VFB Stuttgart: Last season, it was Stuttgart, not Bayern Munich, that finished second in the Bundesliga behind the unbeaten champions Bayer Leverkusen. This season, however, has been challenging for Sebastian Hoeness's team, who currently sit in 10th place in the German league. On Tuesday night in Turin, they dominated Juventus, who delivered their worst performance yet under Thiago Motta, and were reduced to 10 men after Danilo's red card. Deniz Undav's first-half screamer for Stuttgart was disallowed by VAR, but it seemed Mattia Perin, who saved Enzo Millot's penalty in a brilliant goalkeeping display, would deny the Germans. It took some skillful improvisation from El Bilal Touré to secure Stuttgart's first Champions League win this season, marking their return to the competition after 15 years.
Feyenoord: Arne Slot's Liverpool ended the week in second place in their group, but the club he left behind has performed admirably without him. Brian Priske, a Dane, replaced Slot at Feyenoord and led his team to a famous 3-1 win at Benfica's Stadium of Light. Ayase Ueda, the Japanese forward, scored the opener and had another goal disallowed. Teenager Antoni Milambo scored the second and the decisive third, as Bruno Lage's team struggled to recover. Hwang In-beom, the South Korean midfielder signed from Red Star Belgrade, and Hugo Bueno, the full-back on loan from Wolves, were standout performers for Feyenoord. Priske became the first Feyenoord coach to win two away games in the group stage, having previously beaten Girona.
Lille: French teams continue to excel in this year's competition. PSG, who drew with PSV, are currently in 19th place. After Monaco's 5-1 thrashing of Red Star Belgrade, which lifted them to fourth, and Brest's unbeaten start continuing with a draw against Bayer Leverkusen, Lille delivered the best performance by winning 3-1 at Atlético Madrid. This followed their victory over Real Madrid in the previous round. Lille's comeback win was sparked by substitute Edon Zhegrova's deflected equalizer after Julián Alvarez had given Atlético the lead. There was some luck involved in Lille's second goal, as VAR incorrectly ruled a handball against Benjamin André. Jonathan David, also a substitute, scored from the spot and added the clincher, his 11th of the season, following his winner against Real Madrid. This was another triumph for Lille's coach, Bruno Génésio, who is proving to be an effective replacement for Paulo Fonseca.
Arsenal: It's unusual for a winning team to be featured in this category, but a subdued Tuesday night at the Emirates raised more concerns than celebrations. Mikel Arteta expressed fatigue in his team, which is a worrying sign with Liverpool as their next opponents. A late save from David Raya denied Shakhtar an equalizer after some poor finishing from Arsenal's forwards, including a missed penalty from Leandro Trossard. Adding to their woes, Riccardo Calafiori suffered an injury, joining the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, and Jurrien Timber on the injury list. Among the four English teams, who have collectively conceded just one goal in three rounds, Arsenal are struggling the most in the group stage, though this is relative.
Bayern Munich: João Palhinha, the midfielder Bayern Munich's recruitment team pursued for three transfer windows, finally joined the club in the summer for £43.4m. However, the Portuguese anchorman, one of the best in his role in the Premier League, had only played 236 minutes across seven matches before Wednesday's clash against Barcelona. Aleksandar Pavlović's broken collarbone gave Palhinha his chance, but against Barcelona, he was overwhelmed, particularly by Lamine Yamal and Fermín López. Palhinha was not the only one struggling in Spain, but he symbolized the failure of Vincent Kompany's team in dealing with Barcelona's pace and creativity. He and Joshua Kimmich were exposed by their coach's reckless tactics as Bayern suffered a 4-1 defeat to an opponent they have traditionally dominated, with the 8-2 loss in 2020 coming to mind.
RB Salzburg: Among the many questions surrounding Jürgen Klopp's new role with the Red Bull multi-club operation was how he would handle the challenges faced by his former Liverpool assistant, Pepijn Lijnders, in Austria. As Klopp is not due to start his new role until 1 January, it seems the decision will have been made without his input. At home to Dinamo Zagreb, fellow strugglers at the bottom of the ladder, Salzburg delivered another hapless, chaotic performance, epitomized by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager's dunderheaded handball outside the area that led to his red card. Of greater concern to the incoming Red Bull supremo is that RB Leipzig are also on zero points.
Vinícius Júnior: With the Ballon d'Or ceremony approaching next Monday, it was a good week for Real Madrid's main man to shine in the competition where his performances have made him a favorite for the award. Vinícius Júnior scored a hat-trick as Madrid came from two goals down at halftime to defeat Borussia Dortmund 5-2. Kylian Mbappé played as the center-forward while the Brazilian dazzled from his preferred left side. The best goal of the three saw Vinícius blast past Emre Can on the halfway line before crashing the ball beyond Gregor Kobel.
Christian Pulisic: He has become Milan's reliable performer this season. Milan secured their first group-stage win after a poor start to their Champions League campaign. After a shaky start against Club Brugge, Pulisic and Rafael Leão began to link up effectively in attack. Pulisic's goal came directly from a corner, a superb delivery that looped beyond everyone. Pulisic admitted it was a bit of luck, but it was a good cross. Everything he touches seems to turn to gold at the moment. His goal took him to 10 goal contributions in 10 matches, and if Tijjani Reijnders' double secured Milan's win, Pulisic continued to set the standards.
Raphinha: From being a player Barcelona were ready to sell in the summer, the Brazilian, who wore the captain's armband at Montjuic, has become a guiding light for Hansi Flick's team. His blistering hat-trick tore Bayern apart, and a game that could have gone either way during an open first half was snatched from the German giants' grasp. The winger, signed by Jordi Cruyff, linked up beautifully with Yamal in particular, as well as the remodelled, reborn Robert Lewandowski, whose showdown with Harry Kane saw the two great strikers of the age score one apiece. Amid some ruinous Barcelona spending in recent years, Raphinha, who was making his 100th Barça appearance, has proven a slow-burning hit. And now a leader.
Source link: https://www.theguardian.com
