Takeaways from Matchday 3 of the Champions League
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, sixteen games were played for matchday 3 of the Champions League. Most favorites won this week with the exception of Chelsea out of Group H.
Michy Batshuyai’s 86th-minute game-winner propelled the English side over Ajax, the champions of Holland. Ajax was the more dangerous and experienced side from what I saw. But, Frank Lampard’s late substitutions of Christian Pulisic and Batshuyai helped Chelsea’s chances deep into the second half. In the 86th minute, Mason Mount, the 19-year old Englishman delivered a dangerous through ball to American winger Christian Pulisic. Pulisic then took an Ajax defender 1-on-1 and delivered a couple stepovers. He then delivered a dangerous baseline ball to Michy Batshuyai, Batshuyai then crushed the ball home. The balled seared off the crossbar and flew in, giving Andre Onana no chance for a save. Chelsea then held out for the next five minutes to gain the three points.
In Group H, Ajax and Chelsea now lead the group with 6 points apiece. In third place is Valencia with 4 points, and LOSC Lille in 4th with a point. This Chelsea win will be huge for the club the later group stage goes on. I see Chelsea and Ajax both making it through to the knockout stage.
Inter Milan’s 2-0 win over Dortmund proves to be a legitimate squad. Inter Milan is a squad coached by Antonio Conte, an experienced Italian coach. Inter Milan is in second place in the Serie A only behind Juventus. Inter Milan has had a stellar start to their 2019 campaign. Inter played very well against a talent, strong German side in Borussia Dortmund. Inter Milan outshot Dortmund 8-5, and had possession 42% of the time.
In the 22nd minute, Lautaro Martinez received a peach of a ball. Martinez then took a great first touch to set up the opening goal for the Italian side. After this goal, Dortmund then pushed but didn’t reward themselves with a goal. Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund had the best chance early in the 2nd half. Sancho received a baseline ball, but wasn’t able to keep his footing for a one-time finish. Then, in the 89th minute, Antonia Candreva propelled Intern Milan with a 2-0 lead on a classic counter-attack goal. In the late minutes of the game, Dortmund pushed up desperately for a goal. A 50/50 ball was won by Inter Milan and Candreva was sent a through ball. With Martinez tracking for a square ball, Candreva powered the ball past the Dortmund keeper, securing the three points.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City still looks impressive. The English powerhouse beat Italian squad Atalanta with ease on Tuesday this week. Raheem Sterling’s hat trick propelled the English side to a demanding 5-1 at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England. Manchester City outshot Atalanta 15-13 and held possession 56% of the time.
In the 28th minute, Atalanta drew a penalty on Manchester City on a clumsy Fernandinho tackle. Ruslan Malinovskiy converted the penalty and took the early lead. However, Sergio Aguero scored in the 34th minute, and again in the 38th minute on a penalty. Manchester City went into the locker room at halftime with a 2-1 lead. The second half was all Manchester City. Raheem Sterling turned on the jets and scored a hat-trick in 10 minutes. He scored in the 58th, 64th, and 69th minutes amazingly. This is one of the quickest hat-tricks ever in Champions League history. Manchester City then took a commanding 5-1 lead to secure another three points in the Champions League.
Manchester City also has a commanding lead in Group C with 9 points. There’s a tie for second place with 4 points apiece for FC Shakhtar Donetsk and GNK Dinamo Zagreb. Atalanta BC hasn’t won a point yet in Group C. City will come out on top by Match day 6 and will enter the knockout stages as the top seed in Group C. FC Shakhtar Donetsk will advance in the second sport towards the knockout stage.
–Griffin Price