November 4th and 5th were another Champions League nights as matchday four of Europe’s football flagship competition lit up many cities and stadia across the continent. As expected this week’s matches are not without the usual upset and surprising results. While some top teams eased past their opponents, others struggled to get the better of their opponents and had to share the spoils. In this article, we will examine the events of this week’s Champions League matches and review the table after four matches out of the eight to be played in the league phase of the competition.
Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan continued with their impressive and superb start in this year’s Champions League, winning four out of their first four matches. Arsenal eased past the Czech Republic side, Slavia Prague, with a convincing three-nil victory. They are also the only team yet to concede this season in the Champions League. Bayern had to dig in to edge out Paris Saint-Germain. Bayern had outplayed and dominated PSG in the early stages of the match and went two goals up after Luiz Diaz finished from close range twice. Diaz was later sent off for his horrendous tackle on Achraf Hakimi forcing the German side to play the entire second half with ten men. However, their resilience and tenacity saw them withstand the barrage of PSG’s attacks and eventually come away with three points. Inter Milan saw off a stubborn Kazakhstan side, Kairat, to maintain their perfect start to this season’s Champions League. The Italian side won two goals to one. They had won their three previous games, scoring nine goals without reply.
Liverpool vs Real Madrid.
One of the highly anticipated and biggest matches of this week is Liverpool vs Real Madrid. Liverpool defeated the Spanish giant One-nil in the keenly contested and feisty encounter at Anfield. Mac Allister headed home Szobozlai’s free kick to give the English club a much-needed victory after weeks of appalling and demoralising results that saw them lose six of the seven matches they played.
Man City vs Dortmund
Manchester City routed German side Borussia Dortmund to consolidate their position in the highly coveted top eight of the league phase of the competition. Four goals, two from Phil Foden, one each from Erling Haaland and Cherki. The match ended four-one with Waldemar Anton scoring for Dortmund.
Club Brugge vs Barcelona
Barcelona survived a scare and what could have been a crushing defeat had it not been for the brilliance of teenage star, Lamine Yamal, who rescued a point for the club. The Spanish came from behind three times to secure a draw. Brugge thought they had a chance to make it 4-2 when Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty for an Alex Balde tackle on Forbes, but the decision was overturned by the video assistant referee.
Qarabag vs Chelsea
Chelsea falter in Azerbaijan after playing a two-all draw with Qarabag. The English side was expected to breeze past Qarabag, but instead, Chelsea escaped suffering a historic loss to Qarabag through substitute Alejandro Garnacho’s second-half equaliser, avoiding the embarrassment of becoming the first English team to lose to the Azerbaijani side. 18-year-old Estevao gave the English side the lead in the 6th. Winger Leandro Andrade equalised for Qarabag after he deftly volleyed in a rebound from Camilo Duran’s shot that came off the post after he outmuscled Dutch defender, Jarrell Hato, while competing for a long ball. Midfielder Marko Jankovic put Qarabag ahead from the penalty spot after sending Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez the wrong way. The penalty was awarded after Hato handled Andrade’s cross. Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to equalise for Chelsea.
Pafos vs Villareal
The match produced what is definitely one of the upsets in this year’s Champions League. Pafos, a relatively new football club from Cyprus, stunned the Spanish side to earn their first victory in the Champions League proper. The hosts, formed only 11 years ago, have lost just one of their 10 matches in the competition this season, including qualifiers – and that was to Bayern Munich.
Dutch defender Derrick Luckassen scored the historic winner with an unmarked header following a 46th-minute corner from former Watford winger Ken Sema. Villarreal, who are yet to win in Europe this season but are third in La Liga, had the bulk of the game’s chances but could not beat Pafos keeper Neofytos Michail.
Tottenham trashed Danish side Copenhagen 4-0. Galatasaray trounced Ajax 3-0 at Johan Cruijff ArenA with Nigerian star, Victor Osimhen, scoring a hat-trick. Ajax have lost all four of their matches so far. Juventus and Sporting CP played a one-all draw. Leverkusen and Atalanta earned three points away from home with 1-0 victories against Benfica and Marseille respectively. Olympiacos played a one-all draw with PSV. Napoli and Frankfurt share the spoils after a goalless draw. Newcastle defeated Athletic 2-0 at Saint James Park. Bodø/Glimt lost 1-0 to Monaco at home.
The table after four matches.
