UEFA Champions League Matchday 2: Standout Performers

 

The drama continues in the Uefa Champions League as teams look to secure qualifying positions within their respective groups.

Matchday two handed us subtle scorelines as teams played down the tempo and focused on getting the points secured. Today we take a look at the standout performers within Matchday two. Players that put forward performances that enabled their team to win.

But first, let's reflect on the game week that was:

Tuesday, 13th September                                                              

Group A

8:00pm  Liverpool 2-1 Ajax

Group B

8:00pm  Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Atletico Madrid

8:00pm  FC Porto 0-4 Club Brugge

Group C

5:45pm  Viktoria Plzen 0-2 Inter Milan

8:00pm  Bayern Munich 2-0 Barcelona

Group D

5:45pm  Sporting CP 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Wednesday, 14th September

Group A

8:00pm  Rangers 0-3 Napoli

Group E

5:45pm  AC Milan 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb

8:00pm Chelsea 1-1 RB Salzburg

Group F

5:45pm Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Celtic

8:00pm Real Madrid 2-0 RB Leipzig

Group G

8:00pm FC Copenhagen 0-0 Sevilla

8:00pm Manchester City 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Group H

8:00pm Juventus 1-2 Benfica

8:00pm Maccabi Haifa 1-3 PSG

Jamal Musiala

Barcelona's misery against the Bavarian giants continued, this episode saw them lose 2-0. The star of the show was a 19-year-old German wonderkid. Against seasoned veterans in the game, Jamal bossed the middle of the park for Bayern Munich and his performance earned him the man of the match award.

Here are the numbers;

Jamal Musiala for Bayern vs Barcelona:

◉ Most passes in the final third (22)

◉= Most touches in opp. box (8)

◉ Most chances created (5)

◉ Most possession won in the final third (3)

◉= Most shots (2)

He also provided an assist.🅰️

 Kostas Tsimikas

The first game of Matchday 2 of the Champions League saw Liverpool host Ajax at Anfield. On Matchday 1 Liverpool suffered a humbling 4-1 defeat at Naples. This heightened the stakes for Liverpool who would find themselves in a conundrum if things went south. Luckily they managed to win through an 89th-minute header from center-back Joel Matip, who was assisted by the Greek scouser Kostas Tsimikas.

 After first-choice left-back Andy Robertson was sidelined due to injury, the left-back was called into action. A blessing in disguise for the Liverpool faithful as Kostas bossed the left flank and provided the last-minute assist

Here are his numbers

• 1 assist

• Created 5 chances (1st in the game)

• Won 2/2 tackles

• 1 interception

Kostas Tsimikas had a chance tonight and he took it. He deserves an extended run in the side now.

Federico Valverde

Valverde's impact within this Real Madrid team is gaining some way overdue attention. The 24-year-old is a Swiss Army Knife of a footballer for Carlo Ancelotti and one improving his composure and quality in the final third. Impacting games at both ends of the pitch, Valverde is a manager’s dream.

Denzel Dumfries

Denzel, a right wing-back continues to impress with his domineering presence for Inter Milan. The Dutch-man scored the second goal, securing the points for Inter.

 It was the highlight of an all-action performance from Dumfries, one which saw him provide seven crosses, complete two take-ons and win 7/9 duels. Marauding!

Ferran Jutglà 

Club Brugge produced arguably the result of Matchday 2 as the Belgian side thrashed Porto 4-0 at the Estádio do Dragão. Ferran Jutglà was at the heart of a ruthless performance from the visitors, with the Spanish striker continuing his impressive start to the season with a goal and assist. 

Lionel Messi

PSG were made to work for their win at Maccabi Haifa as the Israeli side took the lead and proved stubborn opposition.

It took PSG’s star trio MNM to come to the fore to turn the game around, as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar all found themselves on the same scoresheet in a Champions League fixture for the first time.

Messi’s goal saw him become the first player to score in 18 consecutive Champions League campaigns, while he has now scored against 39 different opponents – breaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s record – from 19 different nations.

Matchday 8 of 38: An Eight Goal Thriller at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.

 

First Half

Perhaps looking like the ideal game to bounce back to winning ways after their European defeat in midweek with Leicester City at the foot of the league table. Tottenham was ready to take the game to Leicester immediately after the kickoff whistle.

