The European Week in Review, Pt. 8

By
Lyle-Anthony Golding
-

Get caught up with the jam packed final day of the UEFA Champions and Europa League opening phase with our latest European Week in Review.

The league phase has finally drawn to a close in the UEFA Champions and Europa Leagues, and it’s been the longest and most action-packed opening stage of these competitions that we’ve ever seen. With a ridiculous 36 European games over two days, it’s practically impossible to fit everything into this roundup — it doesn’t mean we won’t try though.

In keeping with the new format of the European competitions, we’ll have a new format for these reviews going forward into the knockout phase; so for the final time, here’s the pick of the bunch for the league phase finale of the UEFA Champions and Europa Leagues.

Best of Wednesday

Juventus 0-2 Benfica: The Old Lady ended a precarious campaign just one point above elimination.

Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic: Morgan Rogers is too cold.

Man City 3-1 Club Brugge: The Premier League champions save themselves from massive embarrassment.

Barca 2-2 Atalanta: An Ederson super-goal wasn’t enough for Atalanta as they lost their spot in the top eight.

Best of Thursday

Rangers 2-1 USG: The Ibrox atmosphere willed Rangers over the line.

Tottenham 3-0 IF Elfsborg: Spurs’ young guns fire them into the top eight.

Braga 1-0 Lazio: Braga missed out on goal differential despite beating the league leaders.

Anderlecht 3-4 Hoffenheim: The Germans’ superb second half isn’t enough to see them through.

Game of the Week: Dinamo Zagreb vs. Milan

Milan’s performances in the UCL this season were extremely admirable, and a win on the night would’ve booked their slot straight into the round of 16. Their opponents? Dinamo Zagreb, who entered the match with only two wins and eight points, and were fresh off a 3-0 loss to Arsenal last match week. It seems straightforward enough, right?

Well, 18 minutes in Matteo Gabbia made things a whole lot harder, as under little-to-no-pressure in his own half, he slipped at the crucial moment, fumbling his touch and presenting Martin Baturina with a 1v1 opportunity, which the 21-year-old finished with aplomb.

Milan’s capitulation continued shortly before halftime, when American Yunus Musah was shown his second yellow card for a completely unnecessary foul in transition. What should’ve been a straightforward game for Milan had turned into a nightmare of an opening 45 minutes.

Despite the adversity, Milan have given themselves a reputation this season of fighting out of holes that they’ve dug for themselves, and in the 52nd minute, Christian Pulisic came up trumps once again with a hugely important goal to pull the 10 men level with his fourth UCL score of the season. At that moment Milan was back in the top eight — but celebrations were cut short when three minutes later, Sandro Kulenović seemingly put Dinamo back up, only for the offside flag to go up.

However, the hosts would not be denied on the hour mark. Marko Pjaca had the ball fired to his feet inside the box and followed up his sumptuous first touch with a scintillating second, sending the ball soaring past Mike Maignan and restoring Zagreb’s lead. A lead that they would not relinquish despite Milan’s best efforts and eight minutes of additional time played, making it the final match to end in the UCL league phase, and we couldn’t think of a better one to typify the three months of unceasing drama.

Top Storyline of the Week: The League Format is a Massive Hit

In years past, top teams would generally be protected by their seeding, and barring the odd group of death placement, would have generally favorable group stage odds. While overall this made the knockout phase ultra exciting, with huge matchups wherever you looked, at times the group stages could fall flat.

On the contrary this year, nigh on every minute of the league phase has been must-see TV. Many were wary at the notion of big teams squaring off so early, claiming that it would diminish the anticipation for the later stages of the tournament. While I can admit that it became difficult at times to follow all the massive games on offer each week, the pros of this format outweighed the cons.

These huge matchups meant teams were afforded fewer opportunities to rest their stars and were kept on their toes from game one to game eight. When you look at the top of the leagues, in general, the cream rose to the top, but there are certainly outliers.

Teams like Feyenoord, Monaco, and most remarkably Stade Brestois, all finished above Juventus, Manchester City, and Leipzig. The reigning title holders Real Madrid will be forced to contest the playoffs while Lille and Aston Villa enjoy the valuable additional rest as their brilliant final day wins fired them into the top eight.

In the Europa League, we saw a similar story. Teams like Dynamo Kyiv and Beşiktaş miss out on the knockout phase completely, while Porto, Roma, and Ajax, among others, will have to battle through the playoffs.

All three British teams avoided a two-legged playoff by securing their spot in the top eight. On the final day, Tottenham, Rangers, and Manchester United all won, with the Red Devils ending the league phase as the only team across the UCL and UEL to remain unbeaten. The league phase giveth and the league phase taketh away.

Some of the best moments of both days came at the end of games when teams and fans huddled waiting anxiously for results elsewhere. There was drama right until the end.

Give credit where credit is due, the league phase works and works brilliantly.

Best Moments and Performances of the Week

Morgan Rogers

From playing in the Championship just over a year ago to starring in the Champions League in 2025, this was the crescendo of Morgan Rogers’ young career so far.

He didn’t waste much time either. Not even five minutes had passed when he slapped his second goal into the top corner and sent Villa Park into raptures, and his performance for the entire 90-plus minutes was outstanding.

In a game where Celtic threw everything at the hosts, Rogers never shied away from the ball, never hid from the moment, and was rewarded in the dying embers with his goal to secure a UEFA Champions League hat trick.

His man-of-the-match display ensured Villa booked their spot straight into the round of 16 and showed the world that he’s ready to take the step to superstardom.

Ousmane Dembele’s Heroics

PSG’s mettle was set to be tested for the second straight week after their huge win against Manchester City in match week seven. They stared down the barrel of a dangerous showdown with a Stuttgart side who were in the same boat; win and you’re in.

Bradley Barcola opened the scoring, but Ousmane Dembele would dominate the rest of the proceedings. A simple finish for his first goal was followed by a thunderbolt of a second from the right flank, his shot having far too much power for Fabian Bredlow to even get near it. Yet he somehow outdid himself to seal his hat trick.

A sweeping PSG attack from right to left with Dembele at its core, his cheeky backheel found Achraf Hakimi in the half space before he fired the return pass straight into the top corner without a second thought. The Frenchman stepped up when his team needed it most and deserves huge plaudits.

Final Standings, Champions League

Top of the Table: Liverpool (+13 goal differential)

Top Scorer: Robert Lewandowski and Serhou Guirassy (9)

Assist Leader: Charles De Ketelaere (5)

Bottom of the table: Young Boys

Final Standings, Europa League

Top of the Table: Lazio (+12 goal differential)

Top Scorer: Ayoub El Kaabi (7)

Assist Leader: Dries Mertens (6)

Bottom of the table: Qarabağ FK

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Leave a Reply