Champions League Briefing: Does this make Amorim the brand new Fergie? Why did Vinicius Jr stand nonetheless?

Simply if you thought the Champions League group stage was turning into predictable…

Manchester Metropolis and Actual Madrid, the 2 groups principally prone to win all of it this season, took two beatings Tuesday night time that shook the competitors up.

New Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim fairly probably saved his greatest for final at Sporting Lisbon, signing off from his ultimate dwelling recreation with a 4-1 victory over Manchester Metropolis. In the meantime, AC Milan added to Madrid’s many issues in Spain’s capital with a 3-1 victory.

The third more than likely group to win the 2024-25 Champions League? Liverpool. They usually brushed apart Bayer Leverkusen and Xabi Alonso 4-0 at Anfield to strengthen their credentials.

These are the large speaking factors from Tuesday’s motion.

Does this make Amorim the brand new Fergie?

“If we win, they’ll assume the brand new Alex Ferguson has arrived, which could be very tough to keep up,” Amorim mentioned.

Come up, Sir Ruben. His phrases, spoken on the eve of his ultimate dwelling match answerable for Sporting, really feel fairly pertinent, don’t they?

Manchester United are actually favourites for the 2025-26 Premier League title and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester Metropolis dynasty is about to come back crumbling down.

OK, advantageous, let’s simply settle down a bit. But additionally, let’s get massively carried away with this outstanding consequence.

Two years in the past, Manchester Metropolis blitzed the Portuguese group 5-0 on mixture within the Champions League final 16, however on Tuesday they showcased simply why United had been so eager to land Amorim after his group walloped Guardiola’s shellshocked facet.

It should have been an extremely bittersweet night time for Sporting followers, who celebrated probably the greatest victories within the membership’s current historical past realizing they might not see the like once more for some time. They mentioned goodbye with an enormous tifo which learn “Obrigada” (thanks) and Amorim returned the favour with an evening to recollect.

Within the battle of the Nordic goal-loving strikers, the clear winner was Viktor Gyokeres, whose hat-trick took his tally to 23 objectives in 15 matches for membership and nation this season. He has solely failed to attain in three video games.

(Gualter Fatia/Getty Pictures)

Amorim will certainly need to take Gyokeres with him to Previous Trafford by way of a rumoured €100million (£83.m; $108m) launch clause, though with INEOS tightening the purse strings, maybe the Etihad, with the soon-to-be director of soccer Hugo Viana, who leaves Sporting on the finish of the season, is likely to be a extra seemingly vacation spot. Gyokeres and Erling Haaland up entrance collectively? The nets will want reinforcing.

A superbly positioned ball from Geovany Quenda and a thumping end from Viktor Gyökeres 😤

Sporting are stage towards Man Metropolis! pic.twitter.com/cg9rdzT1QU

— CBS Sports activities Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 5, 2024

There’s simply no stopping Viktor Gyökeres in that place 🤖

twenty first purpose of the marketing campaign for the Sporting striker.

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/uhgkDhbuuZ

— Soccer on TNT Sports activities (@footballontnt) November 5, 2024

The 2 managers gained’t have to attend lengthy for a rematch. If Amorim can do the identical with Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee up entrance when his Manchester United group takes on Metropolis and Guardiola on December fifteenth, you can also make plans for the statue already.

Inconsistent Milan flip it on on the Bernabeu

AC Milan’s 3-1 victory within the Bernabeu was as shocking and gorgeous as Sporting’s win.

Milan will be infuriatingly inconsistent; they’re a lowly seventh in Serie A, already eight factors off leaders Napoli, albeit with a recreation in hand. They misplaced their first two Champions League matches (to Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen) earlier than struggling previous 10-man Membership Bruges to assert their first victory on Matchday 3.

Right here, although, they had been at their highest, and uncoincidentally so had been Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez, who on their day should be probably the most thrilling left-sided pairs in European soccer.

New supervisor Paulo Fonseca boldly dropped each of them earlier within the season and Leao has been left on the bench within the league currently, however as Alvaro Morata instructed The Athletic final week, “He’s the perfect participant on the group and simply must maintain doing what he’s doing.”

Morata restored Milan’s lead when placing them 2-1 up after Leao’s shot was saved. Leao then arrange Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, who had scored twice towards Bruges final trip, to seal a memorable victory on this conflict of European soccer heavyweights.

(Angel Martinez/Getty Pictures)

With Milan now going through Slovan Bratislava, Pink Star Belgrade, Girona and Dinamo Zagreb of their ultimate 4 matches, the trail of development to the final 16 by way of an computerized qualification spot must be simple.

However provided that they will discover that elusive consistency.

Noel Gallagher was Metropolis’s greatest performer on the night time

For those who thought TNT Sports activities was dumbing down their protection much more by inviting Oasis legend Noel Gallagher into the commentary field for Metropolis’s recreation at Sporting, nicely, you’d be unsuitable.

In what most likely says way more about the usual of punditry on English soccer screens, Gallagher was a breath of recent air in that he spoke frequent sense. Sure, it’s a wacky idea. Persist with us.

