Midterm Grading: Winners & Losers of UEFA Champions League Matchdays 1-3
By: Anthony Tazbaz
Image Credit: Janosch Diggelmann
It is time to take out the pens and start grading the first half of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage!
UCL Matchday 3 is officially in the books, and there are many matches to cover, several of which included impressive performances, from the first minute until the last second of stoppage time.
Tuesday's matches consisted of multiple low scoring matches, with the Galatasaray-Bayern Munich game being the only duel consisting of more than three goals (3-1 Bayern victory). As a result, at least each matchup remained closely contested.
Wednesday's matches comprised far more decisive results, from Paris Saint-Germain's 3-0 victory against AC Milan at the Parc des Princes in Group F to Porto's 4-1 away victory against Royal Antwerp in Group H action.
A Deeper Look
In other Group F action, Borussia Dortmund continue a strong run of form after defeating Newcastle United at St. James' Park 1-0, a venue where PSG crumbled. This win marks Dortmund's third consecutive victory and a fifth in the club's last six matches. The German outfit's only loss this season in all competitions came in the UCL opener against PSG.
For a moment, Manchester City also seemed to have failed to secure all three points against Swiss champions BSC Young Boys in the Helvetic capital. After Swiss international Manuel Akanji scored the opener at the 48th minute, Meschak Elia equalized for the home side. It took an Erling Haaland penalty and a late goal by the Norwegian star to secure all three points and for the defending UCL champions to keep a perfect record.
Lazio continue its rough start to the 2023-24 campaign after losing 3-1 against Dutch giants Feyenoord at De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam. Feyenoord Santiago Gimenez's extended his emphatic form after a brace against the Roman club, putting him at 15 goals in all competitions. Gimenez also leads the Eredivisie jointly with 13 goals.
Winners
Now let's determine the top three winners of the first half of the group stage, shall we?
Galatasaray: Despite losing 3-1 at home against Bayern Munich, the Turkish club achieved an impressive comeback draw against Copenhagen and an impressive 3-2 victory against Manchester United. Currently in second place of Group A, Galatasaray is in prime position to maintain that second position to advance to the Round of 16.
RC Lens: Although Lens has so far failed to replicate its winning form in Ligue 1 from last season, the French club maintains an undefeated record in Europe's top competition. An away draw against 2nd place favourites Sevilla FC and a 2-1 victory against group favourites and English giants Arsenal FC sent shockwaves across Europe. A recent 1-1 home draw against Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven ensured that Lens would finish as one of the most (if not the most) surprising club performances of the competition. Lens will be competing fiercely with each club for either the first, second or third position in Group B.
Paris Saint-Germain: Despite losing 4-1 against Newcastle United at St. James' Park, winning 3-0 against AC Milan this past week sent the French club back to the top of Group F, known as the "group of death". Young prodigy and academy product Warren Zaire Emery is becoming an incredibly special player and leader, whereas highly touted South Korean international Kang-in Lee scored his highly anticipated first goal for the club. Despite maintaining the top position, suppose we could credit Borussia Dortmund for achieving victory in a venue where PSG craves a second chance to play.
Losers
And now the losers.
Union Berlin: The club's first UCL appearance is not going as many hoped. Three losses — two in stoppage-time and most recently 1-0 at home against Napoli — place the German club at the very bottom of Group C. Worse, Union is now winless in 10 consecutive matches, a nightmare stretch of matches suffered by a club who performed so well and took the Bundesliga and European football by storm last season. Considering Real Madrid and Napoli are highly likely to qualify for the Round of 16, SC Braga undoubtedly has the upper hand on Union to qualify for the Europa League due to the club's strong performances in both wins and losses. Defeating the German club in a remontada with a stoppage time winner also gives them the confidence and bragging rights over its German counterpart.
SL Benfica: Similar to Union Berlin, Benfica also concluded the first half of the 2023-24 UCL Group Stage without a single point. As basement dwellers of Group D, Benfica has also yet to score a goal, losing 2-0 at home against Red Bull Salzburg, 1-0 at the San Siro against Inter Milan and 1-0 at home against Real Sociedad. While the club's roster is quite different to last year's pre-World Cup UCL run, where the club topped the group ahead of the likes of PSG and Juventus. With both Real Sociedad and Inter Milan accumulating seven points for the top two positions, it seems almost impossible for last year's quarterfinalists to attempt a comeback to return to the Round of 16. Never say never though!
AC Milan: Entering the tournament with a re-tooled squad and high hopes of winning Serie A and establishing supremacy in the Champions League — especially after last year's run to the semifinals and losing to bitter local rivals Inter Milan 3-0 on aggregate — the club has bottomed the "group of death" after the first half of the UCL campaign. Similar to Benfica, AC Milan has yet to score a goal after drawing 0-0 against Newcastle at home and Dortmund away. However, the club's 3-0 defeat against PSG may force certain supporters and executives to start pondering manager Stefano Pioli's future at the club. Should these results persist, Mr. Pioli will certainly start preparing for a rainy day.
At the End of the Day
Despite being lopsided favourites, praise should nevertheless be given to Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City and FC Barcelona for their perfect records so far in the competition. Each club is also in prime position to finish first in their respective groups since each of these groups have yet to see a genuine threat to these clubs' supremacy.
Moreover, despite PSG's resurgence and Milan's sliding form, the fates of the clubs in Group F remain up in the air. Dortmund's four points — tied with Newcastle — will be something to look at when determining who could finish second. Both clubs also sit only two points behind PSG and two ahead of Milan. A win for any club would be massive in their pursuit for the knockout stage. However, one thing is for sure: Milan can no longer afford to drop points.
Group E may be the most underrated cohort of the UCL so far, with Feyenoord leading with six points, Atlético Madrid trailing behind with five and Lazio with four. Celtic's recent 2-2 draw against Madrid put Celtic on the board with a first point in the campaign and prevented the Spanish heavyweights from ascending to first in the group. Feyenoord may be that club (perhaps along Real Sociedad) to top a group and obtain home field advantage in the knockout stage. Either way, the one club in this group going down to Europa League will become a strong favourite to go all the way in Europe's second most prestigious competition.
Stay tuned for the fourth matchday in two weeks from now, and the following evaluation in three newsletters from today! The evaluation for the second half of the UCL Group Stage will take place mid-December, once the entire group stage draws to a conclusion.
