Champions League review: Slot and Amorim shine as a Swedish star rises

Go upstairs

Liverpool

At the top of the Champions League, at the top of the Premier League, Arne Slot’s start at Liverpool is beginning to shake off the doubters who pointed out that the man who succeeded Jurgen Klopp had not yet met a good opponent. A draw against Arsenal was followed by defeats to Brighton and Leverkusen, with Tuesday’s 4-0 win over the latter being the best performance yet. Liverpool first took the sting out of Leverkusen’s pressure and then went for the kill. Luis Díaz scored his first hat-trick for Liverpool, a reminder of the high quality of a player too often underestimated. Xabi Alonso was the coach most linked with Klopp’s replacement, yet he opted to stay at Leverkusen, which bears the scars of last season’s record performances. The official word is that Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes was a Slot fan from the start. Slot’s Liverpool, who combined patience with quick, deadly counters, taught Leverkusen a lesson. Such is the confidence of the new manager that he managed to negotiate the raucous CBS studio gang with a few jokes. cut Jamie Carragher to size.

Sporty

Manchester United are not playing in the Champions League this season, but Tuesday was arguably the club’s best night in the competition since beating Paris Saint-Germain in 2019. It was a night to live vicariously through the performance of the team, coached by their new manager, Rúben. Amorim. He said tchau against Estádio José Alvalade in a crushing 4-1 win over Manchester City, in which he showed his qualities. Initially Sporting had to suffer as City dominated possession. The speed of their counter-attack and the precision of their pressing then saw them score four goals, forcing City’s ragged defenders to concede two penalties. “It was written, it had to be that way,” Amorim said. In Britain, TV viewers had to listen when City ultra, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, was given co-communication duty on TNT. Initially full of chatter, he was reduced to near silence in the second half.

Monaco

Another week in which the French clubs held their ground. That is, apart from Paris Saint-Germain, who lost to Atlético Madrid and certainly had no goal threat. Monaco, beating Bologna 1-0, jumped to third place in the tableone place ahead of Brest, who are still undefeated, based on goals scored. It took a late goal from former West Ham player Thilo Kehrer, not someone well remembered at the London Stadium, to beat the Italians. Adi Hütter’s side, a combination of smart imports and young players, were previously denied by Bologna keeper Łukasz Skorupski. Finally, Kehrer bundled in a corner kick. Monaco are 22 places above PSG in the Champions League.

Sliding down

Real Madrid

Time may have clouded the fact that the club’s first Galáctico era often brought disappointment. A star name does not guarantee improvement for the team, especially when another mainstay has left. For all the talk about Kylian Mbappe’s problems, Toni Kroos’ retirement has been particularly damaging. His departure, combined with the advancing years of Luka Modrić, has left a hole in midfield. Winning 3-1 at the Bernabéu, Milan made the most of the space and time they were given, with Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leão the standouts, the latter causing real problems for stand-in full-back Lucas Vázquez. Madrid are still reeling from Barcelona’s Clásico defeat, their star system functioning as satellites of each other. Yes, Vinícius Júnior scored a penalty against Milan, but he and Mbappé look nothing like a viable partnership; between the 13th and 43rd minutes the Frenchman did not touch the ball once. The usually unflappable Carlo Ancelotti is under pressure.

RB Leipzig

Firstly, we must give Celtic credit for a glorious night at Parkhead, where the noise from the fans must have left Leipzig’s ears ringing. Celtic’s purposeful 3-1 victory was in stark contrast to the latest flop from Leipzig, who lost all four group stage matches. Marco Rose, their coach, had canceled an open training session before the match for fear of ‘spies’, but to no avail. Nicolas Kühn, who played for Leipzig’s youth team but was allowed to leave by Ralf Rangnick due to his unsuitability for the urgent game, scored twice for Celtic. In their current European form, Leipzig’s remaining schedule of Inter, Aston Villa, Sporting and Sturm Graz looks daunting. Yet brother Red Bull Salzburg at least managed to upset the conglomerate, with a handy 3-1 win over Feyenoord. That prevented eight consecutive losses for the Red Bull empire.

Arsenal

A glimpse of Martin Ødegaard, as a late substitute, was the best news in weeks for ailing Arsenal. A 1-0 defeat at Inter was no shame; Simone Inzaghi’s team consists of quality, battle-hardened veterans. And Arsenal fans will point out that the ball that bounced unluckily off Mikel Merino’s hand to award the Italians a winning penalty was a case of the letter of a law that many believe is too strict. The real concern lies with a lack of fluency that has coincided with Ødegaard’s absence and has worsened over the weeks. That too much pressure is put on Bukayo Saka borders on the cliché, just like the lack of a top player; Kai Havertz was guilty of missing decent chances, although his late curler almost caught Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Arsenal are at a standstill, and a week in which Edu, their popular sporting director, left the club has continued with more uncertainty.

A good week for that

Viktor Gyökeres, Sporting

The Swedish striker, whose hat-trick earned Manchester City a third successive defeat, is arguably Europe’s hottest asset. Gyökeres became the first Swede to score a hat-trick in the Champions League since Zlatan Ibrahimović and tops the Champions League scoring charts with five goals and an assist. He is 26 and has come to prominence at Coventry City late after being rejected by Brighton. He has scored 23 goals in 17 appearances this season, a rate that would make Erling Haaland proud, and Gyökeres overshadowed his fellow Scandinavian in Lisbon. There was one glaring miss in the first half and he will be very expensive if any club moves for him, but his goals would certainly be useful for Amorim if he follows his coach to Manchester United. One wrinkle: it was United sporting director Dan Ashworth who managed Gyökeres from Brighton.

Luis Diaz, Liverpool

When you watch the Colombian, you get images of Díaz rushing down the wings and wreaking havoc for the full-backs. The latest Slot innovation was to play “Lucho” through the middle, and it produced immediate, excellent results with that hat-trick against Leverkusen. There have been occasional doubts about Diaz’s finishing, that his scoring rate does not match the amount of space and chances he creates for himself. That idea can be put aside for now. Klopp never put Díaz in the middle in the two and a half seasons we worked together. “I really enjoyed playing that position,” Diaz said after the game. “The manager makes it very clear what exactly he wants from us.” Slot continues to impress in his regeneration of the team he inherited from Klopp.

Matteo Darmian, Inter

There were a few clean sheets in the fourth week, and although Inter saw them against Arsenal with some discomfort, the job was done satisfactorily. The security forces against Mikel Arteta’s side will always have stopping Saka as their priority, and in Milan he was kept quiet by a two-man affair of full-back Darmian and Yann Bisseck, the left-wing centre-back of a trio. Darmian is one of the great survivors. Ten years ago he was one of the first signings of Louis van Gaal’s failed revival at Manchester United; he played for Italy at the 2014 World Cup, when they crashed out in the group stages. At 34, he is one of Inzaghi’s flexible and willing foot soldiers. In his later years he developed the acumen for which Italian defenders are recognized worldwide. If Saka struggles with his workload, the double team on him has deepened his struggles.