Champions League Roundup: A Look at this Week’s Games

Samuel Rothman, Staff Writer

While there was no international break, the world’s best players got action in the best competition. During the week on Tuesday and Wednesday, we were blessed with champions league group-stage action.

Bayern Munich had an easy bout against Viktoria Plzen, scoring 5 goals and setting the record for the longest unbeaten run in group-stage matches. Goals were scored by Leroy Sane (2), Serge Gnabry, Sadio Mane, and Eric Choupo-Moting.

Both Marseille and Napoli had easy wins. Marseille beat Sporting 4-1 and Napoli defeated Ajax 6-1. Both Sporting and Ajax ended the game with ten men as the result of a red card.

Barcelona lost 1-0 against Inter Milan. After a poor start to the group stage, Barca now faces a demotion to the Europa league. Fc Porto defeated Leverkusen 2-0. England’s Tottenham drew 0-0 against Frankfurt.

In the day’s biggest upsets, quite possibly the biggest upset of the season was Belgian side Club Brugge defeating the 2020-2021 La Liga champions Atletico Madrid.

Liverpool faced off against Rangers and won 2-0. English right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was on a revenge tour and scored a stunning free-kick to silence the crowd. Just weeks after being left off of Southgate’s squad, Trent once again proves why he is England’s best right back.

Wednesday’s action was a little less exciting. FC Salzburg won 1-0. Leipzig beat Celtic 3-1. Benfica and PSG tied 1-1. Argentina star Messi scored a beautiful goal. Chelsea beat Milan 3-0 and moved to second in their group. Juventus also won, beating Maccabi Haifa 3-1.

Manchester city trashed Copenhagen 5-0. Goals were scored by Haaland, Mahrez, and Julian Alvarez. In the same group, Dortmund overcame Sevilla to win 4-1. Of Dortmund’s 4 goal scorers, one was England’s Jude Bellingham.

Finally, to wrap up the week, Real Madrid narrowly escaped Shakhtar Donetsk by a score of 2-1. Madrid’s goals were scored by Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr.

With the World Cup a month away and official rosters to be announced, Europe’s best players must show why they deserve a chance to fight for their country.