Continental Cup football: Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League

By Futbol Staff

Posted on November 28, 2024

Midweek football.
We are now past the midpoint of the league phase of Europe’s continental cup football tournaments.
Liverpool remain the only team with a perfect winning record in the Champions League by beating Real Madrid 2-0.
Lazio was the sole team with a perfect winning record in the Europa League, but after a goalless draw with Ludogorets Razgrad, they lost that status.
Chelsea, Heidenheim, Jagiellonia Białystok, Legia Warsaw, Rapid Wien, and Vitória de Guimarães were the teams maintaining perfect winning records in the Conference League, only Chelsea and Legia Warsaw are left after the round of games.

THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AFTER FIVE ROUNDS IN THE LEAGUE PHASE.

The Champions League midweek action delivered thrilling matches, with only one goalless game: Aston Villa vs. Juventus.
The Dutch clubs made late comebacks to avoid defeat—Feyenoord rallied from three goals down to secure a 3-3 draw away against Manchester City on Tuesday, while PSV Eindhoven overturned a two-goal deficit to claim a 3-2 home win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich narrowly defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in a rematch of the 2020 final, with Kim Min-Jae scoring the decisive goal. Atlético Madrid dismantled Sparta Prague 6-0, Bayer Leverkusen crushed RB Leipzig 5-0, and AC Milan secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Slovan Bratislava.
At the start of the round, six teams were unbeaten in the Champions League, including two French clubs (Brest and Monaco) and two Italian clubs (Atalanta and Inter Milan). Both French teams were defeated, while the Italian clubs maintained their runs with wins. Sporting CP also lost its unbeaten status, leaving Liverpool as the only team with a perfect record.
Liverpool made it five wins from five by beating Real Madrid 2-0.
Sporting CP’s unbeaten start ended with a 5-1 loss to Arsenal.
Brest faltered in a tough test against Barcelona, losing 3-0.
Monaco’s unbeaten streak was snapped with a 3-2 home defeat to Benfica.
Atalanta remained unbeaten with a commanding 6-1 win over winless Young Boys.
Inter Milan extended their unbeaten run by narrowly defeating winless RB Leipzig 1-0.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2024

Sparta Prague ( 0 ) – ( 6 ) Atlético Madrid
Slovan Bratislava ( 2 ) – ( 3 ) AC Milan
Bayer Leverkusen ( 5 ) – ( 0 ) RB Salzburg
Young Boys ( 1 ) – ( 6 ) Atalanta
Barcelona ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Brest
Bayern Munich ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) Paris Saint-Germain
Inter Milan ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) RB Leipzig
Manchester City ( 3 ) – ( 3 ) Feyenoord
Sporting CP ( 1 ) – ( 5 ) Arsenal

A rematch of the 2020 final saw Bayern Munich take on Paris Saint-Germain, with both teams struggling to impress in the Champions League standings after four games. Just as in that final, Bayern Munich secured a 1-0 win. Kim Min-Jae scored the game’s only goal in the 38th minute. Paris Saint-Germain had to play with 10 men from the 57th minute after Ousmane Dembélé picked up his second yellow card, having been the only player booked in the first half.

Manchester City’s recent struggles added extra significance to their match against Feyenoord, but the best they could manage to end their losing run was blowing a three-goal lead to settle for a 3-3 draw at home. City appeared to be cruising after going 3-0 up by the 50th minute, with two goals from Erling Haaland and another from Ilkay Gündogan. It looked like a certain victory until Feyenoord staged a stunning comeback in the final 15 minutes of regulation time.
Anis Moussa pulled one back for Feyenoord in the 75th minute, and substitute Santiago Giménez, who entered the game in the 72nd minute, scored their second goal just 10 minutes later. David Hancko completed the remarkable turnaround in the 87th minute, earning Feyenoord a share of the points.

