The UCL is back!
The biggest club competition in football resumed this week and it was nothing short of entertainment for the first round of games. We are going to look at some of the biggest winners and losers so far from the first group stage games.
First, we look at some of the biggest winners from this round of games:
Barcelona
They had a fantastic summer transfer window and that is already showing in their performance on the pitch. They pummelled Czech league champions Viktoria Plzen by 5 goals to 1 in what was mostly a one-sided game for the majority of the 90 minutes.
Their big Polish striker Robert Lewandoski continued his impressive goalscoring form as he bagged a hat-trick in the game.
AFC Ajax
They lost quite a lot of players in this summer transfer window and it looked like they were starting the season a little flat. However, they brought their A-game to the champions league and thrashed last season’s UEFA Europa League finalists Rangers by 4 goals to nil.
A statement win in a group that seems really tough with four top European teams.
Tottenham
It is their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League in a while thanks to manager Antonio Conte. They made sure to grab all three points in their first game by defeating the French team Marseille by 2 goals to nil.
Their 50 million Brazillian signing from Everton, Richarlison Andrade, got both goals for them–his first UCL goals in his entire career.
Let’s now look at some of the biggest losers from this first round of group stage matches:
Liverpool FC
They’ve been pretty shaky since the beginning of the season and their performances have been far from convincing. They fell to a new low in the Champions League as they lost by 4 goals to 1 to Italian team Napoli. Our own Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen was on show for Napoli causing all sorts of problems for the Liverpool backline.
He managed to win a penalty for his team but stepped up to take the spot-kick and missed. His night ended pretty prematurely after he picked up a knock and was subbed off late in the first half. Liverpool was absolutely outclassed but managed to get a consolation goal thanks to Luis Diaz.
Chelsea FC
Another English team with peculiar problems of their own which was in full glare in the champions league after they lost to Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb by 1 goal to nil. The results haven’t been coming for Chelsea. The cost of that defeat was their manager, Thomas Tucel, losing his job less than 24 hours after the game.
It was Chelsea’s third defeat this season in all competitions.
RB Leipzig
The German team’s performance has been less than convincing since the season started and the result in the champions league just showed how deep their problems were. They lost badly to the Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk by 4 goals to 1. The cost of that loss was also their manager Dominic Tedesco losing his job less than 24 hours after the game.
The club went on to appoint former Dortmund manager Marco Rose to take over the team.
#Sport is a segment that keeps you abreast of everything happening in the world of sport, shares facts, and sometimes also takes you down memory lane to relive some unforgettable sporting moments. In this edition, we are looking at big winners and losers from the UCL this week.
