Catch up with the latest matchdays in the UEFA Champions, Europa, and Conference Leagues in the latest installment of The Urban Pitch European Week in Review!
We are now three weeks into the European football calendar, and the latest slate of matches displayed some absolutely brilliant football.
You know the drill by now — we’ll take you through all the best fixtures you can look back on, give you our game of the week, and run through this week’s biggest talking points on the Urban Pitch European Week in Review.
Best of Tuesday
Aston Villa 2-0 Bologna: Villa are a serious dark horse.
Juventus 0-1 Stuttgart: Sebastian Hoeneß masterclass.
AS Monaco 5-1 Red Star Belgrade: Monaco are making a case for themselves.
Best of Wednesday
Barcelona 4-1 Bayern: Raphina is a player reborn under Hansi Flick.
Atletico Madrid 1-3 Lille: David makes Atleti pay for missed chances.
Liverpool 1-0 Leipzig: Slot’s Liverpool just keep on rolling.
Best of Thursday
PAOK 2-2 Viktoria Plzeň: Sending off, last-minute equalizer, proper footy.
Lyon 0-1 Beşiktaş: Football is truly a game of margins.
Rangers 4-0 FCSB: A big blue wave.
Game of the Week: Real Madrid v. Dortmund
It’s really getting old at this point. Death, taxes, and Real Madrid coming up clutch in the Champions League.
A rematch of last year’s final sent a collective shock across Europe when Dortmund took an early 2-0 lead. Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens came up with the goals and both were moments of pure quality in a first half that up to that point was well in the balance. The champions did not take this lightly and the remainder of the first half was filled with Madrid chances, the biggest of which came when Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo both rattled the crossbar in quick succession.
In the 55th minute, the tone of the match shifted massively.
Dortmund manager Nuri Sahin elected to switch to a back five and look to solidify his defense and hold on to a result away at the European champions. On the face of it, you’d say it is a sensible decision — maybe a tad early, but you can understand the reasoning. But he and his side were made to pay.
Kylian Mbappe set up Antonio Rudiger for a bullet header before a predatory Vinicius Jr. drew the game level two minutes later. That moment truly kicked off the Vini show.
🇧🇷🤯 Vinicius Jr made an unbelievable solo run, topping it off with a brilliant finish against Borussia Dortmund! ⚡
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) October 23, 2024
Lucas Vasquez turned the game on its head and completed the comeback for Real with less than 10 minutes to play, but what followed was unreal. Vini picked the ball up in the 85th minute, midway into his own half and left every yellow and black shirt in his dust before sliding it into the bottom corner. It was a goal that very few players alive could dream to recreate, yet it wasn’t his best moment of the match.
The Brazilian sealed his hat trick in sensational fashion when he slid past multiple challenges, dropped his shoulder to ghost past the last man, and rifled the ball home off his weak foot.
It was a 90 minutes that served as a visceral reminder of just how good Vinicius Jr. is. He is the most unrelenting attacker in the world, and from kickoff to full time he never ceases his onslaught on opposing fullbacks. Things may not always come off for him, but like all great players, his short memory serves him well and rarely hesitates at the next opportunity.
Mbappe, arguably the best player on the planet, joined Madrid this summer, fulfilling his dream of donning a Los Blancos kit and following in the footsteps of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo. Every team in the world would build their squad around a player like him.
Yet in this team, so far at least, he’s the Robin to Vinicius Jr.’s Batman.
Top Storylines
Champions League: EPL Leading the Way
The top of the UCL table makes lovely reading for fans of English football. Aston Villa and Liverpool are joint top on nine points with Manchester City in third on seven. Arsenal are level on points with City, but their goal difference means that for now they sit in ninth.
What’s more impressive is that these sides have all faced stern opposition already. Villa disposed of Bayern, Liverpool put both Milan and Leipzig to the sword, City battled for a valuable point against Inter, and Arsenal made light work of PSG. Furthermore, only five teams have yet to concede a goal so far in the UCL, and three of them are Premier League teams.
Manchester City also wrote themselves into the history books this week by surpassing their local rivals Manchester United for the longest unbeaten streak in UCL history at 26 matches.
