It was an entertaining mid-week of football in the European scene as top clubs went head to head against each other in the bid to secure top spots in their respective Champions League groups.
I will take you through what happened in all games played - especially the top games from the two nights and look at expert analysis and statistics.
Tuesday 17 October 2017
Spurs tops Group H after Madrid draw
Spurs and Real Madrid are close to reaching the Champions League knockout stages after a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Bernabeu on Tuesday. The draw left the two clubs with seven points, six points clear of Dortmund and Apoel Nicosia.
Spurs took the lead in the game against Real Madrid when Raphael Varane scored an own-goal in the 28th minute. Real Madrid responded two minutes before the end of the first half when Aurier knocked down Toni Kroos in the penalty area. Christiano Ronaldo was given the chance to score his 109th Champions League goal - he did.
In the other game in group H, Dortmund had a hopeless outing at Cyprus against Apoel Nicosia with a boring draw and they currently face elimination from the Champions League.
Group H Standings
1. Spurs – 7
2. Real Madrid – 7
3. Dortmund – 1
4. Apoel Nicosia – 1
Manchester City qualifies despite Napoli scare
Manchester City grabbed yet another win but this time with a bit of a struggle against Napoli at the Etihad.
The Cityzens started the game in fine flare as they were able to find the back of the net twice within the space of 15 minutes.
Raheem Sterling scored his eighth goal in 11 appearances to put City in the lead and Gabriel Jesus knocked in a spectacular cross from Kevin De Bruyne to score the second.
The Napoli side was out of luck in the game, they were given the chance to run away with a point at Etihad after the ref pointed to the spot following a rather too harsh tackle from Kyle Walker against Raul Albiol.
However, Dries Mertens saw his penalty saved by Man. City's goalie, Ederson.
In the 73rd minute, the ref pointed to the spot again, following Fernandinho's rough tackle against Faouzi Ghoulam in the box. Amadou Diawara stepped up and made it count for the Italian club but that was only a consolation goal.
City top group F - Shakhtar Donetsk sit second after they were able to beat Feyenoord 2-1 win on Tuesday night.
Feyenoord is more or less out of the Champions League having lost all three games.
Group F Standings
1. Man City – 9
2. Shakhtar Donetsk – 6
3. Napoli – 3
4. Feyenoord – 0
Liverpool breaks away-win record
Klopp's men were in hot form against Maribor, beating the Slovenian side 7 - 0. With the win, Liverpool now holds the highest away win by an English side in Europe.
The game saw braces from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah. Philippe Coutinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all scored to complete the annihilation of Maribor.
In the other group game, Spartak Moscow showed no mercy against Sevilla with a 5-1 home win against the Spanish side.
Group E Standings
1. Liverpool – 5 pts
2.
Spartak Moscow – 5
3. Sevilla – 4
4. Maribor – 4
Besiktas set for Knock-out phase
Besiktas continued their impressive form in the Champions League, beating French side Monaco by 2-1. The French team is currently bottom of their group standings.
In the other group game, there was a shocker result as Porto slumped to a 3-2 loss against Leipzig. In Group G, only Besiktas are sure favorites to qualify for the knock-out phase of the Champions League.
Group G Standings
1. Besiktas – 9
2. RB Leipzig – 4
3. Porto – 3
4. Monaco – 1
Wednesday 18 October 2017
The Champions League's third matchday concluded on Wednesday with 22 goals from the eight matches. Here's the analysis:
Chelsea, Roma six-goal thriller
Chelsea FC once led by 2-0 at some point in the game against Roma but struggled for a point later on in the closing minutes - the game ended 3-3.
The game started at a slow pace but Chelsea, through David Luiz, was able to make the first hit after a sublime strike from the Brazilian in the 11th minute. Chelsea went up 2-0 thanks to Eden Hazard after a shot from Morata set up the Belgium international for a tap-in.
But Roma stormed back with three goals, the first from Kolarov in the 37th minute and then after the break, Eden Dzeko netted a brace within the space of six minutes to put the Italian on the lead at Stamford Bridge. But it wasn't over as Hazard connected on a Pedro cross to split the points.
In the other game, Ath. Madrid had a disappointing outing against FK Qarabag as they could not find the back of the net and the game ended in a goalless draw.
Chelsea remains top of the group standing followed by Roma.
Group C Standings
Chelsea - 7
Roma - 5
Ath. Madrid - 2
Quarabag - 1
Mbappe makes history
PSG had no trouble at Anderlecht, winning comfortably by 4 goals to nil. Kylian Mbappe gave PSG the lead at Anderlecht with a fine goal from a tight angle, and in the process, the French star became the highest goal scoring teenager in Champions League history with eight goals. Goals from E. Cavani (44) Neymar (66) Á. Di María (88) completed the defeat.
In the other group game, Bayern Munchen had a comfortable outing as well at Celtic winning by 3 goals to nil.
Group B Standings
PSG - 9
Bayern Munchen - 6
Celtic - 3
Anderlecht - 0
Young Goalie gift United win
Manchester United went defensive again against Benfica on Wednesday night but was able to secure their third Champions League win of the season.
They defeated Benfica by 1 - 0 after a boring game of football.
A long free kick from Marcus Rashford fell into the hands of 18-year-old goalkeeper Mile Svilar, who walked into the goal with the ball, unintentionally, stretching his hand out to beat the goal line but unfortunately, the goal line technology beeped!
In the other game, Basel beat CSKA Moscow by 2 goals to nil.
Group A Standings
Manchester United - 9
Basel - 6
CSKA Moscow - 3
Benfica - 0
Messi's milestone
Lionel Messi scored his 100th European goal for Barcelona on Wednesday in the 3-1 win over Olympiacos, and he did it with his trademark free kick. Gerald Pique was shown a second yellow card in the game and Barcelona was reduced to 10-men but that didn't stop them from winning.
In the other group game, Pjanić and Mandžukić were on the scoresheet as Juventus had a 2-1 narrow win against Sporting to go second place in the standings.
Group D Standings
Barcelona - 9
Juventus - 6
Sporting - 3
Olympiacos - 0
I hope you had a brilliant mid-week of Champions League football. Do you think these results will repeat themselves when the return legs are played in two weeks time?