But to their dismay, four minutes in the game Tottenham centre-back Davinson Sanchez brought down James Justin on the edge of the penalty area, Conceding a penalty. It took Youri Tielemans two tries to score the first goal as Lloris saved the first attempt which was ruled out by VAR for goalkeeper encroaching as none of his feet was on the goal line. The second attempt slipped onto the top right side of Loris's goal. 1-0 to Leicester

Conte's men were having none of it. Six minutes later, Leicester conceded a corner kick. Taken short by Dejan Kulusevski to Persic, back to Dejan who skips past a tame challenge on the edge of Leicester's penalty area and delivers a sublime cross to the back post for Harry Kane, who slots home the equalizer 1-1. Nothing new for Harry, no player has scored more Premier League goals against Leicester than Harry Kane (18) 

Having restored parity through Kane's header, the Lilywhites took the lead 13 minutes later courtesy of Eric Dier's header on the left side of the six-yard box to the top right corner assisted by Ivan Perisic's corner. The Foxes were guilty of giving Tottenham several chances on goal, with Spurs looking likely to score with every set piece that came their way. Spurs up 2-1

Forty-one minutes into the half  Leicester had a little more to say before the break. Timothy Castagne manages to head the ball past left-back Ryan Sessegnon and delivers an inch-perfect cross to James Maddison in the centre of the penalty box. A right-footed shot from the Englishman sends the ball to the bottom left corner. How? magic, what a finish! It's all level at the break 2-2

Second Half: Son-sational hat-trick!

Four goals within forty-five minutes, and level at the beak. The question on everyone's mind is can it get any better? Yes it can

The players rush back to the field after the break, and the referee draws his whistle to his lips. Let the second half begin. Two minutes in, Leicester on their half are trying to build the game from the back and Evans plays the ball to Ndindi, who doesn't see Rodrigo Bentancur approaching from behind. Bentancur steals the ball from Ndindi and drives towards the edge of Leicester's penalty area releasing a right-footed shot to the bottom right corner of the goal. The crowd gets up to their feet in jubilation  3-2 to Tottenham

Sixty minutes on the clock, the fourth official indicates to the in-field referee that there are substitutions. The numbers on the electronic board are 7 green 9 red, meaning Son Heung-Min replaces Richarlison. Starting on the bench for the first time in a very long time Heung Min Son had attempted 16 shots this season without a goal, the most of any player who is yet to score in the Premier League. 

Thirteen minutes later, Rodrigo Bentancur steals the ball from James Justin in Tottenham's half and passes it to Son in front of him. Son runs fast at Leicester's centre-back Evans. He pushed the ball right just before the penalty arc. The South Korean winger then launches a right-footed shot to the top right corner, his first Premier League goal of the season.

 Scenes at the Tottenham stadium.. 4-2 to Spurs

84 minutes on the clock, Kane finds Son at the exact same spot he scored his season opener. Same spot different foot, a left-footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Son-sational! 5-2 to Spurs 

Two minutes later in the 86th minute, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg recovers the ball in Tottenham's half and launches a fast break to Leicester's half. He encounters some traffic and sees Son on his left, passing the ball to the space in front of the South Korean. Son composes the ball with his right foot and slots the ball under goalkeeper Danny ward. 

6-2 .. And the match ball is awarded to Son Heung-Min ⚽⚽⚽  Mi

Final Thoughts

Tottenham may have secured all three points and scored goals for fun in the process, but Conte will not want to see a repeat of their defensive display again. Spurs were their own worst enemy at times, after losing possession in dangerous positions outside their own box, the Foxes cut through Spurs' midfield and backline with ease far too often. This will worry Antonio Conte 

Leicester, meanwhile, remains at the foot of the table, still searching for their first win, despite having led in four of their seven matches thus far. Devastating!

Will Haaland break the Premier League recorded for most goals scored in a season ?💀

Erling Haaland is August Premier League Player of the Month after scoring nine goals in his first five games.

His nine goals have come from 22 shots in total and 11 on target. That’s a conversion rate of 40%. Only two of his shots have been saved.

As I write this, He currently leads the Premier League goal-scoring charts with eleven goals and one assist in his first seven games in the Premier League.

The Norwegian behemoth started his Premier League campaign with a brace against West Ham, which was swiftly followed by back-to-back hattricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool forward Mo Salah currently holds the record for the most goals scored in a single 38-game Premier League season.

So far Haaland is averaging a goal every 43 minutes. To put that in context, when Mohamed Salah broke the Premier League goalscoring record with 32 goals in 2017-18, he averaged a goal every 91 minutes and had a third as many goals (three) at this stage of the campaign.

As previously stated, Salah found the back of the net an astonishing 32 times in the 2017/18 season for the Reds.

Andy Cole scored 34 goals for Newcastle in 1993/94, as did Alan Shearer in 1994/95 for Blackburn Rovers, meaning that Cole and Shearer technically hold the record for the most goals in a Premier League season.

However, this was when the Premier League featured 22 clubs and so 42 games were played by each team in a season.

