Champions League: 5 things we learned from Matchday 4
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
With just two more rounds of games remaining in the group stage of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League, the knockout phase picture is beginning to come into sharper focus.
Here are five thoughts now that a thrilling, action-packed Matchday 4 is over.
Barcelona survives, but barely
Down by two goals late at home to Inter Milan on Wednesday, it looked for all the world that Barcelona would fail to advance to the business end of the world's most prestigious club competition for the second consecutive season. That easily could still happen.
The brightest stars shine in the biggest moments, though, and Robert Lewandowski showed exactly why he was Barça's No. 1 transfer target in 2022, scoring a pair of equalizers over the final eight minutes late to salvage a 3-3 draw that his team thoroughly didn't deserve.
The result prevented Inter from advancing to the second round, and it granted the Catalan club a stay of execution, at least temporarily. Barcelona now has to beat Bayern Munich at home and Czech minnow Viktoria Plzen away in their final two matches, and also hope that Bayern doesn't lose to Inter — which will surely top last place Plzen — on the final match day.
That might be too much to ask, even with Lewandowski in the lineup.
Salah's record-smashing hat trick paces rampant Liverpool
It's probably wise not to read too much into the Reds 7-1 win Wednesday in Glasgow against Rangers. The hosts were that badly outclassed. Then again, this was a cathartic display from Liverpool given their frustrations, particularly in the Premier League, this season.
Mohamed Salah didn't even start the game at Ibrox. He still scored three goals in a six-minute span in the second half — the fastest hat trick in Champions League history.
Could this be the game that finally turn things around for the Reds? With Liverpool — who have participated on three of the last five Champions League finals — sitting 10th in the Prem and 14 points back of leaders Arsenal after Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Gunners, manger Jürgen Klopp could decide to prioritize European play over domestic competition in the second half of 2022-23.
That would be scary thought for the rest of the field if the Reds have indeed finally found their feet.
Man City, Real Madrid the first to clinch
Two of the title favorites punched their ticket to the second round despite not winning on Tuesday. Manchester City, the competition's runner-up in 2021, clinched without Erling Haaland (who was rested) or anyone else even scoring a goal in Copenhagen. Rodi had an early strike called back for a handball in the buildup, and Riyad Mahrez saw his penalty kick saved. City played the majority of the match with 10 men after Sergio Gómez was shown a red card in the first half.
While it wasn't their day, shorthanded City didn't concede either, securing a hard-earned point that was enough to guarantee their passage to the round of 16. And while the tie did snap the Sky Blues' perfect start to their Champions League campaign, Pep Guardiola's side still lead Group G by three points after Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla also ended in a stalemate.
In Group F, defending champ Real Madrid were lucky not to lose to Shakhtar Donetsk. The Ukrainians — who have been forced to play their home games in Poland because of Russia's ongoing invasion — took a 1-0 lead deep into second half stoppage time before Antonio Rüdiger headed in the leveler. The German defender paid the price.
Bayern, Club Brugge and Napoli also advance
Three more teams secured passage to the last 16 on Wednesday. Bayern ran out to a 4-0 lead in Plzen to basically seal the deal before the hosts pulled two back in the second half.
Club Brugge — one of the stories of the season so far — progressed to the second round for the first time in 10 tries, becoming just the second Belgian team to so. Following Wednesday's scoreless draw at Atletico Madrid, Brugge now leads Group B ahead of former champion Porto and previous finalists Atleti and Bayer Leverkusen. Ex- Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet was the man of the match for the visitors, posting his fourth successive clean sheet.
Napoli may not have repeated last week's 6-1 drubbing at Ajax, but they still posted another comfortable victory over the Dutch giants, jumping out to an early 2-0 advantage through Mexican national team forward Chucky Lozano, a lead they wouldn't relinquish en route to a 4-2 win. Of the 32 entrants, Napoli and Bayern are the only two to have won each of their four games so far.
Nightmare season continues for Juventus
It looked like the Old Lady had turned things around last week. A decisive win in Serie A was followed by another last Wednesday, as Juve easily dispatched Cinderella side Maccabi Haifa at home.
Tuesday's return match in Israel was the polar opposite. Coming off a deflating weekend loss to Italian rival AC Milan, Juventus looked like a team with no confidence in a 2-0 defeat that wasn't as close as the scoreboard suggests.
Juve now has just three points from four contests. Tuesday's result was shocking enough that Juventus president Andrea Agnelli had to publicly back manager Massimiliano Allegri afterward.
Another difficult road trip awaits Juventus in their next match, on Oct. 25 at Benfica. Even a win in that one might not be enough, not with a visit from Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and the rest of Paris Saint-Germain's all-star squad looming in their final Group H test.
One of the leading soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
