Last Updated on November 3, 2022 5:33 pm by Erwin Noguera
A great group stage of the UEFA Champions League has come to its end with matchday 6, leaving many surprises among those eliminated and some disappointments.
For group A, Napoli and Liverpool dominated by getting 15 points and only losing 1 game, precisely in the one they faced each other: the locals always won and the Italians were first due to confrontations (4-1 in Italy and 2-0 in England). Ajax, on the other hand, left much to be desired and only managed 6 points thanks to their wins against Rangers, who with 0 points, 2 goals for, and 22 against, set a record for the worst group stage in the Champions League. The Dutch will go to the Europa League.
–
In group B the situation was very even this Tuesday after Porto, already qualified, eliminated Atlético Madrid from everything, who only managed 5 points and had to return home much earlier than expected after losing 2-1. Brugge gave the surprise by advancing to second and sending Bayer Leverkusen to the Europa League.
In the group of death, C, Bayern managed to get their claws out and crushed their rivals, achieving a perfect mark of 18 points, 18 goals scored and only 2 conceded, curiously against Viktoria Plzen, who finished last and without points. In the duel for second place, the winner was Inter, who a few weeks ago sent Barcelona to the Europa League, which this season has a higher level than ever.
The last date of group D was exciting. No rival was classified and during the day they constantly changed positions. Finally, Tottenham achieved victory in France against Marseille in the last minute with a goal from Pierre-Emile Hojberg (1-2) and took first place in the group, followed by Frankfurt (who defeated Sporting 1-2). The Portuguese are third and will continue to play in Europe while Olympique will focus on Ligue 1.
–
For group E, Milan and Red Bull Salzburg faced each other for second place and a spot in the round of 16, but the Italians had no problem and dispatched the Austrians 4-0 with a giant game by Olivier Giroud, who scored two goals and provided two assists. Chelsea returned to victory, beating Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 with goals from Raheem Sterling and Denis Zakaria, finishing first in the group while the Croats were last.
Leipzig also had no problems securing their place in the round of 16 on Wednesday and crushed Shakhtar 0-4 in Poland, thus remaining in second place in Group F. Real Madrid, already classified, took first place after crushing Celtic, last, 5-1.
Without Haaland but with Julián Álvarez, Manchester City advanced as first in Group G with a 3-1 win against Sevilla, who took third place and will go to the Europa League. The second was Borussia Dortmund, who rested most of their players and equalized in Denmark with Copenhagen (1-1).
And to close the group stage, PSG and Benfica were dispatched and were equal in almost all aspects, but in the item of goals scored away from home, the Portuguese were better and took first place in Group H, after crushing Maccabi 1-6, while the French beat Juventus 1-2, which was also very close to being left out of the Europa League.
Champions League Group Stage Matchday 6 – Porto vs. Atlético Madrid
When:
Tuesday, November 01 at 01:45 pm ET at the Estadio do Dragao
Moneyline odds:
Porto +155
Atlético Madrid +178
Draw Offs:
+236
It was a more important game for Atlético Madrid than for Porto, but the Portuguese wanted to dress up as executioners in their stadium, and that’s what they did. The Dragao went out with everything at home and was a machine. In 25 minutes they were already winning 2-0 with goals from Mehdi Taremi and Stephen Eustáquio, and it could have been much more if it weren’t for a great Jan Oblak. It seemed that the team that needed the points was Porto.
Without a doubt, an Atlético of Cholo Simeone was never so bad and with such permissiveness in defense. They had already lost 3-2 in the league with Cadiz and drew 2-2 with Bayer Leverkusen, missing a penalty on the last play that would have changed history. It seems that this penalty cost Yannick Carrasco his position, this time was a bench and affected the team a lot, since Saúl Ñíguez had a hard time making the band and when it came to defending he left much to be desired.
In the second half, the Colchoneros improved and were close to scoring, but the young Diogo Costa shone again and showed that he has a great future. He had 5 saves from his rivals, and the only shot he couldn’t stop was that of his teammate Iván Marcano, who headed back from a corner kick at minute 90+5 to decorate the scoreboard.
Atlético could not keep the consolation prize that was the Europa League and Porto won the jackpot, which was the first place in the group.
Champions League Group Stage Matchday 6 – Preview – Liverpool vs. Napoli – Info
When:
Tuesday, November 01 at 04:00 pm ET at Anfield
Moneyline odds:
Liverpool -127
Napoli +300
Draw Offs:
+310
Liverpool won a game that went from less to more, although they could not achieve their objective, which was to obtain first place, a privilege that remained in the hands of Napoli despite the 2-0 defeat on Tuesday.
The first half was quite boring, with few scoring chances, no corner kicks, and no goals. In the second, the Reds remembered that they were locals and began to look more for the goal, but without many ideas. Darwin Núñez’s entry at minute 73 gave the attack a change of attitude and it was thanks to the Uruguayan that the English were left with the victory, since at 85′ he headed a corner kick that Alex Meret took on the line but Mohamed Salah was on hand to push the ball to the back of the net, and at 90+8 practically the same formula: Van Dijk heads, Meret covers and Núñez pushes over the line.
For Napoli this meant losing their first game of the season, leaving their record at 17 games and 13 wins in a row. Also, if we extend to last season, there were 21 matches without losing and 19 wins for the Neapolitans in that period.
Champions League Group Stage Matchday 6 – Preview – Juventus vs. PSG – Info
When:
Wednesday, November 02 at 04:00 pm ET at the Juventus Stadium
Moneyline odds:
PSG -144
Juventus +360
Draw Offs:
+310
To say that despite the defeat it is one of the best games that Juventus has played is strange, but it is so. Massimiliano Allegri’s team has been heavily criticized this season for its style of play that eliminated them from the Champions League and has them in the middle of the Serie A table.
Only with the mission of qualifying for the Europa League and not being trampled by Paris Saint Germain, the Vecchia Signora came out on their field with important casualties such as Vlahovic, Pogba, McKennie, Paredes or Di María, but they could still plant against the French giant despite having players like Federico Gatti or Nicolo Fagioli in the starting line-up, who has played very little.
On the Parisian side, Mbappe and Nuno Mendes scored the goals and it was enough to win by a tight 1-2 (Chiellini got on the scoresheet for the locals) that did not help them to qualify as first in the group, a place that Benfica occupied thanks to their thrashing against Maccabi Haifa.
Although Juve lost, they can stay a little calmer than when the season began, and they also got Federico Chiesa back, after his January 9 injury against Roma. PSG, for its part, knows that in the round of 16 they will face one of the first, so it is possibly the most attractive game of the next round.
EN 
ES 
PT