a comfortable 2-0 lead going into half time. David Strelec managed to give a bit of hope to the travelling supporters when he scored a penalty six minutes into the second half, but Antoine Griezmann but a dagger into Slovakian hearts just when they started to beat again, and Diego Simeone's side continued their winning run. 

Sturm Graz travelled to the northern part of France to face Lille who were having a tournament to enjoy at the moment. The home side have had only one loss in six, and have grabbed points off the likes of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus. Sturm Graz have had nothing much to enjoy in the Champions League so far as their only win came against Girona, while every other match ended in defeat. Lille ended the half in spectacular fashion when Osame Sahaouri and Mitchell Bakker scored to give Lille a two goal cushion going into the first half but Otar Kiteishivilli scored right before the end of the first half. Mika Biereth equalised things within two minutes into the second half and things were looking good again for Jurgen Saumel's side. With the score being 2-2 and with 10 minutes left on the clock, both teams searched for a potential winner. Lille were the ones who found it as Hakon Haraldsson with a powerful and successful attempt on goal to seal the three points for Lille as they sit 8th in the table.

Strugglers, Bologna travelled to the Portuguese capital to face their next test against a Benfica side who recently returned to winning ways after consecutive defeats to Feyenoord and Bayern Munich. Bologna's only points all season came on opening day when they drew 0-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk, but since then, it's been going downhill for Vincenzo Italiano's side with defeats to Liverpool, Aston Villa, Monaco, and Lille. Throughout the game, Benfica had more shots both on and off target, but Bologna had the possession. Neither side could find the scoresheet and the teams had to settle with a 0-0 draw and 1 point. 

Craven Zvezda fans had the night of their life last time out against VfB Stuttgart when the annihilated the German side, 5-1 in their first Champions League win since 2019. They face an AC Milan side who have redeemed themselves in style since their opening two defeats, with fours wins, including a famous win at the Santiago Bernabéu on Matchday 3. Rafael Leão gave AC Milan the lead right before the half-time break, en route to their fourth consecutive Champions League win. Nemanja Randonjić scored a stunning strike from 25 yards out to keep Crvena Zvezda in the contest but were succumbed in the 82nd minute by Tammy Abraham's close range finish, giving I Rossoneri a 2-1 victory. 

Sparta Praha had a positive start to the season grabbing four points of six, but have crumbled since then suffering 3 consecutive defeats, most notably a 5-0 defeat at Man City and a 6-0 defeat last time out against Atletico Madrid. Their next test is a trip to Rotterdam to face Feyenoord who made mixed progress in so far and are still getting used to life without former manager, Arne Slot. By 30 minutes in Rotterdam, Feyenoord had a 3-0 lead with goals from Gerno Trauner, Igor Paixão and Anis Hajd-Moussa. Albion Rrahmani pulled one back before half time but Santiago Giminez got the insurance goal in the 63rd minute to seal the three points for the Dutch side. An unfortunate own goal from Thomas Beelen looked to rejuvenate a bit of hope to the travelling supporters but it was only a consolation goal as Feyenoord ran out as 4-2 winners. 

Young Boys's Champions League has been far from enjoyable as they suffered from five consecutive defeats since the start of the season while obtaining a goal difference of -15, meaning a loss here would mean elimination for Joel Mangin's side. However, the Swiss side's evening started pretty positive as they grabbed the lead inside 6 minutes through Łukasz Łakomy's off-guard goal. Stuttgart then began to completely rout the Swiss side between then and the end of the game, scoring five times with five different goalscorers. Goals for Stuttgart came from Angelo Stiller, Enzo Millot, Chris Führich, Josha Vagnoman, and Yannik Keitel. 

Monaco have started off incredibly well in their first Champions League appearance since 2018, as they grabbed 10 points of 12 in their first four games, but recently stumbled at home against Benfica, ending their unbeaten start to the season. They travel to North London to face Arsenal who made a pretty good start to the season despite suffering a defeat at the San Siro to Inter Milan. Arsenal took control in the first half through a simple tap-in by Bukayo Saka. The Gunners took control throughout the second half but couldn't find the insurance goal until the 78th minute when Saka completed his brace through sloppy defending from Monaco's back-line. Kai Havertz sealed the deal through a deflected shot which didn't't matter to Arsenal, as they wheeled away a 3-0 win and sit 3rd in the table. 

Pictures Above: Atletico Madrid striker, Julian Alvarez celebrating after scoring against Slovan Bratislava. AC Milan forward, Rafael Leão scoring his goal against Crevna Zvezda. Young Boys midfielder, Joël Monteiro dribbling the ball past Josha Vagnoman of VfB Stuttgart. Bukayo Saka of Arsenal attempting a shot on goal while a Monaco defender tries to prevent the ball from going into the net. 

With six match days already gone, the Champions League is starting to take shape and the now we know which teams are really up for the task of becoming Europe's greatest team and those who prove their not ready yet. We already have some teams who have sealed their place in the last 16 and names who have been eliminated. However, places for the last 16 are still up for grabs, meaning in these last two match days, every pass, goal, and save would matter. The Champions Blog will return soon for Matchday 7 of the Champions League