Having scored close to a third of the goals needed to shatter the record in only seven games, it feels almost inevitable that Haaland will break the record.

I guess the correct question would be, by how many goals will Haaland break the PL record for most goals scored?

By at least ten, in my opinion. Let me know your prediction in the comments section.

Let's take a step back and analyze Haaland's goals throughout his very young career.

Haaland made his international debut in 2019 and has so far scored 20 goals and provided three assists in 21 games. The Norwegian striker will be a starter in the 2022 Qatar World Cup and all eyes will be on him as well as French wonder kid Kylian Mbappe as they both look to etch their names in footballing history.

 

Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 games for Dortmund and has continued at City where he left off in Germany. Having secured the Premier League trophy four times in the last five years, Manchester City are favourites to take home the title in the 22/23 season once again.

Their sights will therefore be fixated on the illustrious European crown jewel, The Champions League trophy. This silverware has slipped from Pep Guordiolas's grasp severally, and the City faithful as well as their manager will have high hopes of winning the UCL for the very first time for Manchester City.

As it stands, it seems the greatest achievement for young Erling would be to secure the first Champions League trophy for City. Is he the man Pep needed all along? Will he break Pep's Champions League misfortune? 

Well, we will have to wait and see, but as I see it there is only one thing in the future for Erling Haaland. You guessed it... Goals ⚽⚽

UEFA Champions League Matchday 1: Standout Performers

                                      A St🌟r-Studded Affair

Matchday 1 of the 22/23 Champions League is done, and as the dust settles we have to take a glance back and appreciate some of the epic performances put forth by some of the greatest talents in the game. Today, the players in the spotlight melted our hearts with electric performances and most importantly, sublime goals and assists. 

Before we dive into that, a quick refresher on the full-time scores in 22/23 Matchday 1

Champions League Matchday 1 Results

Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Chelsea

Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Copenhagen

Benfica 2-0 Maccabi Haifa

Sevilla 0-4 Manchester City

Red Bull Salzburg 1-1 AC Milan

Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid

RB Leipzig 1-4 Shakhtar Donetsk

Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Juventus

Ajax 4-0 Rangers

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Sporting

Inter Milan 0-2 Bayern Munich

Barcelona 5-1 Viktoria Plzen

Napoli 4-1 Liverpool

Atletico Madrid 2-1 Porto

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Marseille

Club Brugge 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen

Hat-trick Hero Lewa

 

The Legend of Robert Lewandowski continues, he opened his Champions League campaign in His new home camp Nou with a Hat-trick.
 🤩
Most touches in the opposition box on MD1 of the 2022/23 UCL 
◉ 13 - Marco Reus
◉ 13 - Robert Lewandowski
Six players scored multiple goals on MD1 of the 2022/23 Champions League:
◉ Robert Lewandowski
◎ Marian Shved
◎ Erling Haaland
◎ Piotr Zieliński
◎ Richarlison
◎ Kylian Mbappé

Robert Lewandowski became the first player to score a Champions League hat trick with three teams.

  Erling Haaland 

Erling Haaland's game by numbers vs. Sevilla: 

1.83 xG

100% pass accuracy 

7 shots 

6 touches in opp. box

4 big chances 

3 shots on target 

2 chances created

2 goals 

Kylian Mbappe

A brace for the French wonder kid in his 22/23 UCL season opener. Both goals were assisted by Leo Messi. Can the deadly trio lead the Parisians to Champions League glory? We'll have to wait and see.

 Victor Osimhen

Luciano Spalletti's men put four goals past last year's finalist Liverpool F.C. The star of the show, Victor Osimhen. Napoli came into this game having made an unbeaten start to the new Serie A season. Their three wins and two draws from their opening five league matches currently sit second in the standings. 

The Nigerian striker scored and missed a penalty, but his influence in the front was second to none

 Teammate Piotr Zielinski scored 2 goals and provided one assist in the game as well.

Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard vs. Celtic:

▪️ Subbed on in the 30th minute for injured Benzema

▪️ Pass to Valverde who assisted Vinicius for Real Madrid’s first goal

▪️ Assisted Modrić’s goal

▪️ Scored Madrid’s third 

Vintage performance ✨

Honourable Mentions

Richarlison has scored twice on his Champions League debut. He has now scored the same amount of Champions League goals for Tottenham as Jermain Defoe and Rafael van der Vaart. What a debut!

Ousmane Dembele and Joao Cancelo each provided two assists. 

