5️⃣ things we learned from Tuesday's Champions League action | OneFootball

It was yet another pulsating night of Champions League football with drama galore across the eight games.

Here’s what we made of events across the continent.

Miracles still exist in football

While they may hail from Donetsk, the 14-time Ukrainian champions Shakhtar have not played in the city since 2014 due to ongoing conflicts.

Kyiv was once their adopted hometown but due to safety concerns, Shakhtar’s European games now take place in Hamburg, which is only a mere 2,400km away. On top of this, the war has led to the vast majority of their star players departing, most recently Mykhailo Mudryk.

Somehow none of this mattered on a famous night for the club as they stunned Barcelona.

A team consisting of an 18-year-old Brazilian, a Georgian and nine Ukrainians (only four of whom played for the national team during the most recent international break) were more than deserving of their 1-0 win.

As for Xavi’s men, it continues a worrying trend of results and a lack of goals, which is personified by Robert Lewandowski’s six-game drought – his longest since 2011. One plus for Los Cules was another 30 minutes for Pedri off the bench as he continues his injury comeback.

All in all, a feelgood story in a sport that largely lacks them nowadays.

Group of Death set to go to the wire

When the groups were drawn at the end of the summer, Group F was the presumed “Group of Death” and it has more than lived up to it’s name, with just three points separating the four sides heading into the final two games.

Borussia Dortmund entered a double header with then-group leaders Newcastle United bottom of the group with just a single point. Now, after back-to-back wins over Eddie Howe’s men, the two sides’ positions have been switched.

It must be stated that the Magpies travelled to Germany shorn of several first-team players, making an already tough task nigh-on impossible.

Dortmund’s win presented PSG with a chance to near-seal their place in the last 16 away to Milan but it proved too much for Luis Enrique’s side, who scuppered a lead to lose 2-1 to the seven-time champions at a star-studded San Siro.

The win breathed new life into Stefano Pioli’s side’s campaign and gave him some much needed respite after their recent poor Serie A form.

The goals from Rafael Leão and Olivier Giroud were their first in the Champions League this season, and Giroud became the oldest Frenchman to net in Europe’s top competition ever as a result.

Who qualifies from here is anyone’s guess.

City still the team to beat

Unsurprisingly, Manchester City made light work of Young Boys at the Etihad Stadium, brushing them aside 3-0 without so much as getting out of second gear. Men vs boys one might say…

Goals came via Phil Foden and, shock, Erling Haaland – the Norwegian now has 39 goals in 34 games in the competition, a rate far superior to anyone in it’s near-70 history.

The result, alongside RB Leipzig’s win against Red Star Belgrade, ended any lingering debate over who would progress out of Group G, with City almost certain to top the group given their 100% record to date.

The two sides are the first to make the last 16, and if anyone doubted if City remain the team to beat in Europe, their results and Haaland’s ridiculous scoring this season keeps it them against the field for who will ultimately lift the famous trophy on June 1st, 2024.

Three must go into two in Group E

Group E is more F than G when it comes to toughness and tightness in terms of who will make it into the knockout rounds.

While Celtic’s chances went up in smoke (more on that later), all of Atlético de Madrid, Lazio and Feyenoord are more than alive and kicking with just two points separating the three sides.

Atleti look the best placed to qualify given their top position in the group and pedigree in the competition, particularly with Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata in such sparkling form.

Lazio needed to win tonight in Rome and did just that, also getting their first Champions League clean sheet in 22 attempts. Feyenoord, on the other hand, continue a 21-year wait for an away victory in the competition, albeit that just comprises of six games given their usual status behind Ajax and PSV in the Netherlands.

With two rounds to go, it’s all to play for.

Celtic’s long wait for any European success continues

As mentioned, Celtic’s latest Champions League campaign will end at the group stage after a harrowing 6-0 loss in the Spanish capital to Diego Simeone’s men.

The Hoops were 1-0 down inside six minutes via Griezmann and things were made even harder when Daizen Maeda was sent off sixteen minutes later. From here, the game was over as a contest but it all got a bit embarrassing by the the end.

Brendan Rodgers returned to Glasgow with a clear goal in mind: to make a mark in the Champions League. He was there for the club’s last win in the competition back in 2017 vs Anderlecht but the ever-growing gap between the SPL and Europe’s elite has been shown in devastating fashion once again.

Celtic have not qualified for the last 16 since 2012/13 and the following campaign remains the last time they won a game at Celtic Park in the competition. It is all a far cry from the fortress that the famous ground was during the Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan and even Neil Lennon 1.0 years, when Manchester United and Barcelona amongst others were toppled.

Feyenoord represent Rodgers’ final chance this season to end that unwanted run and he will need two wins to have any chance at Europa League football after Christmas.