Grim week for English sides in Champions League

This has been a decidedly less profitable week for the English contingent, with two wins and four defeats culminating in a measly six shared points. The blood and thunder of Premier League action was always going to bleed into the Champions League results at some point (especially as we enter this congested portion of the season). In any event, here is my customary ranking of the English sides’ European adventures.

6. Liverpool (lost 4-1 at home to PSV)

Houston, we have a problem (or rather Henry). I can’t remember the last time we witnessed a fall this dramatic. Premier League champs Liverpool were humbled at Anfield again last night, following their 3-0 league defeat to Forest with a galling 4-1 loss to Peter Bosz’s dynamic PSV Eindhoven. The Reds have now lost nine of their last 12 games in all competitions. Their worst run in 71 years. Ouch. PSV started positively and went ahead through a penalty in just the 6th minute. To be fair, Liverpool ended the first stanza in spirted fashion, equalizing through Szoboszlai to set up- in theory- a grandstand 2nd half. That didn’t come to pass, as Mauro Junior sauntered past a barely interested Salah before threading a wonderful ball to Guus Til, who smashed the ball past Mamardashvili. PSV just dominated from that point on, embarrassing the Reds in front of their adoring fans. How long can Slot live off last season’s prestige? Was that all just residual Klopp afterglow?

5. Manchester City (lost 2-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen)

Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat to a resurgent Leverkusen reeked of overconfidence. Guardiola wanted to refresh things after that breathless defeat at St James Park, making a whopping ten changes to the starting lineup. Still, I don’t understand why they had Haaland, Doku and Foden on the bench: City had zero penetration without them. Leverkusen took the lead in the first half, with in-form fullback Grimaldo finishing off an incisive counterattack (Guardiola’s kryptonite in recent seasons). Guardiola made changes at the break and City looked for more threatening in the 2nd stanza. But Kasper Hjulmand’s side hit City with a 2nd half sucker-punch, with Schick picking up the 2nd in the 54th minute.

4. Newcastle United (lost 2-1 at Marseille)

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle couldn’t keep their Champions League winning streak alive, falling 2-1 at an Aubameyang-inspired Marseille. Newcastle seemed to pick up from where they left off against City, with Harvey Barnes netting a 4th Champions League goal of the season in the 6th minute. But the Magpies were outdone by the ghost of Premier League past, with Aubameyang netting a quickfire 2nd half brace to punish a sloppy Newcastle side. What on earth was Nick Pope thinking on that equalizer? The de facto England no.2 went walkabouts in the 46th minute and was punished by the former Arsenal star, who swept the ball into net while Pope was skipping through no-man’s land. He completed the comeback just a few minutes later, neatly finishing off from close range. Howe’s side were guilty of going into their shell far too early and must learn from this if they harbour any hopes of going deeper in this tournament.

3. Tottenham Hotspurs (lost 5-3 at PSG)

This is one of those ones you can put in the ‘noble defeat’ category. Spurs faced an unenviable task this week, travelling to the home of European champions PSG after being humbled in the latest edition of the North London derby. But Thomas Frank’s men kept the PSG ultra’s quiet for a good portion of the match, twice leading through strikes by Richarlison and Kolo Muani. But PSG just had too much quality in the end, with star midfielder Vitinha scoring a hat-trick as they romped home to a 5-3 win. It was one of the craziest yo-yo matches in recent memory, with all eight goals scored within 37 minutes of each other (excluding first-half stoppage time). While Spurs were ultimately well beaten, it’s not every day that you lead twice at the home of the European champs.

2. Chelsea (won 3-0 at home to FC Barcelona)

Chelsea picked up the first of two English statement wins in this week’s Champions League action, humbling Barcelona 3-0 in a seismic showing at the Bridge. Chelsea dominated the midfield battle and deservedly took the lead in the 27th minute, with a set-piece leading to an amusing bit of pinball and a Kounde own-goal. Araujo sealed his side’s fate towards the end of the first half, pathetically lunging in on the excellent Marc Cucurella despite being on a yellow card (it was a tackle that summed up Barcelona’s overall performance). Brazilian winger Estavio outshone Spaniard Lamine Yamal in the battle of the 18-year-old wunderkinds, scoring a magnificent 2nd that put the game beyond doubt. Rory Delap put his recent injury woes behind to add some gloss to proceedings .

1. Arsenal (won 3-1 at home to Bayern Munich)

Arsenal’s resounding victory over an unbeaten Bayern Munich side should be enough to silence the few remaining Arsenal naysayers. They were once again outstanding in front of the Emirates faithful (who must think they have died and gone to Gooner heaven this past week). Jurrien Timber headed the Gunners ahead in the 17th minute, powerfully meeting Saka’s expert delivery. Lennart Karl equalized for Die Roten, giving an illusion of parity going into the half-time break. The Gunners just blew Bayern away in the 2nd period. Arteta’s men softened Bayern up with a succession of set pieces that sapped their energy and concentration. Noni Madueke would eventually reestablish Arsenal’s lead, getting on the end of Calafiori’s whipped ball to score his first Arsenal goal. Arsenal finished the game off in swaggering fashion, with derby-day hero Eze leading a swift counterattack that was ultimately finished off by Gabriel Martinelli, who made Neuer look slightly aged as he beat him to the ball and rounded him with ease.