Get caught up with the best that the UEFA Champions and Europa Leagues had to offer in their most recent matchdays with our latest European Week in Review.
After almost a month away, it felt like a breath of fresh air to have midweek European football on the agenda again, and boy was it back with a bang. Each day brought us something to marvel at and there was no shortage of talking points. With only six match weeks in the group stage for the Conference League, we’ll only have two competitions to cover in this edition.
This is your penultimate European Week in Review, and we know you’ll miss us — but for now, tuck into the best of everything Champions and Europa League from this week!
Best of Tuesday
Atalanta 5-0 Sturm Graz: A five-star performance gives Giasperini’s men a great chance to head straight to the Round of 16.
Bologna 2-1 Dortmund: BvB fumbled massively against already eliminated opposition.
AS Monaco 1-0 Aston Villa: Monaco come out on top in a proper top-10 scrap.
Best of Wednesday
Feyenoord 3-0 Bayern: Feyenoord leapfrog their opponents and drag the Bundesliga frontrunners into potential final-day drama.
Celtic 1-0 Young Boys: A late Celtic goal confirms their spot in the knockout stage for the first time in over a decade.
PSG 4-2 Manchester City: Neves and Barcola sent City to the brink of elimination.
Best of Thursday
TSG Hoffenheim 2-3 Tottenham: Spurs survive a late scare to remain in the top eight.
Lazio 3-1 Real Sociedad: The league leaders continue showing superiority.
Manchester United 2-1 Rangers: Bruno Fernandes saves United’s blushes and keeps them firmly in the automatic places.
Game of the Week
Benfica vs. Barcelona
This was the most difficult week for choosing a game for this section. Atletico vs. Leverkusen was cinema and PSG vs. City had twists galore; but Ian Darke’s commentary in Lisbon said it best.
“If there’s a better game in this Champions League campaign this season we’ll be lucky.”
The first two minutes of this one should’ve been an indicator to everyone of how it would play out. Benfica’s Alvaro Carreras picked up the ball down the left flank and fired in a gorgeous cross for the big Greek Vangelis Pavlidis to blast it home sensationally on the half-volley.
However, it wouldn’t be long before Robert Lewandowski had his say after VAR spotted a foul on Alejandro Balde in the box. Lewandowski has been on a tear in the UCL this season and his near-perfect record from the spot continued as he slotted home his eighth goal of the campaign inside the opening 13 minutes.
Shortly after, Benfica reestablished their lead. A horrific misjudgment from Wojciech Szczęsny saw him clatter into Balde 40 yards from his own goal and allow Pavlidis to virtually walk his second goal into the net in the 20th minute.
The night went from bad to worse for Barça’s keeper. Not even 10 minutes later, he flew off his line to foul Kerem Aktürkoğlu, presenting Pavlidis with an opportunity for a first-half hat-trick. The striker snapped up the opportunity from the spot, leading Benfica into halftime with the unlikeliest of 3-1 leads, but things would only get crazier from here.
The most bizarre goal of the night came when Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin looked to play a long ball, but instead fired his pass directly onto the head of Raphina who, intentionally or not, sent the ball flying back into the goal just after the hour mark. Somehow, Barcelona just couldn’t keep the hosts out and Benfica’s two-goal lead was restored by a Ronald Araujo own goal five minutes later.
What followed was 15 minutes of Blaugrana euphoria to end the game. Carreras’ inexperience got the better of him in the 75th minute when he dragged down Lamine Yamal inside the box, and you know what happened next. The UCL top scorer Lewandowski converted from the spot once more, and Barça had a lifeline. Five minutes from time, Pedri, who was sublime in the second half, picked out the assist of the day with a gorgeous lofted pass to the back post which Eric Garcia headed home.
The drama came to its climax in the 95th minute as Benfica felt they were robbed of a stonewall penalty on one end, but as the players in red protested, Barça played on and a long ball forward found Raphina, who was made to lead one last counterattack all on his own. If you know anything about Raphina this season, that wouldn’t be an issue. The Brazillian picked up the ball on the half line and drove all the way downfield before cutting inside and slotting home the visitor’s third goal in the last 15 minutes. A goal that secured their automatic spot to the next round.
