Going up
Aston Villa – There wasn’t a dry eye in the house – among home fans anyway – as Aston Villa celebrated beating mighty Bayern Munich. For the German giants, who suffered a first group-stage defeat since 2017, Vincent Kompany’s coaching experience at this level could be in question. But credit Villa’s manager. Just as in the Premier League at Burnley last season, Unai Emery did a number on Kompany, and of the two World Cup-winning keepers, it was Emi Martínez who outshone Manuel Neuer on Wednesday night. Just as in 1982’s European Cup final, Villa beat Bayern 1-0. The goal came from a player who (sort of) shares his surname with Birmingham’s most famous pop group. Jhon Durán’s beautiful, first-time finish caught Neuer roaming. “I never saw where the goalkeeper was,” admitted Durán. He was almost sold in the summer, but has scored six times this season, five as a sub. The Colombian, once of Chicago Fire, is a brilliant finisher, a true wildcard to throw into what was already a dangerous forward line of talented Englishmen in Ollie Watkins, Jaden Philogene, Morgan Rogers and Jacob Ramsey. Villa Park swelled with pride and emotion in England’s second city.
Lille – Ligue 1 on the up? Only PSG let the side down, overpowered by Arsenal on Tuesday night, even if it did take a late goal for Monaco to rescue a rain-sodden draw at Dinamo Zagreb. The French league, beset by financial problems, and struggling to sell overseas TV rights, has had a fine start to the group stage, with Lille pulling off perhaps the club’s finest result in European football. Their winning goal against Real Madrid arrived via Jonathan David’s ice-cool penalty. Rémy Cabella, who Newcastle fans may just about recall from his spell on Tyneside, pulled the strings in midfield, and Lille were worthy winners over the defending champions. Kylian Mbappé was thrown on in the 57th minute for Endrick but it came to little avail against the club his kid brother Ethan plays for. Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior were reduced to scraps by Bruno Génésio’s team.
Brest – The club’s first season in European football continues to be a dream: this week it was a 4-0 win at Red Bull Salzburg. Abdallah Sima, a forward loaned from Brighton, scored twice amid a devastating counter-attacking display. The fact that Brest’s first two games came against Austrian teams – they beat Sturm Graz in their first game – is a knot in the draw system. But Leverkusen, their next opponent, should be wary.
Slipping down
Celtic – The Glaswegians were second in the table after matchday one, but are beginning to worry whether they can make the top 24 after the second week. The question marks against Celtic and Brendan Rodgers’ record in Europe’s top echelon returned against Borussia Dortmund. To use an apposite Scottish term, they were “gubbed” by Dortmund, 7-1. It could have been more. “After the first two goals it was quite easy to cut through,” said Dortmund’s latest English star, Jamie Gittens, embracing understatement. Karim Adeyemi scored a first-half hat-trick, and Dortmund became the third team to put seven past a Rodgers’ Celtic team in the Champions League, following Barcelona in 2016 and PSG in 2017. Lessons learned? Rodgers was unbowed: “Will we camp in and just wait? No, we won’t do that.”
Young Boys – The group stage’s revamped Swiss system has had the unfortunate result of exposing Swiss football’s top club. Barcelona 5-0 Young Boys was, with apologies, a case of men against boys, rather like their opening home defeat to Aston Villa. Their presence at the bottom of the table, along with that of Slovan Bratislava, asks an existential question of the new format. What happens to teams who become the whipping boys? With no trapdoor into the Europa League these days, what are the prospects for the lesser lights as the table takes shape and the no-hopers coalesce at the bottom? There is already a danger of the closing weeks being rather less than competitive.
Atlético Madrid – Perhaps the credit for Benfica’s 4-0 win in Lisbon belongs with Bruno Lage’s team: Kerem Aktürkoğlu’s fine goal set off a famous win, and Ángel di María rolled back the years. Despite Atléti’s struggles on the road – they have now won just one of their last 10 Champions League games away – the manner of defeat was striking. Diego Simeone’s men conceded as many goals as they have in their entire La Liga season so far. The absence of key summer signing Robin Le Normand due to a “traumatic brain injury” suffered in last weekend’s Madrid derby provided one explanation; he has been outstanding.
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A good week for
Jérémy Doku (Manchester City) – Tuesday’s visit to Slovan Bratislava allowed Pep Guardiola a chance to experiment with his Manchester City squad, and rest some aching legs. Matheus Nunes played as a central midfielder as a possible solution to Rodri’s absence. James McAtee, yet another local youth product, scored his first European goal. Most striking was Guardiola unravelling the trend for inverted wingers, fielding Savinho on the left and Doku on the right. It resulted in a record-breaking performance from the Belgian, with 26 touches in the opposition box against Slovan Bratislava. According to Opta, that was the most since its records began in 2008.
Mehdi Taremi (Inter) – The source of Inter’s continued success in Serie A is strong recruitment, including a willingness to sign experienced players who still have something to prove. Beppe Marotta was CEO during Juventus’ golden decade. He doubles as Inter’s head of recruitment, and Taremi, the Iranian signed on a free from Benfica at 32, looks the latest hit. Two assists and a late penalty, his first Inter goal, sealed an all-action display from a player who starred in Portugal and now provides able assistance to Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram. Martínez, Inter’s captain, handed Taremi the chance to take the penalty against Red Star Belgrade as a reward for his overall performance in the 4-0 victory.
Francisco Conceição (Juventus) – Something is stirring at Juventus under Thiago Motta. The club has returned to the days of smart signings rather than vanity projects, and Conceição was snapped up on loan from Porto after his father was sacked as coach. He wears the same Juve No 7 shirt as Federico Chiesa and Cristiano Ronaldo before him. Replacing the injured Nicolás González after 12 minutes at Leipzig, Conceição took his opportunity well, confirming a talent made apparent during his cameos at Euro 2024. He ended up scoring the winner in a dramatic 3-2 comeback from a team who had to cope with keeper Michele Di Gregorio’s 59th minute red card. Dušan Vlahović’s brilliant equaliser was followed by Conceição’s weaving, darting run that ended with his second goal in five days.
