Champions League
Napoli – Liverpool: solid and persistent Napoli score well-deserved late goal to defeat lackluster Liverpool (1-0)
Carlo Ancelotti, an old fox of European competitions, tweaked his usual game plan to give Napoli an improved buildup structure and defensive solidity against Liverpool’s pressing
Tottenham Hotspur – FC Barcelona: Magical Messi Capitalizes On Individual Mistakes To Deliver A Thrilling Victory For Barcelona (2-4)
Tottenham were willing to take the game to Barcelona from the first minute until the last, but were undone by repeated individual errors. Lionel Messi, never
PSV Eindhoven – Internazionale: Inter dominate the ball, but fail to impress against PSV’s young guns (1-2)
Despite a lot of possession and shots, Inter failed to create high quality offense and even fell behind. PSV were eventually outdone in crucial moments and
Manchester United – Valencia: Mourinho’s side stumble to draw against organised Valencia (0-0)
Manchester United may not have lost this match, but José Mourinho’s side looked second best for significant spells of the game. Valencia exploited United’s man-marking system
Bayern Munich – Ajax: visitors from Amsterdam close to major upset (1-1)
After dropping points in two consecutive Bundesliga matches – a shock, by the lofty standards for the German Rekordmeister – Bayern almost lost at home to
Hoffenheim – Manchester City: Disciplined Hoffenheim give City a true run for their money (1-2)
An inexperienced Hoffenheim side did everything they could to fend off Pep Guardiola’s brilliant Manchester City. After an opening goal after 44 seconds, Hoffenheim sat back
Real Madrid – AS Roma: Real revisits midfield diamond to outclass Roma (3-0)
Real Madrid goes back to Zidane-esque tactics to outclass a confused AS Roma. Real achieved an overwhelming 3-0 victory through great moments in both possession and
Manchester City – Olympique Lyon: uncharacteristically sloppy City gets punished by well-organised Lyon (1-2)
Manchester City put in a once-in-a-blue-moon performance, as they were defeated 2-1 at home by Olympique Lyon in their opening Champions League fixture of the season.
Ajax – AEK Athens: Ajax celebrate return to Champions League with second half demolition of Greek champions (3-0)
AEK Athens was able to frustrate Ajax in the Johan Cruijff ArenA for exactly one half. After a quick opening goal after halftime, Ajax showed its
FC Barcelona – PSV Eindhoven: Barcelona puts up big score, but shows vulnerabilities (4-0)
PSV Eindhoven occasionally showed their teeth and caused problems when FC Barcelona had to transition from attack to defense. Even though the gap in quality was