The big winners
The viewers. Barcelona v Paris Saint-Germain was the final many wanted last season. Wednesdayâ€s group-stage meeting showed why. The fixture did not disappoint, even if, with red tape delaying the opening of the renovated Camp Nou, it was played in the less atmospheric LluÃs Companys Stadium. Luis Enriqueâ€s young Parisians staged a comeback in Catalonia, thanks to their coachâ€s expert use of his squad. Senny Mayulu, 19, upstaged Lamine Yamal by scoring the equaliser – Wednesday was the first match this season Yamal had failed to either score or contribute to a goal. Instead, the resurgent Marcus Rashford set up Ferran Torresâ€s opener for Barça. PSG were shorn of Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the forward line that claimed last seasonâ€s crown. No matter: 23-year-old Bradley Barcola stepped up as the senior forward and ravaged Hansi Flickâ€s high-line, high-wire defence. The youngsters kept coming for PSG: 17-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye was replaced by another teenager, Quentin Ndjantou, to play alongside the lively Lee Kang-in. In the end, Achraf Hakimi supplied the assist for Gonçalo Ramos, another sub, to score the 90th minute winner and inflict Barcelonaâ€s first loss this season. “If youâ€re the best team, you have to show it on the pitch, and not talk,†said Ramos, who habitually scores late goals off the bench. “We are the champions of Europe.â€
Marseille. The French club were the inaugural winners of the rebadged Champions League in 1993, yet they have a troubled relationship with the competition. That triumph carries an asterisk: the club were stripped of their French title the same year for match fixing. This season, Roberto De Zerbiâ€s firebrand coaching could take them on a deep run. Having lost 2-1, and creditably, at Real Madrid and beaten PSG last week in Ligue 1, Marseille crushed another former winner in Ajax, 4-0 in a raucous Stade Velodrome. De Zerbiâ€s squad is a mix of waifs and strays, many familiar to Premier League audiences. Against Ajax, Mason Greenwood repeated his influential showing in Madrid. His goal followed Brazilian partner Igor Paixãoâ€s early double. The fourth came from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who is still enjoying his football at the age of 36. De Zerbi, usually a terse taskmaster, was gushing: “I like the way my players work, the fun they have, and the relationship they create with the fans.â€
Manchester United are nowhere near this seasonâ€s competition but Napoliâ€s Rasmus Højlund is the latest player to thrive once no longer weighed down by the red shirt. Two goals from the Dane, banished to the “bomb squad†by Ruben Amorim last season, showed why United paid Atalanta £68m for him in 2023 (and why United will take a £26m hit should his loan to Napoli be made permanent). Another former Manchester resident, Kevin De Bruyne, supplied two laser-guided assists in Napoliâ€s 2-1 win over Sporting. “Kevin is a legend of this sport and when he has the ball, I know that with his quality he will always put it perfectly for me,†said Højlund.
Player of the week
Jens Petter Hauge, Bodø/Glimt. It took a late own-goal to deny Bodo/Glimt the victory over Tottenham they probably deserved. Hauge, a star of the Norwegian clubâ€s run to last seasonâ€s Europa League semi-final after returning to his home town from spells at Milan and Eintracht Frankfurt, scored twice against Spurs this week. Both goals saw him cutting in from the wing to lash home.
They said it
“I know Iâ€ve played poorly in some matches, I am aware of it. Iâ€m not hiding … People can say many things about me, but under no circumstances can they say that I refuse to play. I have given everything, and even more, for this club. Iâ€ve played through fractures, injuries, and never once have I complained or asked for a rest. I have a good relationship with the coach, which gives me the confidence to tell him which position I prefer … always, Iâ€ve made it clear that I am available to play in any position, in any away game, and in every match.†Federico Valverde, a non-playing sub in Real Madridâ€s win at Kairat, takes to social media to deny rumours of a rift with Xabi Alonso and refusing to play at right-back in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal.
The punditâ€s chair
“Right now, he needs to come out of the team, Liverpool need to go back to what they were last season, and try to build some confidence and some stability. Right now it looks like a mess.†Jamie Carragherâ€s takedown of Liverpool summer signing Florian Wirtz on CBS, following their 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray.
Looking ahead
Among the teams on two wins from two are Qarabag, who beat FC Copenhagen 2-0 in Baku after victory over Benfica in Portugal in their opener. Qurban Qurbanov is a legend of Azerbaijani football, a goal-plundering forward turned coach of the Land of Fireâ€s serial champions, his reign stretching to 17 years. The clubâ€s first group stage appearance since 2017-18, only their second overall, could hardly be going better. Next up for Qarabag, Athletic Club, who are on zero points after their 4-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund. Can Qurbanovâ€s men go three for three?
Two players coming into form are Arsenalâ€s Martin Ødegaard, full of creativity against Olympiakos on Wednesday, and Julián Alvarez, who starred in Atlético Madridâ€s weekend derby crushing of Real Madrid. The Argentinian scored a late penalty in Tuesdayâ€s 5-1 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt. When Atlético visit the Emirates later this month, there will be a familiar face in the directors†box. Andrea Berta, the sporting director who signed the players for Diego Simeoneâ€s Atléti dynasty, now heads Arsenalâ€s transfer business.
Real Madrid v Juventus is a history-laden meeting of two of the most haughty members of European footballâ€s elite. The 1998 and 2017 finals were both won by the Spanish club though Juve have won 10 of the 21 meetings in Uefa competition to Madridâ€s nine. Madrid won their most recent meeting, 1-0 in Miami, during the summerâ€s Club World Cup.
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