5 Things We Learnt From This Week’s Champions League Action

The UEFA Champions League never disappoints, and that statement stands true for last night’s electrifying action. Gameweek 2 had everything: goals galore, heart-stopping drama, and jaw-dropping upsets. Here are the five biggest takeaways from this week’s thrilling matches.

1) The Night Arsenal Announced Themselves as Contenders 

Arsenal have remained unbeaten this season. Having said that, the Gunners haven’t been at their fluent best in recent games. They needed a late rescue act from Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz to secure a win against newly promoted Leicester City. On the contrary, Paris Saint Germain have started the season in blistering form, blowing away every opponent they have faced this season in Ligue 1. In fact, PSG have scored 20 goals, while conceding just five times in 5 Ligue 1 games. So, securing a win against Luis Enrique’s men was no easy feat.  

However, Mikel Arteta’s men were determined to clinch a famous victory. Buoyed by a raucous Emirates Stadium, Kai Havertz handed the home team a much-deserved lead in the 20th minute. Just 15 minutes later, Bukayo Saka netted Arsenal’s second of the night thanks to good fortune. From then on, Arsenal’s watertight defense kept PSG’s in-form attackers at bay. In fact, Les Parisiens mustered just two shots on target, which were comfortably saved by David Raya. Arsenal, at their best, can challenge the best European teams for the UCL title. However, the question is: can they maintain this form? If Tuesday night’s performance is anything to go by, then Mikel Arteta’s men have a real shot at the UCL title. 

2) The Rise of Borussia Dortmund’s Next Big Star 

For the past decade or so, Borussia Dortmund have gained a reputation for producing several gems, who go on to become superstars. Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, Ousmane Dembele and Marco Reus have all been polished by BVB. However, since Bellingham’s departure to Real Madrid last season, fans are searching for the next superstar to emerge from Dortmund’s ranks. And if BVB’s Tuesday night performance is anything to go by, then Karim Adeyami could very well be Dortmund’s next superstar. The 22-year-old winger completely tore apart Celtic’s defense with his searing pace and incisive finishing. 

Adeyami announced himself on the European stage in style. The winger scored a scintillating hattrick in just 31 first-half minutes. What’s truly remarkable is that he found the back of the net three times from an xG of just 0.24. Despite a sluggish start to the season, no one ever questioned his immense talent or unique abilities. Now, the 22-year-old is finally translating that potential into tangible numbers, with 5 goals and 3 assists in 8 games so far. If Karim Adeyemi keeps up this electrifying form, it wouldn’t be shocking to see one of Europe’s elite clubs shell out a nine-figure sum to bring him on board. 

3) Stade Brestois Aren’t Here to Make Up the Numbers 

One of the surprise packages of last season, Stade Brestois 29 finished the 2023/24 season as the third best team in France. This meant that they would play in the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. However, many fans didn’t give them any chance to qualify into the latter stages of the tournament. But Brest’s first two games in UCL suggest that they aren’t here to make up the numbers. Their first two results in the Champions League have bewildered several fans. They started their UCL campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Austrian side, Sturm Gruz.  

Stade Brestois followed that win with another hugely surprising win over Champions League regulars, RB Salzburg. Brest just didn’t defeat Salzburg -- they humiliated them 4-0, that too at the RedBull Arena. This victory meant that Brest were topping the UCL table for a brief moment. The French minnows have kicked off their Champions League journey in style, but the real tests are yet to come. Facing European giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayer Leverkusen in the upcoming weeks will be nothing short of a baptism by fire. However, with matches against PSV Eindhoven, Sparta Prague, and Shakhtar Donetsk also on the horizon, a spot in the knockout rounds isn’t entirely out of reach. Brest’s fairy-tale could still have more chapters. 

4) Unai Emery is Working Wonders in Birmingham 

Two years ago, Aston Villa were in a relegation dogfight under Steven Gerrard’s leadership. In order to save their season, the Villa hierarchy made a decision which completely transformed their fortunes – they decided to pay Villareal 5.2-million pounds for Unai Emery’s services. And since then, the Villans have not looked back. In his first full season in-charge, Emery brought UCL football to Villa Park for the very first time since 1982. Villa finished fourth, above the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United. But despite this outstanding achievement, many fans thought that Villa would struggle with the added burden of Champions League football. 

So far, that hasn’t been the case. Unai Emery’s men have handled the added pressure of UCL football within their stride. They began their UCL campaign with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Young Boys. However, their next match was against UCL royalty, Bayern Munich. The Bavarian giants had not lost a group stage Champions League match since 2017. So, with such a huge task at hand did Aston Villa crumble? No, they rose like a Phoenix. The Villans handed Bayern their first group stage defeat since 2017 thanks to a stunner from Jhon Duran. With favorable ties against Club Brugge, Bologna and Celtic still left, Aston Villa have the opportunity to secure a Top-8 spot, which will guarantee them a berth in the Round of 16. 

5) Upsets Galore in Gameweek 2 

In an era where the gap between Europe’s wealthiest clubs and the underdogs seems to widen every day, it's always refreshing to witness surprises on the grandest stage. Gameweek 2 of the Champions League delivered plenty of upsets. Firstly, 15x UCL winner Real Madrid were humbled by LOSC Lille, as the French side defeated Los Blancos 1-0 thanks to a goal from Jonathan David. The Spanish giants failed to break a stern Lille rearguard despite feilding stars like Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior. It weren’t just Real Madrid feeling the sting—Aston Villa pulled off a shock win against Bayern Munich, while Stade Brestois absolutely dismantled Champions League regulars RB Salzburg by 4-0. 

Meanwhile, Los Blancos’ cross-city rivals, Atletico Madrid were also on the wrong end of a 4-0 trouncing. Los Rojiblancos suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Benfica. While Benfica are no minnows by any stretch of the imagination, they are a much smaller club than Atletico Madrid. Goals from Akturkoglou, Angel Di Maria, Alexander Bah and Orkun Kokcu rounded off a humbling night for the Spanish giants. Elsewhere, Dinamo Zagreb held their own to draw against Monaco, and Sparta Praha frustrated VFB Stuttgart in a 1-1 stalemate. This week of UCL action reminded us that no team is untouchable, no matter their reputation.