The road to Istanbul began this week for Europe’s finest. Forty-five goals, six penalties, two hat-tricks and one contentious disallowed VAR goal tells the story from a fascinating round of opening group games in the UEFA Champions League. But what did we learn?
What We Learned From Champions League Matchday One
Paris Saint-Germain Mean Business
When Qatar Sports Investments took control of Paris Saint-Germain in 2011, the sole aim was Champions League glory. Nine years on and a £1 billion spending spree later, we’ve yet to see Les Parisiens progress past the last eight.
Based on their first game showing, there’s a strong case for Thomas Tuchel’s men bettering this by some distance. The French Champions were minus their entire first-choice frontline in Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani and Neymar and yet still overpowered Real Madrid to record a convincing 3-0 victory.
A browse around the best football betting sites hints at PSG being in the mix to win the tournament for the very first time. Only Liverpool, Barcelona, and favourites Manchester City can be found at shorter odds.
Something’s Not Right at Real Madrid
What is it they say? Never go back? Zinedine Zidane may soon be wishing he had paid heed to such advice. His second spell at The Bernabeu is not going according to plan at all.
Every team can lose games. That’s football. Even a winner like Zidane will accept that reality, but the lack of intensity he accused his side of in midweek was fully justified.
The 13-time winners failed to register a single shot on target in the competition for the first time ever; a damning insight into a damaging night for Madrid and Zidane who has plenty to ponder.
English Clubs May Not Have it All Their Own Way
It’s fair to say, the English sides dominated last season’s competition.
Three semi-finalists and an all Premier League final is evidence enough. What are the chances of the same happening for a second year running? The go-to site for football betting, bet365, will point you the way of the latest odds in that regard.
But a mixed bag of results on the home front suggests a repeat may be harder to come by. Only Manchester City secured maximum points, albeit against weaker opposition.
Liverpool set the unwanted record of being the first defending champion to lose its first match the following season since AC Milan in 1994 and will need to address their away day issues going forwards.
Tottenham Hotspur can count themselves fortunate to claim a point from a performance that would’ve left boss Pochettino disturbed. Chelsea’s young guns, meanwhile, need to wise up and get used to this level sharpish following an early home loss.
Lack of Spark a Worry for Barcelona
Should we be surprised a side notices the absence of a player like Lionel Messi? Perhaps not.
But with Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele at their disposal, you’d expect Barca to still find the back of the net more than they do when Messi doesn’t play.
You might think the goalless draw in Dortmund was a good result, and it is, but Barca were distinctly average and but for a penalty save by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the hosts would’ve posted a memorable and deserved win.
And Finally… Over in Austria, a Star is Born
RB Salzburg opened their campaign with an emphatic 6-2 demolition of Belgian side Genk, but it was the goalscoring exploits of teenager Erling Braut Haaland that made all the headlines.
A hat-trick on Champions League debut has catapulted the Norwegian into the spotlight, though you may remember a player scoring nine times in one game earlier this summer. That was Haaland too as Norway thrashed Honduras 12-0 at the U20 World Cup.
Are we looking at a new European superstar?
Main Photo
