It’s finally back. After all of this summer’s drama in Russia (and Liverpool fans slandering Sergio Ramos’ name), the UEFA Champions League has returned to the public eye. I guess the qualifying rounds aren’t as fun when Jürgen Klopp isn’t in them. All 32 group stage teams played their first matches of the campaign, so let’s see what we learned from each.
Group A
Borussia Dortmund: They’re okay, I guess. Christian Pulisic scored the winner, which is cool if you’re American, but they also just weren’t that impressive. The all yellow kit will look pretty cool in the Europa League come January.
Club Atlético de Madrid: Diego Costa is still the Diego Costa that defenders everywhere both fear and relish the chance to play. You can be dirty with him, and since he’s just as dirty back, you’ll get away with it. The problem is, he’s better at being dirty than you are, so he tends to do pretty well.
AS Monaco FC: They had their chances but just couldn’t quite match up with Atletico. There’s no shame in that. They were probably better than Dortmund though, so second place is very much on the table for them.
Club Brugge: Poor Brugge. They’re that club from Belgium that no one really cares about because they’re not a threat. Yet, they still looked better than Dortmund in stretches, and probably had more quality chances than their opponents. But also, they’re here to be everyone else’s punching bag.
Group B
FC Barcelona: Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick. No surprise there. What was surprising was that Ousmane Dembélé scored a screamer and Samuel Umtiti got sent off. There will be a new center back next to Gerard Piqué against Inter.
FC Internazionale Milano: If they’re going to finish second place in this group, they need to pick up at least six points at home, and they now have three after a scrappy victory. Now the question is whether they can achieve a similar result on the road at some point.
Tottenham Hotspur FC: Typical Tottenham wasn’t it. Up 1-0, in control, and all of a sudden they’re down 2-1. That should’ve been the focus after the Round of 16 loss to Juventus last year, but instead, they’re behind the eight ball to Inter and may need to pick up points against Barcelona to catch them. I wouldn’t want to be them, either.
PSV Eindhoven: As if there wasn’t enough evidence, PSV once again showed why you don’t foul any Barcelona player within 30 yards. Messi will score.
Group C
Liverpool FC: Anfield will love Roberto Firmino’s winner, but for all of the solidity Liverpool has shown since last January, their old defensive frailties have reared their ugly head against quality opposition like it did in last season. PSG’s two goals were sloppy to concede.
Red Star Belgrade: Their tunnel is absolutely frightening, and the fans were equally rabid, but there was quite a bit of luck in their 0-0 draw with Napoli. Good for their fans, though, that they won’t go through the whole group stage with no points.
Napoli: Yes, it’s disappointing to drop points against Belgrade and it may doom them in the end, but they can’t really have many complaints. They hit the woodwork at least twice and had several close misses as well. Sneak a point away from home and they just may squeak through to the knockout stages.
Paris Saint-Germain: For all the quality they have, they still can’t defend in crunch time. It wasn’t as limp of a performance as their Round of 16 exit to Real Madrid last season, but just watching Sadio Mané glide past Neymar on the edge of the penalty area shows you how little PSG have to defend in the French league.
Group D
Galatasaray AŞ: This is both a very even and very soft group, so a 3-0 win to open their Champions League campaign is big. But also, I don’t really care about this group.
FC Porto: They had two penalties, but only one goal. That should tell you enough about their finishing. They’re still favorites to win the group though.
FC Schalke 04: Ralf Fährmann is a very good goalkeeper. That’s really all that’s worth saying about this team.
FC Lokomotiv Moscow: They lost 3-0 to a very mediocre Galatasaray team. Doesn’t bode well for them.
Group E
AFC Ajax: Remember one and a half years ago when I wrote about Ajax? They may have lost Justin Kluivert and Davinson Sánchez since then, but they’re still lit. Shoutout Nicolás Tagliafico getting two goals from left back.
FC Bayern Munich: Renato Sanches showed just why Carlo Ancelotti bought him two years ago. A powerful run straight down the middle started the move, and he eventually finished the cross to round off a 2-0 win. He seems like he’s turned the corner.
SL Benfica: Opening against Bayern is a tough ask, but there wasn’t really any fight from the Portuguese side. Great gesture from the fans to applaud their former player Sanches, but a bad look for the team that their fans had nothing to applaud them for.
AEK Athens: I have never heard of this team before. I’m honestly shocked they kept Ajax from scoring for so long.
Group F
Olympique Lyonnais: They beat Manchester City, and former Manchester United players Memphis Depay and Rafael absolutely loved it. Goalkeeper Anthony Lopes made a couple of good saves, and it was a huge three points from the French team, especially given it was at the Etihad.
FC Shakhtar Donetsk: A resilient performance at home got them a point against Hoffenheim, and there’s yet another Brazilian in their midfield with Maycon, but you wonder if they would’ve been as sloppy defending with Fred.
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: The Champions League debutants had a good showing, but let Shakhtar equalize twice. A little bit of a naive performance, but overall, a good start for Hoffenheim on the road.
Manchester City FC: They lost to Lyon, and they came back pissed off and beat Cardiff City 5-0 in the Premier League. I’d hate to be Shakhtar right now.
Group G
Real Madrid CF: Marco Asensio tried a no-look finish at 2-0. Mariano Díaz scored a screamer. (www.peakfighting.com) They’re just fine without Cristiano Ronaldo.
FC Viktoria Plzeň: Their fans are wild, and that will be a very difficult place to pick up points. They were very unlucky to not win, but they don’t have enough quality to advance.
PFC CSKA Moscow: They are once again underwhelming despite having a significant amount of the Russian talent pool. Plzeň may push them for the Europa League spot.
AS Roma: They struggled, but they also played Real Madrid. There was nothing special, but they’ll finish second.
Group H
Manchester United FC: Paul Pogba was very good, and if Jose Mourinho can figure out how to get him that type of freedom on a regular basis, United will be better for it. Anthony Martial may gain confidence from his goal, though he was very slow in taking it.
Juventus: Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card was fairly soft, but looking back on it, probably deserved. Juventus won just as easily with 10 men as they would have with 11, except Miralem Pjanić scored the two penalties instead of Ronaldo.
Valencia CF: They will probably finish in third place, but the fact that they couldn’t trouble 10-man Juventus at home shows the gap in quality between the top two teams in this group and the others.
BSC Young Boys: They’re a story because of their artificial turf, but they’re not good. Like Brugge in Group A, they’re the proverbial punching bag.
Stay tuned for Matchday 2 reactions coming in a couple weeks.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
