Robert Lewandowski already tops the scoring charts after his Champions League debut for Barcelona, who beat Viktoria Plzen 5-1.
Geneva: The long-standing criticism of the Champions League group stage? There are too many one-sided matches as the wealth gap between the clubs fuels a competitive imbalance in the field.
Say in favor of Liverpool and Eintracht Frankfurt after their heavy losses on Wednesday.
Or coaches Thomas Tuchel and Domenico Tedesco, who lost their jobs the morning after shock losses to Chelsea and Leipzig respectively.
Liverpool suffered a stunning 4-1 defeat at Napoli where the hosts were four goals ahead in just 47 minutes at the stadium named after club icon Diego Maradona.
Although Jurgen Klopp’s side have lost just four games in 2022, three were in the Champions League, including a 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the final in May.
Eintracht won the Europa League title in May but both the German club and the team they beat in the final, Rangers, found it difficult to return to top-tier competition after a long absence on Wednesday.
Tedesco’s exit was hastened by Sporting Lisbon’s shock 3-0 defeat at home to Eintracht just four days after beating Leipzig 4-0 in the Bundesliga.
Rangers were brushed aside in the first half before losing 4-0 at Ajax.
Robert Lewandowski already tops the scoring charts after his Champions League debut for Barcelona, who beat Viktoria Plzen 5-1.
Lewandowski went one better with a hat-trick, a night after Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland each won twice for their clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
Tottenham beat Marseille 2-0 with Brazilian forward Richarlison scoring twice with a late header on his Champions League debut.
The home side opened the scoring in a remarkable 11 minutes of stoppage time at Atletico Madrid and 10-man Porto were hit back by a penalty before Antoine Griezmann sealed a 2-1 win with a header from a tight angle. Sealed.
Bayern Munich won 2-0 at Inter Milan, where Leroy Sane opened the scoring in the first half, and Club Brugge beat struggling Bayer Leverkusen 1-0.
Two coaching sackings sparked Champions League drama earlier on Wednesday.
Tuchel was sacked after just 15 months at Chelsea after guiding the club to its second Champions League title. The German manager’s displeasure with the club was palpable in interviews late on Tuesday following the 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb.
Tedesco lasted just nine months at Leipzig, Champions League semi-finalists two years ago, and missed Tuesday’s 4-1 home defeat by Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.
Klopp’s challenge
The careers of Klopp and Tuchel have been intertwined since Tuchel succeeded Klopp after seven-year spells at both Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.
Both have been on the winning and losing sides in Champions League finals in just the past four years, and both endured one of their worst days in the competition on Wednesday.
Liverpool’s poor start at Napoli saw the 2019 champions trail 3-0 down at half-time after a penalty inside five minutes and goalkeeper Alisson Becker saving a second spot-kick.
Luis Diaz made it 4-1 after 49 minutes but Liverpool were far from their typical pressing intensity.
“It feels a bit like we have to reinvent ourselves,” admitted Klopp, who is about to complete seven years at Liverpool and host Ajax next Tuesday.
The Simon Family
It was a great night for Simmons in two different countries.
Son Giovanni scored the third goal for Napoli on his competitive debut and in Madrid father Diego saw his Atletico side show the resilience that is his coaching trademark to edge past Porto in stoppage time.
The victory ended an eight-game winless streak for Simeone’s side at home in the Champions League. Atlético are at Leverkusen next week.
Marcel Streak
Marseille, winners of their first Champions League title in 1993, have now lost their last eight away games in the decade-old competition and 14 of 15 overall in that time.
The game turned on Marseille defender Chansel Mbemba in the 47th minute when he was shown a red card for bringing down Son Heung-min.
Tottenham are still unbeaten this season and travel to Lisbon to take on Sporting next Tuesday, when Marseille host Eintracht Frankfurt.
Step forward, step back
Eintracht and Rangers were evenly matched in the Europa League final less than four months ago. Eintracht won the title on penalties after a 1–1 draw.
His fate was similar on Wednesday, although he was by no means enjoying his return from a long absence from Europe’s biggest competition.
Eintracht ended a 62-year wait – since the famous 7-3 loss to Real Madrid in the 1960 European Cup final – by falling to second-half promotion to Sporting at home. The three goals in 17 minutes started with a goal from English forward Marcus Edwards.
It was 12 years and a financial disaster ago that Rangers last played in the Champions League. After the defeat at Ajax, Rangers host Napoli in Glasgow next Tuesday.