To understand how poor results have been for Manchester City lately, consider Arsenal’s visit to Lisbon, where they thrashed Sporting CP 5-1—a stark contrast to Manchester City’s 4-1 loss to the same team in the previous round. Arsenal’s dominant victory also ended Sporting CP’s unbeaten start to the Champions League season.
Sporting CP was one of four teams, alongside Atalanta, Brest, and Inter Milan, looking to preserve their unbeaten starts in the competition. The Italian sides, Atalanta and Inter Milan, managed to extend their streaks with wins, while Brest and Sporting CP suffered heavy defeats that ended their runs.
Brest was outclassed in a 3-0 loss to Barcelona, while Atalanta continued their impressive form with a 6-1 away win against a winless Young Boys side, who have lost every game in the Champions League this season. Inter Milan secured a narrow 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig, courtesy of an own goal.

Across the board, there were no goalless games, with several matches delivering emphatic victories. Atlético Madrid left Czechia with a commanding 6-0 win over Sparta Prague, while Bayer Leverkusen claimed an equally impressive 5-0 triumph at home against RB Leipzig. Meanwhile, AC Milan secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory in Slovakia against Slovan Bratislava.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2024

Red Star Belgrade ( 5 ) – ( 1 ) Stuttgart
Sturm Graz ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) Girona
Monaco ( 2 ) – ( 3 ) Benfica
Aston Villa ( 0 ) – ( 0 ) Juventus
Bologna ( 1 ) – ( 2 ) Lille
Celtic ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Club Brugge
Dinamo Zagreb ( 0 ) – ( 3 ) Borussia Dortmund
Liverpool ( 2 ) – ( 0 ) Real Madrid
PSV Eindhoven ( 3 ) – ( 2 ) Shakhtar Donetsk

Monaco and Liverpool, two unbeaten teams in this season’s Champions League, played crucial home matches aiming to maintain their records.
Monaco squandered leads twice and ultimately fell 3-2 to Benfica, ending their unbeaten run. Liverpool, meanwhile, secured a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid, becoming the only team in the competition with a perfect winning record.
Both Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappé missed penalties during their respective matches. Salah’s missed spot-kick could have doubled Liverpool’s lead, while Mbappé’s attempt would have leveled the score for Real Madrid. The goals came in the second half, with Alexis Mac Allister breaking the deadlock in the 52nd minute. Cody Gakpo sealed the win in the 76th minute, just eight minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Borussia Dortmund took all three points with a 3-0 away victory over Dinamo Zagreb.
Red Star Belgrade secured their first win of this season’s Champions League with a commanding 5-1 victory over Stuttgart.
Sturm Graz also earned their first win of the tournament, defeating Girona 1-0.
Aston Villa thought they had found a late winner against Juventus, but the goal was ruled out for a foul in the buildup, resulting in a goalless draw.
Bologna remain winless after a 2-1 home defeat to Lille. Ngal Mukau opened the scoring in the 44th minute to give Lille the lead and restored it in the 66th minute after Jhon Lucimi had equalized for Bologna in the 63rd minute.

PSV Eindhoven pulled off a stunning comeback to beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 at home. Malik Tilman scored twice in the dying minutes of regulation time to level the match, and Ricardo Pepi netted the winner in the fifth minute of added time. Shakhtar Donetsk had taken a two-goal lead in the first half and held it until the 69th minute when Pedro Henrique was sent off, leaving them a man down.

RB Leipzig, Slovan Bratislava, and Young Boys will head into the 6th round of the Champions League without a single win. All three teams have lost every game so far and have no chance of advancing automatically, with their only potential route forward being through the playoff round.

Athletic Club, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Lazio lead the Europa League standings with 13 points each. At the other end, Dynamo Kyiv sits at the bottom, being the only team without a win and suffering defeats in all their matches. In the Conference League, Chelsea and Legia Warsaw top the table after four rounds, both maintaining a perfect record with 12 points each. Meanwhile, Dinamo Minsk and Larne occupy the bottom spots, both yet to earn a single point.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

