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Champions League Briefing: Does this make Amorim the new Fergie? Why did Vinicius Jr. stand still?

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Champions League Briefing: Does this make Amorim the new Fergie? Why did Vinicius Jr. stand still?

Simply while you thought the Champions League group stage was turning into predictable…

Manchester Metropolis and Actual Madrid, the 2 groups principally more likely to win all of it this season, took two beatings Tuesday night time that shook the competitors up.

New Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim fairly presumably saved his finest for final at Sporting CP, signing off from his ultimate house recreation with a 4-1 victory over Manchester Metropolis. In the meantime, AC Milan added to Madrid’s many issues in Spain’s capital with a 3-1 victory.

The third more than likely workforce to win the 2024-25 Champions League? Liverpool. And so they brushed apart Bayer Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso 4-0 at Anfield to bolster their credentials.

These are the large speaking factors from Tuesday’s motion.

Does this make Amorim the brand new Fergie? 

“If we win they’ll assume the brand new Alex Ferguson has arrived, which could be very troublesome to take care of,” Amorim mentioned.

Come up, Sir Ruben. His phrases, spoken on the eve of his ultimate house match accountable for Sporting, really feel fairly pertinent, don’t they?

Manchester United at the moment are favourites for the 2025-26 Premier League title and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester Metropolis dynasty is about to come back crumbling down.

Okay, superb, let’s simply relax a bit. But in addition, let’s get massively carried away with this outstanding consequence.

Two years in the past Manchester Metropolis blitzed the Portuguese workforce 5-0 on combination within the Champions League final 16, however on Tuesday they showcased simply why United had been so eager to land Amorim after his workforce walloped Guardiola’s shellshocked aspect.

It will need to have been an extremely bittersweet night time for Sporting’s followers, who celebrated among the best victories within the membership’s current historical past realizing they could not see the like once more for some time. They mentioned goodbye with an enormous tifo which learn “Obrigada” (thanks) and Amorim returned the favour with an evening to recollect.

Within the battle of the Nordic goal-loving strikers, the clear winner was Viktor Gyokeres, whose hat-trick took his tally to 23 objectives in 15 matches for membership and nation this season. He has solely failed to attain in three video games.


(Gualter Fatia/Getty Photos)

Amorim will certainly need to take Gyokeres with him to Outdated Trafford through a rumoured €100 million launch clause, though with Ineos tightening the purse strings, maybe the Etihad, with the soon-to-be director of soccer Hugo Viana, who leaves Sporting on the finish of the season, could be a extra doubtless vacation spot. Gyokeres and Erling Haaland up entrance collectively? The nets will want reinforcing.

The 2 managers gained’t have to attend lengthy for a rematch. If Amorim can do the identical with Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee up entrance when his Manchester United workforce takes on Metropolis and Guardiola on December fifteenth, you may make plans for the statue already.

Inconsistent Milan flip it on on the Bernabeu

AC Milan’s 3-1 victory within the Bernabeu was as shocking and beautiful as Sporting’s win.

Milan could be infuriatingly inconsistent – they’re a lowly seventh in Serie A, already eight factors off leaders Napoli, albeit with a recreation in hand. They misplaced their first two Champions League matches (to Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen) earlier than struggling previous 10-man Membership Bruges to assert their first victory on Matchday 3.

Right here, although, they had been at their best, and uncoincidentally so had been Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez, who on their day have to be some of the thrilling left-sided pairs in European soccer.

New supervisor Paulo Fonseca boldly dropped each of them earlier within the season and Leao has been left on the bench within the league currently, however as Alvaro Morata instructed The Athletic final week, “He’s the perfect participant on the workforce and simply must preserve doing what he’s doing.”

Morata restored Milan’s lead when placing them 2-1 up after Leao’s shot was saved. Leao then arrange Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, who had scored twice in opposition to Bruges final trip, to seal a memorable victory on this conflict of European soccer giants.


(Angel Martinez/Getty Photos)

With AC Milan now dealing with Slovan Bratislava, Crimson Star Belgrade, Girona and Dinamo Zagreb of their ultimate 4 matches, the trail of development to the final 16 through an automated qualification spot ought to be simple.

However provided that they’ll discover that elusive consistency.

Noel Gallagher was Metropolis’s finest performer on the night time

If you happen to thought TNT Sports activities had been dumbing down their protection much more by inviting Oasis legend Noel Gallagher into the commentary field for Metropolis’s recreation at Sporting, effectively, you’ll be fallacious.

In what in all probability says much more about the usual of punditry on English soccer screens, Gallagher was a breath of contemporary air in that he spoke frequent sense. Sure, it’s a wacky idea, follow us.

Certain, he mentioned ‘we’ when speaking about his beloved Metropolis, however this was no Sky Sports activities Fan Zone gimmick, nor was he overly biased. (He thought the choice to award Metropolis a penalty for handball was harsh and questioned issues like bringing Kevin De Bruyne on for the ultimate seven minutes, in all probability fearing for his hamstrings.)

