Champions League

PSV Eindhoven – FC Barcelona: Messi decides a close-fought, high-tempo game that Barcelona failed to control (1-2)
PSV successfully implemented a game plan with aggressive pressing and direct play towards their commanding striker Luuk de Jong, preventing Barcelona from controlling the game. This

Paris Saint-Germain – Liverpool: With kind regards from a little Italian (2-1)
You expect the game changer of PSG – Liverpool to have a Brazilian nationality (Neymar or Roberto Firmino), to be the best teenager in the world

Olympique Lyon – Manchester City: Lyon’s proactive defense once again proves too much to handle against uninspiring City attack (2-2)
In similar fashion to their big win at the Etihad Stadium two months ago, Bruno Génésio’s aggressive defensive approach paid dividends. Never looking to retreat at

Juventus – Valencia: Juve bein’ Juve, as one goal sees them through to the Champions League knockout phase (1-0)
Breaking into Valencia’s defense is not an easy task, but once Juventus got an opening goal, the match never seemed out of control for them. Thanks

Juventus – Manchester United: United’s undeserved win covers up repeating defensive problems (1-2)
The free-roaming forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala never gave United’s midfield a moment’s rest, whilst the ever-brilliant Rodrigo Bentancur continued to shine, this time in

Benfica – Ajax: heavy-pressing Benfica dominates initially, but moment of Ziyech magic gives Ajax crucial point (1-1)
For the second time in two weeks, Ajax and Benfica prove to be very evenly matched teams. Where the first meeting between these two sides was

SSC Napoli – Paris Saint-Germain: Napoli come to life after the break and draw with Neymar-dependent PSG (1-1)
The group to watch in this season’s Champions League edition is definitely group C. Liverpool’s shock defeat away against Crvena Zvezda – two hours before PSG

Borussia Dortmund – Atlético Madrid: Dortmund surprisingly crush Atlético thanks to dominant play from wings (4-0)
It turns out Borussia Dortmund can score just fine without their scorching hot striker, Paco Alcácer. Lucien Favre’s decision to start Marco Reus as a defensive

FC Barcelona – Internazionale (2-0): Messi-less Barcelona dominate both the conservative and high-pressing sides of Inter’s game
Barcelona’s new “Arthur-system” passed a difficult test by dominating Internazionale even without Messi, as Barcelona showed both defensive stability and an intelligent attack. Inter shifted from

Paris Saint-Germain – SSC Napoli: Tuchel’s testing almost costs PSG dearly against Napoli (2-2)
PSG manager Thomas Tuchel takes a fascinating path in his aim to win the club’s first Champions League title. For the third time this season, PSG