Winners & Losers of UEFA Champions League Matchday 1
By: Anthony Tazbaz
Image Credit: Janosch Diggelmann
It is time to take out the pens and start grading!
Champions League Matchday 1 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 were highlighted by highly anticipated matchups in Group F, also known as the 'group of death' (AC Milan vs Newcastle United, and Paris Saint-Germain vs Borussia Dortmund). In Group E , Lazio supporters managed to witness their goalkeeper score (yes, you heard that right) a stoppage time equalizer to steal a late point against Atlético Madrid.
Wednesday's matches included a late Jude Bellingham goal for Real Madrid against Union Berlin, and a highly entertaining contest between Bayern Munich and Manchester United at the Allianz Arena. Bayern came on top 4-3, despite a late comeback by Casemiro and Manchester United.
A Deep Dive
The opening matchday also included a pair of blowout wins for Barcelona and Arsenal; 5-0 against Antwerp, and 4-0 against PSV Eindhoven, respectively. Other results include 3-1 wins on Tuesday for Manchester City (vs Red Star Belgrade) and Porto (vs Shakhtar Donetsk).
Other results which flew under the radar include 1-1 draws between Inter Milan and Real Sociedad, and between Sevilla and RC Lens, last year's runners up in Ligue 1 behind PSG.
However, the most underrated result undoubtedly came in Türkiye, where Galatasaray erased a two-goal deficit against FC Copenhagen. Putting the score aside, the match itself delivered impressive performances by many players and included several key opportunities.
Winners
Now let's determine the top three winners, shall we?
PSG: In an incredibly difficult group and coming off a 3-2 home loss against OGC Nice during the previous weekend, the Parisians exhibited a solid performance against the defending German runners-up. It is also a major win for Paris, considering that the other Group F match finished in a goalless draw, effectively putting PSG at the top of the group.
Julian Alvarez: The young and prolific Argentinian forward put himself on the score sheet twice, ultimately stealing the spotlight from Ballon d'Or hopeful Erling Haaland. Despite being amongst a pool of incredibly talented and experienced forwards, the young prodigy is excelling at the top level. He will undoubtedly become a top forward and a candidate for golden boot awards and perhaps the Ballon d'Or.
Jude Bellingham and Real Madrid: The world class English midfielder continues his incredible run at his new club after scoring the lone goal in stoppage time. Despite scoring a scrappy goal, Bellingham had a solid performance against an ambitious Union Berlin squad. The lone goal allows Real Madrid to sit second in the Group C table, only behind Napoli due to having one less goal scored than their Italian counterpart.
Losers
And now the losers.
AC Milan: Hosting a highly anticipated match at home against Newcastle United - playing in the Champions League for the first time since 2003 - the Rossoneri failed to break the deadlock, resulting in two points dropped. As Newcastle parked the bus and played very defensively, Milan had multiple occasions, including a Rafael Leão howler where he completely missed his shot in the middle of the box.
Atlético Madrid: While Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provodel could definitely be a winner in this evaluation, Atlético Madrid will fall in this edition's loser category due to Provodel. This result will certainly be perceived as two points dropped for the Spanish side.
Manchester United: Amid their rocky start to the season, the Red Devils' terrible start to their matchup against Bayern Munich proved costly. Despite nearly completing the comeback, the attempt - led by Brazilian midfielder Casemiro - proved too little, too late.
At the End of the Day
It is too early to make solid predictions regarding group winners and runners up. It is definitely too early to also determine the candidates going to the Europa League come February.
However, these results could prove to be a potential difference between one club advancing to the Round of 16, and another going to Europa League or even fully crashing out of this season's UEFA competitions.
Stay tuned for the second matchday next week, and the following evaluation in two newsletters from today!