Top Storyline, Champions League: Final Day Carnage is Imminent
One matchday to go! 😲#UCL pic.twitter.com/jEYfEM9kTC
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 22, 2025
The new format of the UEFA competitions has been the subject of discussion for this campaign, for better or worse. One undeniable fact however, is that it’s set us up for potentially one of the most insane, action-packed final days in UCL first-round history.
All 18 fixtures will kick off simultaneously next week, in the beautiful game’s equivalent to NFL Redzone. It will be nigh on impossible for even the most scrupulous fan to keep an eye on all the action and storylines.
This week alone, there were great games galore. PSG vs. Man City in particular probably had the biggest implications on the cinema we’re likely to experience next week. These are just two examples of the prevalence of massive clubs we’ve seen underperform massively in the Champions League this campaign, and we could still see one or two huge names miss out.
With so many juggernauts fighting for the minor places, we could be staring down the barrel of a matchup between Liverpool or Barcelona versus Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, or Juventus.
Bring. It. On.
Best Moments of the Week
Atletico’s Simeone Masterclass
If I asked you to think about a victory that would typify a Diego Simeone team, what would you include? Gritty defending? Brilliance on the break? A valiant comeback? A red card maybe?
This game had all of the above and more.
In previous weeks, we’ve gushed about Atletico’s frontmen and how important Julián Álvarez and Antoine Griezmann have been for the success that they have enjoyed this season. Even so, Tuesday night was all about Álvarez.
Los Colchoneros were reduced to 10 men inside the first half-hour when Pablo Barrios was sent off. Against a team as possession-dominant as Bayer Leverkusen, you can imagine how the remainder of the first half played out.
Piero Hincapié gave Leverkusen the lead on the stroke of halftime, but whatever Simeone told his charges in the 15-minute break transformed them. A sensational effort from Álvarez in the 52nd minute to blast by the Leverkusen defense saw them level before Hincapié received his marching orders for a second yellow card offense with a quarter of the game to play.
With the playing field level once more, and the Metropolitano stadium behind them, Atleti pushed for the winner; and it was always going to be that man. Álvarez rounded the goalkeeper in the 89th minute and slotted home his sixth UCL goal of the season, giving his side their fourth UCL win on the bounce and moving them into fifth in the table.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s Sensational Return to Management
He’d gained the reputation of rocking up to games where his team is expected to lose and leaving with all three points. Thursday night was no different for the former Manchester United boss in his first time on the touchlines since his painful exit from Old Trafford.
Solskjær was appointed as Beşiktaş manager not even a full week before his new team was set to wage war against one of the few remaining undefeated teams in the Europa League. Athletic Club, who also sit fourth in La Liga just seven points off leaders Real Madrid, have been imperious this season, boasting one of Spain’s meanest defenses and amassing 16 points from a maximum of 18 in the Europa League to that point.
For a manager who was often criticized for not having a concrete “style of play,” his side came out playing some football eerily similar to the best of his United days.
Milot Rashica’s opening goal was the picture-perfect Ole counterattack and set the tone for the rest of the game. A sweeping move from back to front with lovely one-touch play to set up an absolute rocket from the edge of the box. Athletic would equalize on the stroke of halftime but a second-half flurry from the Black Eagles ensured that they stayed alive in the chase for the playoffs.
In the end, Beşiktaş created six big chances and ran out 4-1 winners on the night in a hotly contested match, with Black Eagles fans undoubtedly salivating at the prospect of seeing more “Ole Ball” in Tüpraş Stadium.
As Things Stand, UEFA Champions League
League Leaders: Liverpool (+13 goal differential)
Top Scorer: Robert Lewandowski (9)
Assist Leader: Charles De Ketelaere (5)
Bottom of the table: Young Boys
As Things Stand, UEFA Europa League
League Leaders: Lazio (+13 goal differential)
Top Scorer: Barnabás Varga (5)
Assist Leader: Dries Mertens (6)
Bottom of the table: Dynamo Kyiv
