Champions League, Matchday 7: Key takeaways, high gamers, and extra

The supersized Champions League resumed this week, with all 36 groups again in motion over 48 frenetic hours. Under, theScore’s soccer editors replicate on Matchday 7, the penultimate set of video games within the opening spherical of Europe’s premier membership competitors.

Key takeaway from Matchday 7 📝

Daniel Rouse: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is likely to be questioning why Paris Saint-Germain purchased him in any respect. The €70-million January signing watched from the stands as Bradley Barcola starred in Wednesday’s 4-2 win over Manchester Metropolis. The 22-year-old stormed down the left flank earlier than establishing Ousmane Dembele’s objective, scored himself with a managed end into the underside nook, and accomplished over 95% of his passes regardless of his attacking position. Kvaratskhelia and Barcola may give Luis Enrique an analogous headache to the one which’s troubled Carlo Ancelotti whereas he is handled Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior at Actual Madrid, and most PSG followers shall be asking the identical query: Why did not the membership make investments that cash on a striker as a substitute?

Gordon Brunt: In traditional Actual Madrid style, they left it late to shine within the Champions League. They’re lastly enjoying just like the powerhouse that everybody anticipated them to be earlier than the season. Madrid continued the therapeutic course of after their current loss to Barcelona by beating Crimson Bull Salzburg 5-1, leaping to sixteenth within the Champions League desk. They’ve now outscored opponents 14-4 in three straight wins following the heavy defeat within the Tremendous Cup closing. However the turnaround began lengthy earlier than with an eight-game unbeaten run on the finish of 2024. Much more encouraging now are the performances of Madrid’s largest stars. Kylian Mbappe has overcome an excruciatingly gradual begin, whereas Jude Bellingham is again to his finest. Vinicius Junior scored a late brace to match Rodrygo, who stayed scorching with two of his personal within the first half Wednesday. It ought to go with out saying, however the entire high Champions League groups shall be determined to keep away from Carlo Ancelotti’s “midtable” aspect within the subsequent spherical.

Gianluca Nesci: The brand new match format is absolutely beginning to hit its stride, and it will lead to some spectacular matchups within the early knockout levels – together with the inaugural playoff spherical – that would not have arrived till the top of the match below the previous system. That is an unequivocal win for UEFA. In a scheduling transfer akin to a serious worldwide competitors, Matchday 8 will see all 36 groups play their closing league part video games on the similar time. That has the potential to be pure, unfiltered chaos. With a number of overachieving groups forcing perennial contenders like Actual Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Manchester Metropolis down the pecking order, this might find yourself figuring out even higher than the governing physique may’ve probably anticipated. As soon as the mud settles, the bracket for the spherical of 16 (and past) shall be fascinating. We do not say this fairly often – for good purpose – however: Nicely completed, UEFA. The Champions League feels alive once more.

This week’s disaster membership 😬

Rouse: Manchester Metropolis. It will take greater than signing defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, in addition to the anticipated arrival of attacker Omar Marmoush, to repair this mess. The cracks in Manchester Metropolis’s midfield are nonetheless evident and transfers aren’t a pure antidote for the worry and indecision blighting the squad. Metropolis are enjoying extra vertically than at any level of Pep Guardiola’s reign as a result of belief within the hallmarks of his strategy – passing, persistence, management – is gone. Even when Twenty fifth-placed Metropolis one way or the other emerge from the league part and playoffs, on this way, it’d solely delay an inevitable flop in one of many early knockout rounds.

Brunt: Benfica. Supervisor Bruno Lage’s dramatic postgame tirade mentioned all of it. As an alternative of denying Barcelona an automated last-16 berth, his Benfica squad broken its personal Champions League aspirations in one of the painful methods conceivable. The staff led by two targets at two totally different instances Tuesday. Nevertheless it nonetheless wasn’t sufficient, because the guests overcame Benfica’s sturdy begin and launched into a memorable comeback after scoring three second-half targets to win 5-4 and qualify for the following spherical. It was a collapse worthy of the tongue-lashing that Lage delivered after his staff did not win for the fourth time in 5 video games. The duty would not get any simpler for Twenty first-placed Benfica, who go to Juventus of their closing recreation of the opening stage.

Nesci: Borussia Dortmund. A blown lead and loss to lowly Bologna on Tuesday – Dortmund’s fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions – value Nuri Sahin his job. Worse but, Erik ten Hag is being touted as a possible substitute. BVB are tumbling down the Champions League desk and sit tenth within the Bundesliga, a full 20 factors adrift of the highest spot. The membership has been in regular decline since Jurgen Klopp departed in 2015, with seven totally different coaches since then. Just one in that point, Lucien Favre, stayed for longer than two years (Edin Terzic had two separate spells on the touchline). Dortmund, as soon as adept at shrewdly restocking after promoting famous person expertise, have failed to do this within the wake of Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham departing and are actually mired in mediocrity.

Participant of the week 🌟

Rouse: Julian Alvarez. The ahead is more and more influential for Atletico Madrid. Alvarez’s selflessness and persistence had been finest demonstrated by a chronic battle he alone had with three Bayer Leverkusen gamers as he drove from his personal defensive third to close the guests’ 18-yard field. He ultimately misplaced the ball however, undeterred, instantly bit again and gained a foul to alleviate strain on his staff. That squabble occurred shortly after Atleti had been lowered to 10 males, however Alvarez doggedly dragged his depleted aspect to a 2-1 victory with two medical finishes. He is the proper Diego Simeone attacker.

Brunt: Vangelis Pavlidis. It took lower than an hour for the Greek ahead to show his season round. After a tough begin at Benfica, Pavlidis scored a lightning-quick hat-trick within the opening half-hour earlier than catastrophe struck in Tuesday’s defeat to Barcelona. He scored 106 seconds into the sport and recorded the third-fastest hat-trick in Champions League historical past with a penalty lower than 10 minutes after Wojciech Szczesny’s horrendous blunder left the online wide-open for his second objective. It was by far the most efficient recreation of the marketing campaign for the 26-year-old, who’d did not impress after scoring simply seven targets in his earlier 29 video games following his arrival from AZ Alkmaar final summer season.

Nesci: Justin Bijlow. Striker Santiago Gimenez made a powerful case with a brace in Feyenoord’s shocking 3-0 win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday, but it surely was the Dutch goalkeeper who shined brightest on a wet night inside De Kuip. Bayern unleashed 30 whole photographs, attacking in a wide range of methods, however they could not get previous the 27-year-old netminder, who made seven saves. His spectacular outing included an excellent cease on Harry Kane, and even when one in every of his personal teammates threatened to attain a late personal objective, Bijlow’s fast reflexes saved the day and maintained the clear sheet.

Spotlight of the week 🎥

This misleading backheel help from Bellingham was a murals. Rodrygo’s pinpoint end wasn’t unhealthy, both.

Stat of the week 🔢

Simply once you assume it could possibly’t probably get any worse for Manchester Metropolis proper now, it does.