The second round of UEFA Champions League and Europa League fixtures has dominated the headlines across Europe this week.
Shocking defeat of Real Madrid against LOSC Lille i Equally shocking defeat of Bayern Munich by 1-0 Aston Villa took up most of the column space, while some was also saved for Juventus’ dramatic win over RB Leipzig.
There was also a big win for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who proved their superiority over Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium without ever getting out of second gear.
With the sixth week of the season in the history books, it’s time 90 minutesmost important power rankings.
Borussia Dortmund earned a place in the rankings this week thanks to their emphatic 7-1 win over an in-form Celtic side in the Champions League in the middle of the week
Yes, 7-1, you read that right.
The win was the club’s biggest ever win in the Champions League. A beautiful
If you looked Real Madrid this season, you’ll know something isn’t right for the Champions League champions right now.
Whether it’s down to the signing of Kylian Mbappe, or an inability to replace Toni Kroos’ guile in midfield, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have struggled to really make a mark in 2024/25.
They were again quite disappointing in a 1-0 defeat to LOSC Lille in midweek.
A tactical rethink is needed at the Santiago Bernabéu.
It’s fair to say it was quite a varied week Barcelona.
For one, they comfortably beat a pretty terrible Young Boys side 5-0 in the Champions League.
On the other hand, they suffered their first La Liga defeat of the season at the hands of a Bryan Zaragoza-inspired Osasuna.
The reason they’re down five this week is because the second one far outweighs the first one.
Everything was going so, so well Bayern Munich.
And then they went to Villa Park.
Overwhelmed by a dull atmosphere in the midlands and a spirited Aston Villa side, the Bavarian giants went down to a 1-0 defeat in midweek.
They will need to improve this performance massively if they have any hope of winning the Champions League in 2024/25.
Last week something quite unheard of happened:
Viktor Gyokeres did not score a single goal for Sporting CP in their 3-0 win over Estoril Praia or the 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven.
This may be the biggest shock of the 2024/25 season so far.
Bayer Leverkusen’s credentials were put to the test last week with games against Bayern Munich and AC Milan.
A draw with Bayern in the Bundesliga was followed by an impressive 1-0 win over Milan at the San Siro.
Suffice it to say that these results show that Xabi Alonso’s side are in good business this season.
The recent shock defeat to Nottingham Forest at Anfield could have been stopped Liverpool in his tracks under Arne Slot.
Instead, the Reds took the loss in stride and have been absolutely brilliant ever since.
Five wins from five in all competitions in recent weeks tells you all you need to know.
As we saw in the weekend’s draw with Newcastle United, life without the injured Rodri can be tricky Manchester City against the best teams in Europe in the 2024/25 season.
Against lesser teams, however, City have the squad to cope, as evidenced by their 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League in midweek.
– Expulsion of the goalkeeper? check
– The star defender tears ligaments in the first half? check
– Go back on two occasions? check
– Against an immensely talented RB Leipzig side? check
And yet, Juventus managed to pull off a surprising 3-2.
We’re still scratching our heads and trying to figure out what they did. Much of that is thanks to Dusan Vlahovic, who put in an impressive performance at center forward at the Red Bull Arena.
If you need a signal that arsenal are capable of winning the Premier League and Champions League in 2024/25, this past week.
The Gunners cruised to a dramatic 4-2 win over Leicester City with two late goals, before comfortably beating PSG 2-0 a few days later.
They are really, really good, aren’t they?