The debate over which of Europe’s top five leagues reigns supreme is never ending, but so far this season, England is where it’s at.
Europa League: This Tournament Runs Deep
How the league phase table is shaping up after Matchday 3 🥵#UEL pic.twitter.com/0JDGuDRp05
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) October 24, 2024
The Europa League is the most balanced of the three European competitions this season. Lazio, Tottenham, and Anderlecht are the only teams who remain perfect through three games, but the further down you look the more fascinating the scene becomes.
Strewn across the table are massive names. Big clubs that are doing well domestically but haven’t quite put it together in Europe yet, or teams that were expected to dominate but have underachieved. And then you have Manchester United, who are just a mess.
I believe the top three will all be there or thereabouts come the end of the league phase, but positions nine to 24 are where you should keep your eyes in this year’s Europa League. The playoff push will be captivating.
UEFA Conference League: A Spicy Midtable Battle
How the league phase table looks after MD2 👀#UECL pic.twitter.com/Bq8kfjxRyD
— UEFA Conference League (@europacnfleague) October 24, 2024
Last week, we established that there’s really only one place where you should put your money if you plan to bet on the UEFA Conference League, which is Chelsea. The Blues walked into a very tricky fixture away at Panathinaikos and comfortably handled the Greek side in a 4-1 win. They are currently joint top with nine teams on six points from two games, and are the competition’s top scorers with eight goals.
Consequently, much of the intrigue will come from the battle for playoff places which go to the teams placed ninth to 24th. There are still some big names yet to even get a point on the board in the Conference League, which has already begun to make matchups down the line all the more interesting. Real Betis, Copenhagen, and Panathinaikos all find themselves outside the playoffs with just a point thus far, while Başakşehir find themselves languishing near the bottom with zero points and a -7 goal differential.
Best Moments of the Week
Raphina Matches His Brazilian Teammate
We had to find somewhere to gush about this Raphina performance, and by extension his season. Vini stole headlines on Tuesday night, but his fellow countryman, also against stiff German competition, showed up and showed out.
Three wonderful goals were the highlight of a stellar team performance from the Blaugrana as they brushed aside a Bayern Munich squad that has widely impressed this season. Vincent Kompany was taken to school by Hansi Flick, whose side was absolutely lethal on the counterattack all night. Raphina was the spearhead for much of it.
The Barça captain is now up to nine goals and six assists in 13 games this season, but beyond the mind-blowing stats, his performances have been consistently world class. If he can continue in this vein, he’ll have his say in the next 12 months when it comes to Ballon d’Or discussions.
Aston Villa Remain Spotless
Three games played, six goals scored, zero conceded. It has been perfection in Europe thus far for Villa and their fans are on cloud nine. Coming into this season, even the most optimistic of Aston Villa supporters wouldn’t have predicted them to be in this position going into November; but this squad was carefully crafted for success on all fronts.
It helps that they have a mastermind of European knockout competition at the helm. Unai Emery has not misstepped this season in the EPL or UCL. The biggest talking point for him thus far has been his reluctance to place his force of nature Jhon Duran in the starting 11. Duran has been the epitome of a super sub this season — he’s started in just two of his 12 appearances across all competitions, yet still has managed to score seven goals. One of those two starts came in Tuesday’s win over Bologna, and he repaid his manager’s decision with a brilliant goal in the 64th minute.
Villa will have Juventus and Leipzig to come in their next three fixtures, but should this run of form continue, they could certainly secure an automatic qualifying spot to the knockouts.
As Things Stand: UEFA Champions League
League Leaders: Aston Villa (+6 goal differential)
Top Scorer: Harry Kane (5)
Assist Leader: Joshua Kimmich, Jeremie Frimpong (3)
Bottom of the Table: Slovan Bratislava
As Things Stand: UEFA Europa League
League Leaders: Lazio (+8 goal differential)
Top Scorer: Samu (4)
Assist Leader: Rayan Cherki (2)
Bottom of the Table: Qarabağ
As Things Stand: UEFA Conference League
League Leaders: Chelsea (+5 goal differential)
Top Scorer: Kevin Denkey (3)
Assist Leader: Kevin Denkey (3)
Bottom of the Table: Larne FC
