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We are halfway through the Champions League group stage and the tournament has lived up to its hype with some great games. PSG, Manchester United, Manchester City, Barcelona, Besiktas are off to a perfect start with 9 points from 3 games. Defending Champions Real Madrid are behind Tottenham in Group H.
Atletico Madrid, Monaco and Borussia Dortmund have struggled so far this season and risk elimination. Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo top the goalscoring charts with 5 goals.
Let's take a look at the 5 things we have learned from UEFA Champions League campaign so far.
#5 PSG have Europe's best front three
MSN is history now. Paris Saint-Germain were clear about their ambitions when they swooped in for Neymar and Kylian Mbappe this past summer. They invested €400 million with the sole objective of winning the Champions League and they are doing just that.
Edinson Cavani, Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe are beginning to show their good understanding as the trio have settled into their roles well; Cavani plays down the centre with Neymar and Mbappe on either side. In the Champions League, they have 9 goals amongst them in 3 games and have eased past defences, which includes that of Bayern Munich.
They sit on top of Group B with 9 points from 3 games and have scored 12 goals this season, the most by any team.
#4 Atletico Madrid yet to get going
The 10 men of Qarabag collected their first ever point in the Champions League by holding last season's semi-finalists Atletico Madrid. This Champions League season has gone from bad to worse for Diego Simeone's side as they have failed to replicate their good league form.
With 2 points from 3 games, they sit in 3rd place in Group C, behind Chelsea and AS Roma, and are yet to win a game this season. They lost to Chelsea 2-1 at home and drew the other game against Roma. While their own defence has done well, they haven't breached the opposition defence well enough and have scored just once in Europe this season.
They face an uphill task with 3 games remaining and an away trip to Stamford Bridge in November. Unless they play their best football in the next 3 games, last season semi-finalists could be demoted to the Europa League.
#3 Manchester City could go all the way
In simple terms, Manchester City have just been unstoppable this season, be it the domestic league or the Champions League. Pep Guardiola has had a perfect start to the season with City as they are beginning to stamp their dominance with free-flowing attacking football.
They beat Napoli 2-1 at Etihad and sit on top of Group F with 9 points from 3 games. With the likes of Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne, City have a deep squad and have been able to breach even the meanest of defences.
While all the talk has been about their incredible attack, their defence has improved. They are defensively good and it is getting harder and harder to find a weakness in this City side.
#2 Borussia Dortmund face an uphill struggle to qualify
Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund were held to a 1-1 draw by Apoel Nicosia on Tuesday which left them third in Group H with just one point from 3 games. They are now in danger of suffering a group-stage exit.
In a potential group of death, Real Madrid and Tottenham lead the way in Group H with 7 points each from 3 games. Dortmund, meanwhile, are yet to win a game this season in Europe and have to win all their remaining games to stand a chance for qualification to next round. They will have to rely on results elsewhere, though, and with Madrid and Spurs in such good form, it's unlikely there will be any slipups.
With the Klassiker against Bayern Munich and the Revier Derby against Schalke to come next month as well, Dortmund will have a tough time juggling their squad for the Champions League games. The margin for error is extremely thin now (are you reading, Roman Burki?) as Dortmund will face a make or break month in a couple of weeks.
#1 Transfer window failure costing Monaco
Last season's semi-finalists and 2016/17 Ligue 1 Champions are reeling at 4th place in Group G after their defeat to Besiktas at home. In a relatively easy group on paper, Monaco were expected finish on top but they are at the risk of group stage elimination.
Monaco sold most of their star players in the summer transfer window and failed to adequately replace them. They've failed to make home advantage count and have lost both their home games in Champions League so far as they currently have 1 point from 3 games.
They face an improbable task of qualification to next round and must win all their remaining games to stand a chance. Their domestic form is also not great after their defeat to Lyon last week. Transfer window failure is coming to haunt Leonardo Jardim's side.