There was no melodrama, foolish noises, or horrible ‘banter’ such as you get when sure different pundits speak concerning the groups they help.

However Gallagher is an precise fan (he was within the away finish at Bournemouth on Saturday) and simply says issues like they’re, backed right here by perception and statistics, and even a foreshadowing of Metropolis losing probabilities and needing to attain a second objective — which got here 37 seconds earlier than Sporting equalised. It might be simple to ridicule his feedback as a result of he’s Noel Gallagher, like evaluating Gyokeres’ penalty method to Troy Deeney’s, till you cease and realise that it’s true.

He did let himself down by saying, “Some songwriting genius wrote as soon as; ‘We see issues they’ll by no means see’, and that’s Guardiola for ya,” resulting in raucous laughter from commentator Darren Fletcher. However we’ll forgive him that one.

Anyway, Gallagher’s was in all probability the perfect Metropolis efficiency of the night time as they suffered a 3rd successive defeat in all competitions for the primary time in six-and-a-half years.

They wasted probabilities within the opening half an hour, solely having Phil Foden’s fourth-minute objective to point out for his or her dominance, then Haaland blasted a penalty in opposition to the bar when he had the possibility to drag it again to 3-2.

Accidents are clearly having an impression, notably in defence with teenager Jahmai Simpson-Pusey making his first senior begin on the again. With 73 per cent possession and 20 pictures to 9, it’s not as if Metropolis had been outplayed, removed from it.

However they are surely lacking Rodri, who might change into a extra deserved winner of the Ballon d’Or in some individuals’s eyes by advantage of not enjoying.

Talking of which…

Vinicius Jr. stood tall, then stood nonetheless

It was a blended night time for Vinicius Junior, who was having night when he levelled issues for Actual Madrid with a Panenka penalty, minutes after the Bernabeu had booed the Champions League anthem to precise their displeasure at him not successful the Ballon d’Or.

Vinicius Jr had gained the penalty himself from a foul by former Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal, however from then on Madrid melted and the sight of Vinicius Jr. stood fully nonetheless as an Aurelien Tchouameni move didn’t attain him (seconds later Milan had been 2-1 up) was one of many night time’s defining photos.

So too was Jude Bellingham kicking a water bottle in frustration after being substituted.

This was Madrid’s second defeat of the competitors in 4 video games (additionally they misplaced 1-0 at Lille) and, coming off the again of the 4-0 humiliation at house to Barcelona of their final league match, it encapsulates a season that’s threatening to unravel.

They are going to certainly nonetheless attain a minimum of a play-off for the final 16 with ease, however with a visit to Liverpool subsequent on Matchday 5, the often composed Carlo Ancelotti might have to start out sweating just a little.

Alonso’s Leverkusen stumbling as Slot’s Liverpool fly

Anfield isn’t a spot you need to should go and get a consequence proper now.

Liverpool maintained certainly one of solely two 100 per cent information within the new Champions League format (the opposite being *checks notes* Aston Villa, who go to Membership Bruges on Wednesday) with a serene 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

In distinction to Amorim, whose inventory is sky excessive as he prepares to maneuver to the Premier League, Xabi Alonso’s status is beginning to take just a little little bit of successful, simply months after he was touted as the perfect factor since sliced bread however resisted the temptation of a Premier League transfer.

Arne Slot obtained the Liverpool name as an alternative and the above stats mirror, but once more, how he has obtained this Liverpool workforce purring in a short time.

Luis Diaz scored a second half hat-trick together with a chip that might solely have appeared extra scrumptious with a dollop of mayonnaise on the top.

Slot and Liverpool are flying on the high of the Premier League and the Champions League. Alonso and Leverkusen had been by no means going to succeed in the impeccable heights of 2023-24, however the troublesome second-season syndrome is kicking in.

Tuesday’s outcomes

PSV 4 Girona 0
Slovan Bratislava 1 Dinamo Zagreb 4
Bologna 0 Monaco 1
Borussia Dortmund 1 Sturm Graz 0
Celtic 3 RB Leipzig 1
Lille 1 Juventus 1
Liverpool 4 Bayer Leverkusen 0
Actual Madrid 1 AC Milan 3
Sporting 4 Manchester Metropolis 1

What’s subsequent?

The remaining 9 fixtures for match-week 4 of the eight-round league part happen on Wednesday.

Membership Bruges vs Aston Villa (5.45pm BST/12.45pm ET)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Younger Boys (5.45pm BST/12.45pm ET)
Bayern Munich vs Benfica (8pm BST/3pm ET)
Feyenoord vs Crimson Bull Salzburg (8pm BST/3pm ET)
Inter Milan vs Arsenal (8pm BST/3pm ET)
Paris Saint-Germain vs Atletico Madrid (8pm BST/3pm ET)
Crimson Star Belgrade vs Barcelona (8pm BST/3pm ET)
Sparta Prague vs Brest (8pm BST/3pm ET)
Stuttgart vs Atalanta (8pm BST/3pm ET)

(Gualter Fatia/Getty Photos)

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