What happened in the Champions League?

There is still one more Champions League matchday to go before we know exactly which teams will progress to the next round of the competition, but yesterday we already saw some of the early title contenders emerge. There were plenty of goals, plenty of surprises, teams that managed to qualify when few expected them to, and others that looked like favourites but fell short.

Unfortunately, we also had to witness an incident of racism, which we’ll take a moment to analyse together. But it wasn’t all bad news, as during last night’s matches we also saw some surprises from key players… who are we talking about? Stay with us and you’ll find out!

We simply must start by talking about the match between Barcelona and Juventus, not only because of the spectacle both teams promised, but above all because it meant seeing Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo face to face once again – the eternal rivals who have so often made us dream and love this sport.

We didn’t get to see them face off in the first leg, where Barcelona won in Turin, but at the Camp Nou we were once again treated to seeing both of them on the pitch.

However, the match had a clear dominant force. Pirlo’s Juventus, after a somewhat hesitant first fifteen minutes, stepped up the pace and managed to find the back of the Barça net on three occasions. That 0-3 result allowed the Bianconeri to finish top of the group, relegating Barcelona to second place.

There was little to write home about from the home side, apart from a few moments from Messi that were thwarted by a magnificent Buffon, who was always flawless when called upon.

And, of course, having said all that, we must focus on Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star scored a brace from the penalty spot and was the star of the show. Beyond the goals, he constantly helped the team, contributing to defensive duties and playing an active part in attacking moves. For the second goal, for example, he drew two defenders away, leaving the American McKennie completely unmarked to score with a spectacular bicycle kick.

For all these reasons, we believe CR7 was the star of the match, playing a direct or indirect part in all three goals and overshadowing his great rival, Messi.

We now turn to a match that could only be played until the 13th minute of the first half due to an incident of racism.

2020 is drawing to a close and, sadly, these incidents continue to occur both within and outside the world of football. This time, moreover, it did not come from a fan or a player, but from a member of the refereeing team.

It is not yet entirely clear exactly what happened, but we do know that the players from both teams decided to leave the pitch and suspend the match, considering what had happened to be completely unacceptable.

What was confirmed was that the match would resume later with a new refereeing team.

But what actually happened? What triggered such a strong reaction from the players?

According to reports available at the time, one of the spectators is said to have referred to a member of the visiting team’s coaching staff using an expression considered racist, which provoked immediate outrage among the players and coaching staff of both teams.

But it wasn’t all bad news. During this match, we also got to see some new boots that many of us had been waiting for for some time. We are, of course, talking about the new model worn by Neymar. The Brazilian’s new Puma boots made their debut on the pitch, although very few details were known about them at the time. The only thing that seemed clear was that they would become the new football boots of PSG’s number 10.

There are still many teams with one foot out of the competition, and we will have to wait for the remaining matches to find out definitively which clubs will progress from the group stage. However, yesterday’s fixtures have already provided some certainty.

Chelsea and Sevilla, as expected, managed to qualify as first and second in their group respectively.

Furthermore, Lazio, after a group stage full of ups and downs, secured their place in the last 16 as runners-up, leaving the top spot in the hands of Borussia Dortmund.

As we have already mentioned, Juventus snatched top spot from Barcelona thanks to their resounding victory at the Camp Nou.

Meanwhile, Leipzig secured their place in the next round following a goal-fest, knocking out Manchester United, one of the major disappointments of this season’s Champions League.

The following matchday would settle the remaining groups. Some seemed all but decided, such as those involving Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid, or Manchester City and Porto.

However, others remained completely open, such as the group featuring Real Madrid and Inter Milan, where both teams went into the final matchday in third and fourth place, whilst Borussia Mönchengladbach topped the table followed by Shakhtar Donetsk.

Another major unknown lay in the group featuring Ajax and Atalanta, who would battle it out in a head-to-head clash to join Liverpool, the clear leaders of their group, in the next stage of the competition.