UCL: What To Look Out For In Every Matchday 5 Game On Tuesday
The league phase of the UEFA Champions League has reached its midway point and the second half kicks off on 26/27 November.
Here are the details the key talking points and the stats as the 36 teams look to plot their courses toward the knockout stages.
Tuesday 26 November
Slovan Bratislava vs AC Milan
Slovan are one of five sides still searching for their first points in this season’s competition following a 4-1 home defeat to GNK Dinamo on Matchday 4.
With tough fixtures against the likes of Atleti and Bayern still to come, the Slovakian side’s situation is a tricky one, but their captain Marko Tolić urged them to “start learning from these more experienced teams” in order to improve.
One of the teams he may have indirectly been talking about are Milan, who enjoyed a memorable night at the Bernabéu on Matchday 4, beating reigning champions Real Madrid for the first time in 15 years with a well-earned 3-1 win.
“When we perform like 11 lions on the pitch it’s hard for anyone to beat us,” beamed goalscorer Álvaro Morata after the game, and if Milan are able to replicate that fine showing in Madrid they could be on course to record a third straight victory in the league phase.
Sparta Praha vs Atlético de Madrid
After amassing an impressive four points from their opening two games Sparta’s form has dipped, with a 5-0 defeat to Manchester City followed up by a 2-1 loss to high-flying Brest on Matchday 4.
Coach Lars Friis believes his side need to get back to the basics, saying after the Brest match: “It was a game of mistakes, we made too many of them to get anything out of that. The quality and our decision-making were not on the level required in Champions League.”
The Czech champions are certainly likely to see any errors punished against an Atlético side that will be buoyed by a superb smash-and-grab 2-1 away victory against Paris on Matchday 4, in which substitute Ángel Correa curled in a dramatic winner with the last kick of the game.
Coach Diego Simeone was delighted with the impact of his substitutes, saying: “I was pleased at being able to re-energise the side by bringing Samuel Lino, Correa and Reinildo on. We didn’t steer away from our plan, and we defended how we needed to.” Simeone may make full use of his squad again as he seeks a third league phase win.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Salzburg
Leverkusen are not used to losing. Xabi Alonso’s team had only tasted defeat twice since the start of last season before they were dismantled 4-0 by Liverpool on Matchday 4, and Robert Andrich is backing them to clear their heads again successfully here.
“The game started to get stretched and Liverpool then picked us off,” said the midfielder. “Seven points is fine and gives us every chance of progressing.”
Salzburg will be slightly envious of their opponent’s haul, though they did breathe life into their own campaign by breaking their duck with a fine 3-1 triumph at Feyenoord last time out.
“Now we have three points – when you get those, you’re hungry for more,” said two-goal striker Karim Konaté. “Since the start of the competition, we have been expecting to win matches. We kept working and knew that, either way, we were going to get points.”
Young Boys vs Atalanta
Young Boys are still searching for their first points after a narrow 2-1 reverse against Shakhtar and, though this looks a tricky assignment on paper, coach Joël Magnin insists a change in fortune could ignite their campaign.
“We took the lead [against Shakhtar] then Loris Benito became another important defender of ours to suffer an injury and we immediately conceded,” he noted. They will need to improve in front of goal though, the Swiss team having struck just once in the league phase.
Breaching the Atalanta defence will be a severe task though, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s side are yet to concede in their four games in the competition. Defender Isak Hien is desperate to keep that run going too.
“The secret is that we all fight to always keep a clean sheet,” he said. “It’s not only thanks to us defenders, but rather the whole starting XI and everyone who comes on. We made some jumps in the table but there are just a few points in it and we need to keep going.”
Barcelona vs Brest
Robert Lewandowski helped himself to two more goals in Barcelona’s 5-2 success at Crvena Zvezda and now sits on 99 Champions League goals. Coach Hansi Flick has nothing but praise for his striker as he attempts to become only the third player to reach a century in the competition after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. “Lewandowski is ambitious and that’s key,” he said. “He always wants more, game after game, and that’s rare to see.”
