Champions League Round-Up: Week 4

Earlier this week, Europe’s biggest club competition saw the conclusion of Matchday 4, with all 18 matches filled with high-stakes drama.

We start in Italy, where the Serie A Champions, Napoli, hosted Eintracht Frankfurt. Despite holding possession for most of the game and launching a flurry of attacks, the game ended in a goalless draw, which was also the only one of the week. Next was Arsenal, who travelled to Prague and continued their hot-form, winning 3-0 maintain their perfect record, courtesy of Bukayo Saka’s penalty and a brace from Mikel Merino.

On the other hand, Atletico Madrid beat Belgian leaders Union St. Gilloise 3-1, while Olympiakos vs PSV and Sporting Lisbon vs Juventus both ended in a 1-1 draw. Tottenham, under Thomas Frank, cruised past Danish side Copenhagen with a score of 4-0, despite a red card for Brennan Johnson in the 2nd half.

The other English sides however, were successful in taking 3 points with Newcastle and Manchester City winning 2-0 and 4-1

The day rounded up with two of the biggest games of the group stage starting with Liverpool vs Real Madrid. Although the Reds got a win over Aston villa over the weekend, their poor run of form suggested that Trent Alexander Arnold’s reunion at his boyhood club would be a celebratory event. However, a generational performance from Connor Bradley prevented the 15 time Champions from notching up a goal. Though there were some controversies over a handball by Aurelien Tchouameni, Argentinian Alexis Mac Allister slotted the only goal of the game in the 61st minute. The scoreline could have definitely been higher if not for Courtois’ brilliant saves.

Finally, the defending champions Paris Saint Germain hosted Bayern Munich, where Luis Diaz put the Germans up front within 4 minutes, doubling the lead in the 32nd minute. The great performance however was put to a stop just before half-time as he conceded a red-card. Regardless, Vincent Kompany’s men pulled through, retaining their spot at the top of the table as Joao Neves’ goal in the 74th minute was not enough for a PSG comeback.

It was Club Brugge vs F.C. Barcelona, which ended up becoming the match of the week

After Tuesday’s set of games, Wednesday began with an upset as Cypriot side Pafos beat Villareal 1-0. Club World Cup Champions Chelsea were also held to a 2-2 draw away by Azerbaijan side Qarabag FK. The other English sides however, were successful in taking 3 points with Newcastle and Manchester City winning 2-0 and 4-1 against Athletic Bilbao and Borussia Dortmund respectively, courtesy of a Dan Burn screamer and a Phil Foden brace. The goalfest continued as Victor Oshimen scored a hat-trick to thrash Ajax 3-0 away, while last year’s runners-up Inter Milan brushed past Kairat Almaty 2-1 following goals from Lautaro Martinez and Carlos Augusto. On the other hand, both Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen snatched a 1-0 win against Marseille and Benfica respectively despite being overwhelmed most of the game.

However, it was Club Brugge vs F.C. Barcelona, which ended up becoming the match of the week. Fresh off a victor in the weekend, Barcelona were coming into the game as heavy favourites but 6 minutes in, the Belgian side stunned the Blaugaranas thanks to a goal from Nicolo Tresoldi. Though Ferran Torress equalized 2 minutes later, Carlos Forbs scored in the 17th minute to make it 2-1 for Club Brugge. Golden Boy Lamine Yamal put in a fantastic performance in the 2nd half, scoring to make it 2-2, only for Forbs to score again and put Club Brugge in the lead. Fortunately for Barcelona, Brugge winger Christoz Tzolis was forced into an own goal in the 77th minute, ending the six goal thriller that puts last year’s semifinalists at 11th.

With half of the league phase still remaining, it’s all to play for the 2nd half of the competition to see who goes through.