What we noticed from the fourth group games
Friday, November 4, 2016
Article summary
Beware the 2-0 lead, understand the true meaning of the word 'ambitious', and give Atlético and Sevilla their due as UEFA.com's team reads the entrails of this week's results.
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What do you think of our choices? What stood out for you? Let us know using #UCL on @ChampionsLeague
Group A
Ludogorets Razgrad 2-3 Arsenal
Basel 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain
Group B
Beşiktaş 1-1 Napoli
Benfica 1-0 Dynamo Kyiv
Group C
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Celtic
Manchester City 3-1 Barcelona
Group D
PSV Eindhoven 1-2 Bayern München
Atlético Madrid 2-1 Rostov
Group E
Monaco 3-0 CSKA Moskva
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Group F
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sporting CP
Legia Warszawa 3-3 Real Madrid
Group G
København 0-0 Leicester City
Porto 1-0 Club Brugge
Group H
Sevilla 4-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Juventus 1-1 Lyon
Fantasy Football team of the week
- 2-0 is a less secure lead than it looks
Of the four sides that took a commanding-looking 2-0 lead in their games this week, only two held on for the three points, Monaco going on to beat CSKA 3-0 and Sevilla putting four past Dinamo.
Ludogorets' dream faded fast against Arsenal; 2-0 up inside 15 minutes, they were pegged back to 2-0 by half-time and lost 3-2 in the end. Gareth Bale, meanwhile, scored the fastest goal in Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League history at Legia, and Karim Benzema made it 2-0, but the European champions ultimately needed an 85th-minute equaliser to scramble a 3-3 draw. "If you don't finish off opponents, they can come back to bite you," Bale told UEFA.com at full time.
- Are City no longer an 'ambitious' club?
"This is the momentous occasion Manchester City's hierarchy hoped Pep Guardiola would provide," beamed the Daily Mail after Tuesday's 3-1 victory halted a run of five straight defeats against Barcelona, strengthening City's claims to be respectable citizens rather than noisy neighbours in football's most exclusive neighbourhood.
Two title wins in the last five seasons have not rid City of the 'ambitious' tag (a sly reference in class-obsessed England to a club perceived as 'nouveau riche') but Tuesday's display showed proper pedigree. "They press a lot," said Barcelona boss Luis Enrique, reeling from a dose of his own medicine. "They don't give you a minute's rest."
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- Atlético are as near to perfect as it gets
The manner of Diego Simeone's side's 2-1 home victory against Rostov was perhaps not the most dignified – it took an added-time goal from Antoine Griezmann for them to quell the Russian outfit – but the statistics speak for themselves: Atlético are the only team to reach the finish of matchday four with 12 points.
"I'm very happy because I'd had a bit of a dry spell," Griezmann told UEFA.com, his double against Rostov having moved him to joint-ninth in the club's all-time UEFA competition scorers chart. Could this be the year when Atlético's dry spell in European Cup finals (three appearances, no wins) comes to a conclusion?
- Sevilla finessing the big time at last
Making that step up to the next level has been an ongoing problem for Sevilla, whose proud record of five UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League successes since 2005/06 contrasts rather starkly with their record in the UEFA Champions League, where they have yet to make it past the round of 16.
However, their 4-0 triumph against Dinamo left the Hispalenses (and fellow upstarts Leicester) as the only sides yet to concede in this group stage. Two points clear of Juventus at the Group H summit, Sevilla are also third in the Liga going into the weekend, behind only Madrid and Barcelona. Good going.
- Arch enemy: is Wembley bad for English clubs?
"Spurs are on their way to Wembley," was once a joyous terrace chant at White Hart Lane, but trips to England's most famous venue are becoming more of a trial than a reward for Tottenham, with their 1-0 loss to Leverkusen on Wednesday their second defeat at their group stage home.
"We cannot blame Wembley again," manager Mauricio Pochettino maintained. "Wembley for me was fantastic. I enjoy a lot to come here." However, the fact remains: all three UEFA Champions League matches featuring English teams at the new-look Wembley ended in defeat for the Premier League clubs, while Arsenal's record in six group stage home games at the old Wembley (W2 D1 L3) was not much better.
What do you think of our choices? What stood out for you? Let us know using #UCL on @ChampionsLeague