Unbeaten Brest stand in Lewandowski’s way and the French side sit higher than the Spanish giants in the standings after their 2-1 victory at Sparta Praha. Defender Kenny Lala believes they need to pull off a scalp here for Europe’s heavyweights to truly take notice of the competition debutants though.
“It is a good position for us,” he said. “We are not under pressure and are not talked much about but I think this may change soon.”
Bayern München vs Paris Saint-Germain
Jamal Musiala’s goal was enough to see Bayern past Benfica on Matchday 4 and the forward believes winning such tight games are important as another high-profile opponent heads to Munich this time around.
“It was very important to get three points,” he said. “We don’t have to win every game by four or five goals. Sometimes 1-0 is enough. We had to be patient. Now we carry on and look to the next game.”
Paris slipped into the elimination places thanks to a last-gasp defeat by Atleti and Marquinhos says they need to respond after backing themselves into a corner. “We are still not efficient enough. In big matches, against great players, you can get punished,” he said.
“We still have big games to play and we’re going to have to take points to qualify. We have to look for points away from home and we know how difficult that is. But we’re going to play the cards we’ve been dealt. It is in the final details where we must improve.”
Inter vs Leipzig
Along with Atalanta, Inter are the other side in the league phase still to concede following their 1-0 win over Arsenal, and that is one of the biggest plus points about their campaign so far according to Lautaro Martínez.
“We didn’t concede any goals and this is positive because in the [domestic] league we conceded too many,” said the Nerazzurri striker. “We are happy but must continue to raise the level. We want everything, the history of this club says so. I want to win everything.”
By contrast, Leipzig’s Christoph Baumgartner knows there is no room for error after they lost for the fourth successive time in the competition when going down 3-1 at Celtic last time out. “It’s going to be very difficult for us to progress now,” said the midfielder.
“We have been ahead in three games now and we’ve still lost them. You can’t make the mistakes we have made in the Champions League and get away with it.”
Manchester City vs Feyenoord
Pep Guardiola’s side were dealt a 4-1 Matchday 4 defeat by Rúben Amorim and his Sporting CP side in the Portuguese manager’s final home game before taking up his post with the Sky Blues’ rivals Manchester United.
Phil Foden’s early strike faded into obscurity after a Viktor Gyökeres hat-trick as Guardiola rued a lack of sharpness at both ends of the field. “We weren’t clinical enough,” the 53-year-old said. “When you give the ball away so easily, the transitions will be there for the opposition.”
Matchday 5 opponents Feyenoord are also looking to bounce back after losing 3-1 to Salzburg on home turf. “It’s a big disappointment, because we saw this game as hugely important for our campaign,” said defender Dávid Hancko.
The Rotterdam club have lost both of their previous two encounters with Man City, though, falling to a 1-0 defeat away and a 4-0 loss at home in the group stages of the 2017/18 Champions League.
Sporting CP vs Arsenal
João Pereira has big shoes to fill as he takes the reins from Rúben Amorim in the Champions League. His predecessor guided the Portuguese club to second in the league phase table, boasting an undefeated record of three wins and one draw.
The 40-year-old’s first Champions League fixture is a tricky one, too, taking on last season’s Premier League runners-up after Amorim dispatched the holders Manchester City on Matchday 4. “I think it was written that my farewell had to be like this,” the departing manager said after his final game at the Estádio José Alvalade. Pereira will hope for a storybook start to match Amorim’s fairy-tale finish.
The return of captain Martin Ødegaard from an ankle injury provided a silver lining on an otherwise cloudy day as Arsenal were defeated by Inter at the Stadio San Siro on Matchday 4. The Norway international was reintroduced in added time to aid Arsenal’s search for an equaliser after Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s first-half penalty, but to no avail. “Football is like that, we created some good opportunities but we did not put the ball in,” said winger Gabriel Martinelli.
