Champions League review: Five things from the second round of group games
Champions League review: Five things from the second round of group games

Champions League: Five things from matchday two of Europe's elite competition


Here is a look at the five big talking points from the second round of fixtures.

1. Sorry Spurs

Things have not been going great for Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham this season and a home defeat to Bayern Munich is no huge surprise, but to see them ship seven goals was shocking.

Records were broke as the German giants ran riot in north London in a game which would give us a good indication of who would top of Group B - and it certainly has.

Last year's finalists look off the mark both domestically and in Europe after also throwing away a two-goal lead at Olympiakos on matchday one.

The fact former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry bagged four didn't help, but neither did the sorry capitulation towards the end of the game that turned a defeat into a rout.

Not only are last year's runners-up in danger of a group stage exit after taking one point from their opening two games, but it further adds to their woes this season after a sluggish start to the Premier League and an embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to League Two side Colchester.

The pressure is cranking up on Pochettino, who is now leading the Premier League sack race.

Jan Vertonghen said the squad were feeling 'ashamed' after a 'painful' defeat as the Belgian defender fronted up post-match.

"Everyone is ashamed of this result. I think everyone will have a bad night's sleep and probably a couple about this. I feel extremely hurt. All negative words. It is embarrassing. It is a very bad result."

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  • Tottenham Hotspur have conceded seven goals in a home match for the very first time in any major competition.
  • Spurs’ 2-7 defeat to Bayern was Mauricio Pochettino’s joint-heaviest ever defeat as a manager in all competitions alongside a 0-5 loss to Real Madrid in March 2012 with Espanyol.
  • FC Bayern Munich registered their joint-second biggest ever away victory in European competition, behind only a 7-1 win against Roma in October 2014 (Champions League).
  • Spurs’ 2-7 defeat was the biggest ever margin of defeat by an English team at home in European competition.

2. Hawthorns flop to Bayern hero

From someone who couldn't get a game for Tony Pulis at West Brom, to bagging four against Spurs in the Champions League, Serge Gnabry has announced himself on the big stage.

As mentioned, it was a superb performance all round from Bayern but especially by Gnabry, who has come a long way from his struggles in England, famously being labelled not good enough by Tony Pulis at West Brom.

After arriving at Emirates Stadium as teenager in 2011, Gnabry left England five years later having made little impression. His impact was so minimal that former West Brom boss Tony Pulis claimed Gnabry was not "at the level to play games" during a loan spell with the Baggies in the 2015-16 campaign.

He managed one Premier League goal for the Gunners from five starts and as many substitute appearances before returning to his homeland.

Gnabry tore Spurs apart with a devastating combination of powerful running and clinical finishing to seal a remarkable final scoreline and leave Bayern's travelling fans taunting the home support with chants of 'football's coming home'.

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  • Serge Gnabry is the only the second German player to score four goals in a Champions League match after Mario Gomez versus Basel in March 2012 (also for Bayern, 7-0-win).

3. Not the Real deal?

Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric after Real Madrid draw 2-2 with Brugge in the Champions League
Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric after Real Madrid draw 2-2 with Brugge in the Champions League

Zinedine Zidane insisted he was 'not worried' after Real Madrid were forced to come from two goals down to avoid an ignominious Champions League defeat against Club Brugge.

Emmanuel Dennis' peculiar brace gave the Belgian side a 2-0 half-time lead against the 13-time European champions, who opened their Group A account by being brushed aside 3-0 by Paris St Germain a fortnight ago.

Nigerian forward Dennis made a hash of the opener after nine minutes, failing to control the ball before it bounced off his leg and trickled into the net, with the goal awarded after initially being chalked off for offside.

Dennis then broke free in the 39th minute after dispossessing Luka Modric and regained his composure after threatening to stumble to lift the ball over Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Zidane said: "The two goals that they scored were a joke, that's all I can say on that.

"I'm not worried. We know we have to make and finish chances because in the first 10 minutes, if we had been a little more clinical, we could have had the opening goal.

"We need to do that at home, go to kill the game from minute one and push our rivals. I don't want to speak ill of a rival, but if we pressed like we did in the second half, they would have had no chance."

4. Red Bull grow wings at Anfield

European champions Liverpool were 3-0 up and cruising at Anfield against Red Bull Salzburg but the Austrians have been banging goals in for fun all season long, and they stunned the Reds by dragging themselves back into the game at 3-3.

Salzburg's first goal just before half-time was seen more as an annoyance rather than a sign of things to come, but a combination of sloppy play from the hosts and some fantastic attacking intent from the visitors saw a mesmerising second half unfold.

Striking sensation Erling Haaland surprisingly started on the bench for Salzburg but he showed his goal-scoring instincts by bagging the equaliser on the hour mark to silence Anfield and grab a deserved reward for their swash-buckling style of play.

Mohamed Salah grabbed what turned out to be the winner to spare Liverpool's blushes with a 4-3 win but, although Liverpool were poor and possibly took their foot off the gas, all credit must go to Salzburg who, after sticking six past Genk last week, showed they are very much Champions League material.

Jurgen Klopp said pre-game that Salzburg were almost a mirror image of Liverpool and they certainly played that way with pace, pressing and attacking intent of the highest calibre producing a wonderful game of football at Anfield.

Roll on the return fixture in Austria!

5. Ajax at it again

They may have lost Matthijs De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong, but Ajax could again be a real force in this competition after starting their group campaign with two wins out of two - scoring six and conceding zero goals so far.

Given they lost their two best players, that's some start for a team that due to UEFA's bizarre coefficient rating saw last season's semi-finalists having to come through qualifying rounds just to get into the group stage.

We had them pegged as group favourites in our Champions League preview and they'll give Chelsea all they can handle in the two games between them, but there's no doubt that this Ajax side are the real deal in Europe once again.

Hakim Ziyech showed against Valencia just why he's been coveted by some of the Premier League's big guns over the last couple of summers with a stunning strike at the Mestalla.

Watch out for Ajax again then this season, they'll be a decent bet to make the knockout stages and then, after beating Real Madrid AND Juventus last season, they'll be a side nobody really wants to pull out the hat.

They were mere seconds away from making the Champions League final last season and will be desperate to go one better this time around - and despite big-name departures they still seem well equipped to go deep again.

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