As we move past the midpoint of the league phase, eight teams were unbeaten. Seven of the eight maintained their status after the latest round, with Ajax being the only team to end their run, losing 2-0 to Real Sociedad.
The remaining unbeaten teams are Anderlecht, Athletic Club, Eintracht Frankfurt, Galatasaray, Lazio, Manchester United, and Viktoria Plzeň.
Lazio, the only team with a perfect winning record, remained unbeaten but saw their flawless streak end with a goalless draw against Ludogorets Razgrad in the Europa League.
Manchester United and Viktoria Plzeň, both of whom have struggled to secure wins despite avoiding defeat, each managed just one win prior to this round. However, both secured victories this time—Manchester United triumphed 3-2 at home against Bodø/Glimt, while Viktoria Plzeň earned a 2-1 away win over Dynamo Kyiv.
Anderlecht and Galatasaray extended their unbeaten records with draws. Anderlecht played out a 2-2 draw at home against Porto, while Galatasaray managed a 1-1 draw away to AZ Alkmaar.
Athletic Club and Eintracht Frankfurt both earned wins to stay unbeaten. Athletic Club cruised to a 3-0 home victory over Elfsborg, while Eintracht Frankfurt secured a 2-1 away win against Midtjylland.
Another standout fixture was Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Roma.

Thursday, November 28, 2024
Athletic Club ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Elfsborg
AZ Alkmaar ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Galatasaray
Beşiktaş ( 1 ) – ( 3 ) Maccabi Tel Aviv
Dynamo Kyiv ( 1 ) – ( 2 ) Viktoria Plzeň
RFS ( 0 ) – ( 2 ) PAOK
Qarabağ ( 1 ) – ( 4 ) Lyon
Anderlecht ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Porto
Lazio ( 0 ) – ( 0 ) Ludogorets Razgrad
Midtjylland ( 1 ) – ( 2 ) Eintracht Frankfurt
Twente ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) Union Saint-Gilloise
Ferencváros ( 4 ) – ( 1 ) Malmö FF
FCSB ( 0 ) – ( 0 ) Olympiacos
Manchester United ( 3 ) – ( 2 ) Bodø/Glimt
Nice ( 1 ) – ( 4 ) Rangers
Real Sociedad ( 2 ) – ( 0 ) Ajax
Braga ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) Hoffenheim
Slavia Prague ( 1 ) – ( 2 ) Fenerbahçe
Tottenham Hotspur ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) Roma

EUROPA LEAGUE STANDINGS AFTER 5 ROUNDS

UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Heidenheim lost their 100% winning start in a defeat to Chelsea.
We entered the round with six teams maintaining perfect winning records. Only two of the six continued this run, as Chelsea and Legia Warsaw both secured road victories to maintain their 100% starts to the Conference League season. Chelsea earned a 2-0 win over a Heidenheim side that also had a perfect record, while Legia Warsaw claimed a 3-0 victory over Omonia.

Jagiellonia Białystok, Rapid Wien, and Vitória de Guimarães also lost their perfect winning starts but remained unbeaten as they drew their respective matches. Jagiellonia Białystok played out a thrilling 3-3 draw on the road against Celje, while Rapid Wien and Vitória de Guimarães each settled for 1-1 draws against Shamrock Rovers and Astana, respectively.

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

İstanbul Başakşehir ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Petrocub Hîncești

Thursday, November 28, 2024

Astana ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Vitória de Guimarães
Heidenheim ( 0 ) – ( 2 ) Chelsea
Cercle Brugge ( 2 ) – ( 0 ) Heart of Midlothian
Dinamo Minsk ( 1 ) – ( 2 ) Copenhagen
Noah ( 0 ) – ( 0 ) Víkingur Reykjavík
St. Gallen ( 2 ) – ( 2 ) TSC
Borac Banja Luka ( 2 ) – ( 1 ) LASK
Molde ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) APOEL
Celje ( 3 ) – ( 3 ) Jagiellonia Białystok
Panathinaikos ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) HJK
The New Saints ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) Djurgårdens
Fiorentina ( 3 ) – ( 2 ) Pafos
Lugano ( 2 ) – ( 0 ) Gent
Mladá Boleslav ( 2 ) – ( 1 ) Real Betis
Olimpija Ljubljana ( 1 ) – ( 0 ) Larne
Omonia ( 0 ) – ( 3 ) Legia Warsaw
Rapid Wien ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) Shamrock Rovers

CONFERENCE LEAGUE STANDINGS AFTER 4 ROUNDS

MGSVfutbol

THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AFTER FIVE ROUNDS IN THE LEAGUE PHASE.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Recommended for you