Gameweek 6: Arsenal's Perfect Start Comes to an End in Old Trafford

Arsenal's Dream Start to The Premier League Comes to an End

Arsenal's perfect start, a winning run from opening day to match week five came to a screeching halt at Old Trafford. Previously, Arsenal beat Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Bournemouth, Fulham and Aston Villa. On this rampage, Arsenal scored 13 goals and their new number 9, Gabriel Jesus looked unstoppable. However, a solid defensive performance by the Red Devils combined with sharp counter-attacking football handed Arsenal their first defeat in the 22/23 season losing 3-1.

A quick start from the Gunners saw Martinelli score in the 11th minute, a goal that was ruled out by VAR due to a  foul during the build-up play. A debut goal from new signing Antony commenced the scoring. A smart through ball from Marcus Rashford set him up. 

Bukayo Saka levelled the game in the 60th minute, and the close-range shot silenced the Old Trafford faithful. Only six minutes later Rashford slotted home a cool shot in a one-on-one with Ramsdale. Old Trafford was on their feet in jubilation, and not long after in the 75th minute, Rashford did it one again. Sealing the win for The Red devils.

Manchester United have now won their last four Premier League matches, having lost their first two. This is their longest in the Premier League since winning five in a row between March and April 2021 under Ole Gunnar.

Defensive Dominance

Raphael Varane made more tackles (5) and more clearances (5) than any other player against Arsenal. He also won six of his nine duels. Raphaël Varane and Lisandro Martínez started for Manchester United.

 Manchester United's record when Raphaël Varane and Lisandro Martínez start together:

◉ 4 games

◉ 4 wins

◉ 2 clean sheets

◉ 2 goals conceded

◉ 0 defeats

Dutch left-back Tyrell Malacia was handed his debut for Manchester, the 5'5" workhorse dominated the left flank.

Tyrell Malacia's game by numbers vs. Arsenal:

51 touches

8 ball recoveries 

4 duels won 

3 interceptions 

2 clearances 

2 accurate long balls 

1 tackle

1 cross 

0x dribbled past 

Settled in nicely at Old Trafford. 

Midfield Dexterity

Christian Eriksen for Manchester United against Arsenal: 

◉ Most touches (56) 

◉ Most passes in the final third (16)

◉ Most passes into the box (4)

◉ Most chances created (3) 

And he has his first Premier League assist for the Red Devils. 🅰️

His Midfielding counterpart Scott McTominay in the first half vs. Arsenal:

100% pass accuracy 

100% take-on success

27 touches 

5 passes in the final third 

3 duels won 

2 tackles 

2 clearances 

2x possession won 

1 block 

Impressed so far in the middle of the park. 💪

Ruthless Rashford

Marcus Rashford contributed to all three goals at Old Trafford. His pace and eye for goal complimented Manchester United's counter-attacking approach to the match.

Marcus Rashford's game by numbers vs. Arsenal:

100% chance conversion

100% shot accuracy 

23 touches 

2 shots 

2 touches in opp. box 

2 chances created 

2 goals 

1 assist 

Contributed to all three goals whilst he was on the pitch.

Arsenal's momentum has hit a peg, how will the Gunner react to this unfortunate setback?

Will Manchester United's resurgence continue in the League? Can this Counter-attacking approach be effective throughout their campaign? Will Rashford return to his best self under Erik ten hag? 

Let me know your opinion on these questions in the comments section. 

Let me catch you next time as we talk about the League we can't get enough of. Goodbye

Gameweek 5: Newcastle's record signing Alexander Isak Scores on Debut but Fabio Clinches 3 points For the Reds In Last Minute

Newcastle United's record signing Alexander Isak scored in the 38th minute of his Premier League debut at Anfield. The 22-year-old Swede moved from Real Sociedad for a club-record £63m fee. He would've secured a brace but his latter goal was ruled out for offside. The Magpies will be impressed by his performance, his outstanding ball control and finishing were sublime even under pressure.

The Magpies were without french talisman Allan-saint Maximin as well as Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimarães. Newcastle will feel they made a decent account of themselves considering their shortcomings. With the complete fit squad, Things would've panned out differently at Anfield

Bobby on Fire & Fantastic Fábio

Liverpool's number 9 Roberto Firmino slotted home the equalizer in the 61st minute. The Brazilian dazzler has been on a roll at Anfield, scoring twice and assisting thrice in the previous game against Bournemouth. New signing Darwin Nunez will have to fight for the number nine spot as it seems that Bobby will not be letting it go easy.

A 98th-minute close-range shot from summer signing Fabio Carvalho stole the point from The Magpies.

The 20-year-old Portuguese midfielder came in in the 71st minute and his right-footed shot from the left side of the six-yard box to the top left corner, assisted by Mohamed Salah following a corner, broke the hearts of travelling Newcastle fans.

Full-time score; Liverpool 2  Newcastle  1