RED ALERT
Having handed Red Star Belgrade an almighty thumping in Anfield a few weeks earlier, Liverpool headed to the Serbian capital confident of an easy night’s work. It didn’t turn out that way. A pair of quick-fire goals from Milan Pavkov secured a 2-0 win for the underdogs, dealing a serious blow to Jurgen Klopp’s side in the process. After falling at the final hurdle last time out, the Reds harbour dreams of going one better, but they could have an almighty scrap to escape their group first…
MESSI MAGIC
Every year, we wonder if some of the mercurial talent will diminish – and we usually don’t have to wait long to be disavowed of the belief that Lionel Messi is anything other than his usual magnificent self. He’s only featured in two of Barcelona’s games so far, but still sits atop the scoring charts with five, wher he’s joined by Edin Džeko. Maybe next year will be the time we see his form dip…though we wouldn’t bet on it!
NOBODY’S PERFECT
Plenty of the continent’s biggest hitters are at or near the summit of their pools – Bayern, Juventus, Man City et al. – but nobody can boast a perfect record through four games. Porto and Barcelona are the only ones who come close, but even their respective unbeaten records include being held to a draw. Many pundits reckoned there might be more parity in this year’s competition, and at this point it certainly looks that way…
IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED…
Real Madrid waved goodbye to one of the tournament’s most renowned sharpshooters over the summer, and in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo have apparently decided they all fancy a go in front of goal! They’ve taken a whopping 89 shots already – more than 22 per game! – but only 27 of those attempts have hit the target, with just 10 goals to show for their rather regular efforts. Wonder what certain people would make of that type of return…
FAST FORWARD THE VIDEO
VAR made quite the impression during the World Cup, and everyone agreed it was a matter of time before it appeared in the continent’s elite club competition. What we didn’t realise, though, was that it might be in place before the season is even out; reports suggest the technology could be fast-tracked into use by the time the knockout stages kick off. Raheem Sterling’s tumble last week was another reminder of its usefulness – get the lads in the van ready pronto!
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