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Another round of fixtures in the Champions League came to a close this Wednesday after a set of enthralling matches that amazed us. With three matches done and dusted for each team, only the return leg at the other team’s home remains.
Real Madrid got a hard-fought and much-needed win against Viktoria Plzen. Although Madrid shouldn’t have broken a sweat while defeating Plzen, they didn't win in a convincing manner. Bayern Munich also got a victory against AEK Athens in a similar fashion after a string of bad results.
Manchester City won 3-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk which saw Pep Guardiola giving minutes to an 18-year-old Phil Foden. An FC Barcelona sans Messi made quick work of Inter with a 2-0 victory and if Handanovic didn’t make two-three good saves, the scoreline could have been much bigger.
Borussia Dortmund continued their domination following their 4-0 victory against Atletico Madrid. Dortmund is in red-hot form and is looking good to challenge for the Bundesliga and a long run in the Champions League.
Some players rose up to the occasion for their team and pushed their ability to the limits. We look at five players who stood apart on matchday 3.
#5 David Ospina
The Colombian keeper moved from Arsenal to Napoli on a loan deal. After his performance on matchday three it is safe to say that if Napoli doesn’t get another world-class goalkeeper, Ospina would be a solid option between the sticks.
Ospina and his defence came up against one of the best teams in Europe in terms of attacking. The trident of Edinson Cavani, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe, if not dealt with, are capable of doing serious damage.
Napoli’s defence was broken many times by PSG’s midfield which created a plethora of opportunities for the forward line.
Ospina’s first major duty came when Edinson Cavani shot at goal from close to the 6-yard box and it was saved well by him. Neymar broke the defence next time which left Mbappe in the clear. However, Ospina closed down the angle on Mbappe and made a convincing save.
There weren’t many lethal attacks in the first half. But trailing by a goal, PSG was attacking from the word go in the second half.
Meunier directed a powerful header towards goal which needed a quick reflex save. Neymar, again, had an amazing free-kick tipped over the bar from the Colombian.
Ospina was beaten only twice on the night. The first time was off a heavy deflection by his defender from a Meunier shot. The second time, off a spectacular curler from Di Maria in stoppage time. He looked solid all around, didn’t make mistakes, showed good reflexes and was a rock for his team.
#4 David de Gea
It has been asked by many people time and time again. What is Manchester United without David De Gea? Does Manchester United deserve De Gea? After all, the attacks of Manchester United don’t do justice to all his commitment at the back. The United forward line barely complements De Gea's performance at the back.
Against Juventus, it was just another day when the Red Devils solely depended on the Spaniard to save them. No dangerous attacks came from the Reds except for one lethal strike from Paul Pogba that came back off the upright.
United tried to be conservative, not playing an aggressive defence, thus giving Juventus far more time to think and create. The decision to sit back and wait for the chance to arrive didn’t pay off.
Dybala tapped the ball in from close range off Ronaldo’s cross to give Juve the lead. However, the one goal was all that De Gea let go past him.
He was also forced into making a string of saves by Juventus. Ronaldo and Cancelo made a neat exchange of passes with the latter running in behind the defence. Cancelo's powerful shot was well saved by De Gea.
Ronaldo was at the centre of action again with a freekick from a good two metre outside the box. De Gea saved the freekick which was almost hit straight to him. The save, however, fell right to Blaise Matuidi who followed up with a brilliant strike. The Manchester United number 1 came up with a brilliant reflex save to deny Matuidi.
In the second half too, De Gea couldn't afford to lose concentration. Ronaldo released a strong shot heading right for the top right corner of the goal. De Gea reacted brilliantly to the shot to get a hand to the ball and keep it out. That was the closest Juventus came to beating him again.
But his efforts at the goal went in vain as Manchester United didn’t construct and orchestrate any attacks. The back four of Juventus was hardly tested. De Gea’s efforts at goal surely denied a defeat by a bigger margin.
#3 Luis Suarez
The Uruguayan striker was phenomenal on the pitch against Inter. During Lionel Messi’s absence, he was the leader of the attack. People had written Suarez off prior to the start of this season but he is proving all his critics wrong.
Suarez was brilliant against Inter. He didn’t just wait to pounce on the ball like a goal poacher but he made plays, created opportunities and assisted once as well. He had an early chance at goal thanks to to Arthur’s lobbed ball but he didn’t get the contact right.
Suarez passed amazingly and made good linkups with Rafinha and Alba. He played good return passes to Alba and Coutinho time and again. One major highlight in his passing was the exquisite backheel to Rafinha, which created a scoring opportunity for the Brazilian.
Suarez was ultimately involved in Barcelona’s first goal. Rafinha passed to him when he was lurking in the right wing. He didn’t attempt to pass immediately, or dribble. He looked for movement of other players. Once he saw the run inside, without giving a clue to the defence, he delightfully lobbed the ball over that was finished by Rafinha.
In the second half, Suarez created a goal-scoring opportunity for himself. He swiftly turned towards the goal while Asamoah was pressing him. He made his way inside the box and came straight up against Miranda and turned away from him as well. He created enough space to shoot but the save from Handanovic denied him his much-deserved goal.
Suarez also tried a cheeky free-kick under the wall that was saved by the great sliding block from Brozovic. He was good in passing, dribbling and off the ball positioning. He hardly lost the ball and looked in good form.
The only thing that separates Suarez now from the Suarez at his prime is the lack of killer finishing.
#2 Axel Witsel
Axel Witsel joined Borussia Dortmund only this summer and he is making quite the impact at the club. Lucien Favre is trusting him as his trump card and he is clearly making progress in the team.
Against Atletico Madrid, he made contributions in attack and defence alike. He helped a lot in the build-up play with quick passes. He also made defensive contributions, backtracking very quickly from advanced positions.
He marked his man well during corner kicks and free-kicks and didn’t mind having a go at the goal as well. He attempted shots from outside the box and scored with one of them.
Witsel didn’t mind the jostles, holding on to the ball under pressure and also attempting to win the ball back. He ended the night with a goal, 93% of pass success and three successful dribbles.
He held almost 6% of the ball possession in the whole game while also taking the highest number of touches for Dortmund. He made the most number of passes in his team and also made two interceptions to cap off his brilliant performance.
#1 Arthur Melo
This Brazilian kid is a wonder. He has never seen Europe before, never played football in Europe and never played in a competition with quality such as Champions League. The kid has Iniesta’s iconic shirt number at the back but he is drawing more and more comparisons to Xavi.
Arthur Melo performed amazingly against Inter. He played simple football, made simple passes, kept the possession with him and distributed the ball with precision. He just gets more and more like Xavi with each passing game.
The ability to retain possession, the passes, the turns, everything reminds us of the former Barcelona legend. He was involved in the game right from the starting whistle. He was tackled twice by Inter in the very starting minutes of the game which revealed the desperation that he created in the opposition.
He seemed a very patient character, doing just fine with the ball. He turned away from all the tackles and interceptions with delight and he dropped deep as well to build the attack.
Arthur didn’t mind the press from the opponents one bit, whether they came alone or they came in groups of two or three. He lobbed a beautiful ball towards Suarez but it didn’t end up as a goal. He also pressed the opposition well and won possession on two to three occasions.
Arthur held on to almost 7% of the team possession, second only to Alba and Rakitic in the game. He also had a 94% pass success.
Arthur had an all-around contribution. He made himself available for receiving passes. He bypassed the high press of Inter. He also nutmegged a few players in an attempt to keep possession.
Arthur brought stability to Barcelona’s midfield and he released the pressure of Rakitic and Busquets.
