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The big winners
Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich. They rule supreme in Germany and are on a 16-match winning streak. Beating the defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain, on Tuesday was further proof of Bayern’s credentials. Luís Diaz, whose combativeness is sorely missed by Liverpool, scored two, but he took the aggression too far when his challenge on Achraf Hakimi led to a first-half red card. That meant the second half became a test of defensive credentials that Bayern passed. “I also want us to enjoy it when we have to defend,” said Kompany. He was by no means his club’s first-choice as coach in the summer of 2024 – relegation from the Premier League with Burnley had damaged his reputation. But in Bavaria, the noise from the boardroom has been quelled – for now – by the brilliance of his team’s play.
Pafos make history. A familiar face – and hairstyle – played 90 minutes as David Luiz marshalled the defence for Pafos’s defeat of Villarreal. The 38-year-old, the defensive lion of Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League win, is the oldest outfield player in this season’s competition. When the Cypriot club were formed on 10 June 2014, Luiz was in the process of negotiating a move from Chelsea to PSG. The scoring hero for Pafos this week, coached by Juan Carlos Carcedo, a longtime assistant to Unai Emery, was Derrick Luckassen, Luiz’s defensive partner. Luckassen is the older brother of Brian Brobbey, Sunderland’s No 9. The assist came via Ken Sema, once of Watford, who is part of a Pafos squad from across the football spectrum. “As a first-time manager, it’s my greatest victory,” said Caredo; it was Pafos’ first-ever group stage win, too.
Qarabag and Brugge denied. Perhaps the format’s relative lack of jeopardy encourages smaller teams to attack supposedly elite opposition – whatever the case, it makes for great entertainment. Both Qarabag, who gave Chelsea a fright in Baku, and Club Brugge, who drew 3-3 with Barcelona in the best match of the week, supplied the extended group stage with legitimacy via entertainment. Gurban Gurbanov has been in charge of Qarabag since 2008 – a period in which Chelsea have had 14 “permanent” managers. His team ravaged Chelsea’s defence, with Jorrel Hato suffering a rotten night. Meanwhile, Brugge repeatedly pierced Hansi Flick’s high-line, high-wire act. It took Lamine Yamal’s habitual brilliance, and a video assistant coming to the rescue of Wojciech Szczęsny as Brugge’s “winner” was ruled out, to save Barça. Brugge coach Nicky Hayen is winning admirers; he was in charge of Haverfordwest County in the League of Wales three years ago.
Player of the week
There were plenty of contenders for this award. Brugge’s Carlos Forbs got two goals and an assist against Barcelona, Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen scored a brilliant hat-trick against Ajax, while Arsenal’s 15-year-old midfielder Max Dowman became the competition’s youngest ever player. But this week’s award belongs to a defender – although not Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven, despite his breathtaking solo goal against Copenhagen. The award instead goes to Liverpool’s Conor Bradley, who first made his mark a year ago with a crunching tackle on Kylian Mbappé. On Tuesday it was Vinícius Júnior who was locked down by the Northern Irishman, who clearly reserves his best for Real Madrid. Bradley’s bite took place as Trent Alexander-Arnold, booed all evening by the Anfield crowd, was sat on the Madrid bench until the latter stages. Thibaut Courtois, in Madrid’s goal, was a contender for player of the week, too.
They said it
“Some players are not happy to be substituted, they don’t react well, and we sort these things out in the locker room.” Ivan Juric, Atalanta’s coach, plays down the ferocious touchline altercation with Ademola Lookman after the player was subbed off during the team’s 1-0 win at Marseille. While Atalanta’s players celebrated at full-time, Juric and Lookman resumed their heated discussion. “We all know these situations, we’ve all had them as players, as coaches, they happen in the heat of the moment,” Juric added.
The pundit’s chair
“As Virgil is captain I think that is your opportunity to go and lead the players and that is what I was saying. That happens in football and I think the response has been great from Virgil and the team.” Awkward for Wayne Rooney, as Virgil van Dijk confronts him in Amazon Prime’s post-game show. That came after Rooney had been critical of the defender’s leadership and body language on his BBC podcast. Point made, Van Dijk signed off with a “we move on” and an embrace with Rooney.
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Looking ahead
There is no relegation in the Champions League but the fifth round of matches, which starts on 25 November, opens with a six-pointer between two fallen giants, Ajax and Benfica. John Heitinga is the latest Ajax youth product to struggle to revive the club’s former glories. Will he be in charge for much longer? “Johnny is not the right manager for this Ajax,” the official Ajax supporters’ club said in a statement. Benfica’s loss to Bayer Leverkusen saw José Mourinho revert to type. He blamed “a referee who, unfortunately, I know well and I know doesn’t have much affection for me”. Mourinho’s return to Lisbon may not last long, either.
Enzo Maresca drew criticism for Chelsea’s performance in Baku: his squad cost £1.6bn compared to Qarabag’s £21m. A defeat of Barcelona at the Bridge would help his cause. The fixture recalls fond memories of meetings between the clubs: Ronaldinho’s brilliant 2005 flick, Lionel Messi coming of age the following year, Andrés Iniesta’s winner in 2009, and a titanic semi-final in 2012.