Positive, he mentioned “we” when speaking about his beloved Metropolis, however this was no Sky Sports activities FanZone gimmick, nor was he overly biased. (He thought the choice to award Metropolis a penalty for handball was harsh and questioned issues like bringing Kevin De Bruyne on for the ultimate seven minutes, most likely fearing for his hamstrings.)

There was no melodrama, foolish noises, or horrible ‘banter’ such as you get when sure different pundits discuss in regards to the groups they help.

However Gallagher is an precise fan (he was within the away finish at Bournemouth on Saturday) and simply says issues like they’re, backed right here by perception and statistics, and even a foreshadowing of Metropolis losing probabilities and needing to attain a second purpose — which got here 37 seconds earlier than Sporting equalised. It might be straightforward to ridicule his feedback as a result of he’s Noel Gallagher, like evaluating Gyokeres’ penalty method to Troy Deeney’s, till you cease and realise that it’s true.

He did let himself down by saying, “Some songwriting genius wrote as soon as: ‘We see issues they’ll by no means see’, and ‘That’s Guardiola for ya,” resulting in raucous laughter from commentator Darren Fletcher. However we’ll forgive him that one.

Anyway, Gallagher’s was most likely the perfect Metropolis efficiency of the night time as they suffered a 3rd successive defeat in all competitions for the primary time in six and a half years.

They wasted probabilities within the opening half an hour, solely having Phil Foden’s fourth-minute purpose to indicate for his or her dominance, then Haaland blasted a penalty towards the bar when he had the possibility to tug it again to 3-2.

Accidents are clearly having an affect, significantly in defence with teenager Jahmai Simpson-Pusey making his first senior begin on the again. With 73 per cent possession and 20 pictures to 9, it’s not as if Metropolis had been outplayed, removed from it.

However they are surely lacking Rodri, who might develop into a extra deserved winner of the Ballon d’Or in some folks’s eyes by advantage of not taking part in.

Talking of which…

Vinicius Jr stood tall, then stood nonetheless

It was a combined night time for Vinicius Junior, who was having a great night when he levelled issues for Actual Madrid with a Panenka penalty, minutes after the Bernabeu had booed the Champions League anthem to precise their displeasure at him not successful the Ballon d’Or.

𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒍. 𝑨𝒔. 𝒀𝒐𝒖. 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆. 🥶

Vinicius Jr sends Mike Maignan the unsuitable means with an aesthetic panenka 😎

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/IG9FFDZgVh

— Soccer on TNT Sports activities (@footballontnt) November 5, 2024

Vini Jr. goes for the Panenka vs. Mike Maignan 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/VkPPG2NOYN

— CBS Sports activities Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 5, 2024

Vinicius Jr had gained the penalty himself from a foul by former Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal, however from then on Madrid melted and the sight of Vinicius Jr stood utterly nonetheless as an Aurelien Tchouameni go didn’t attain him (seconds later Milan had been 2-1 up) was one of many night time’s defining pictures.

So too was Jude Bellingham kicking a water bottle in frustration after being substituted.

This was Madrid’s second defeat of the competitors in 4 video games (in addition they misplaced 1-0 at Lille) and, coming off the again of the 4-0 humiliation at dwelling to Barcelona of their final league match, it encapsulates a season that’s threatening to unravel.

They are going to absolutely nonetheless attain not less than a play-off for the final 16 with ease, however with a visit to Liverpool subsequent on Matchday 5, the normally composed Carlo Ancelotti might have to start out sweating a bit of.

Alonso’s Leverkusen stumbling as Slot’s Liverpool fly

Anfield is just not a spot you need to need to go and get a consequence proper now.

Liverpool maintained considered one of solely two 100 per cent data within the new Champions League format (the opposite being *checks notes* Aston Villa, who go to Membership Bruges on Wednesday) with a serene 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

In distinction to Amorim, whose inventory is sky excessive as he prepares to maneuver to the Premier League, Xabi Alonso’s popularity is beginning to take a bit of little bit of successful, simply months after he was touted as the perfect factor since sliced bread however resisted the temptation of a Premier League transfer.

Arne Slot obtained the Liverpool name as an alternative and the above stats replicate, but once more, how he has obtained this Liverpool group purring in a short time.

Luis Diaz scored a second half hat-trick together with a chip that might solely have appeared extra scrumptious with a dollop of mayonnaise on the tip.

The ball from Curtis Jones and the CHEEKY Luis Díaz end 😳

Anfield cherished that one 👏 pic.twitter.com/FebrhSqnYK

— CBS Sports activities Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 5, 2024

Liverpool v Leverkusen = The Luis Diaz Present ✨

All three objectives from the Colombian of their 4-0 victory… ⚽️⚽️⚽️#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/fqh6uW0aQq

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) November 5, 2024

Slot and Liverpool are flying on the prime of the Premier League and the Champions League. Alonso and Leverkusen had been by no means going to succeed in the impeccable heights of 2023-24, however the tough second-season syndrome is kicking in.