WEDNESDAY’S UCL ACTION

The Champions League group stage went out with a bang Wednesday evening.

Here is what we made of the events across the continent.

PSG look far from giants

Paris Saint-Germain are still in search of the title they desperately crave, but only just.

Truth be told, a club of this stature should probably never have been in this position on Matchday Six, regardless if they were in the ‘Group of Death’ or not.

Many tipped the French side to dominate, but at one point, they were very likely staring at Europa League football before Warren Zaire-Emery saved the day.

Kylian Mbappé doesn’t appear to be the decisive man we saw in the World Cup final, and his teammates struggled to rise to the challenge in his absence.

Lee Kang-in, Randal Kolo Muani and Bradley Barcola all notably missed huge opportunities in the first half.

When analysing their recent performances in Europe, PSG perhaps don’t bear the ‘giants’ tag as initially thought.

Luis Enrique and company will want to change that in the knockouts with even bigger tests ahead.

Newcastle can hold their heads high

It was pure heartbreak for those at St. James’ Park as Newcastle went from being a goal up, to losing 2-1 and eliminated from Europe.

They follow Manchester United as the second English club to finish bottom of their Champions League group. Yet there’s a massive difference in character here.

After 20 years away from the competition, Eddie Howe’s men proved they had what it takes to at least go toe-to-toe with the big leagues in the ‘Group of Death.’

That mesmerizing win over PSG will forever be remembered, as will the draw against them and the tie against Milan.

Newcastle finished with the same amount of wins as giants Celtic and Benfica, more points than 10 other clubs and conceded fewer goals than a staggering 20 of the 32 teams.

Going from third in the group to potentially second and then crashing out at fourth will sting.

But it’s a massive testament for the club, which is something another particular English side failed to demonstrate this season.

Don’t look now…

It may just be happening again. Atlético de Madrid are turning into a Champions League juggernaut once again before our very eyes.

Diego Simeone’s side were regular customers in the semi-finals and beyond during the mid-late 2010s, and those glory days could be upon us once more.

The LaLiga side scored 17 goals across their six Group E games, winning four of them to finish top.

Meanwhile in their domestic league, Los Colchoneros have won 11 of their opening 15 league clashes, conceding only 14 goals in that stretch.

There is perhaps one thing that could strike fear in almost every team in Europe; a resurgent Atlético de Madrid led by Diego Simeone in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

Limping to the finish line

Barcelona are through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League since the 2020/21 campaign, but they don’t look convincing.

Just days after losing to local foes Girona in LaLiga, Xavi’s side have suffered defeat at the hands of what should be perceived as inferior competition in the form of Royal Antwerp.

While it was a rotated side for Barcelona in Belgium, it was an XI that still featured a front-three of Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, and Robert Lewandowski.

Xavi has pushed the idea that his side are still ‘under construction’, but after winning LaLiga last season by a comfortable margin, some excuses can’t fly.

The Catalan club will be overjoyed to be back in the Round of 16 after three years, but they will have plenty of improving to do before February.

The kids are alright

When you think of Manchester City, you think of the superstars like Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, and Bernardo Silva. You think of spending big money to put together one of the great football teams of our generation.

But City’s 3-2 win away to Red Star Belgrade showed another way.

The standout performers from the Blues victory were three Manchester City academy products; Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb, and debutant Micah Hamilton.

Hamilton and Bobb showed why they have dominated in youth football in recent years, scoring two superb goals respectively.

Meanwhile, Rico Lewis pulled the strings in midfield, providing an assist to earn top-spot on the team in that statistical category (3).

The stars will return when City make their foray into the knockout rounds, but the Etihad faithful will certainly take some joy from seeing their very own stars shine on the biggest stage.