In this article, we take a look at all the action from Gameweek 5 of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League (UCL).
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | AC Sparta Praha 0-6 Atlético Madrid
Atletico Madrid made it back-to-back victories in this season’s UCL as they defeated Sparta Praha 6-0 in the Czech capital.
Julián Alvarez started the romp after winning a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, which he proceeded to score with a clinical dead-ball strike. Just before half-time, Atleti would make it 2-0 courtesy of Marcos Llorente.
Alvarez grabbed his second of the evening just before the hour mark before Antoine Griezmann came off the bench to add another goal to his Champions League tally. Later on, Ángel Correa added two goals in the 85th and 89th minutes to complete the rout.
The result takes Atlético up to 13th place in the first phase standings, while Sparta sit in 28th—one point off the final playoff spot.
Player of the Match: Julián Alvarez
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | ŠK Slovan Bratislava 2-3 AC Milan
Milan continued in their winning ways in the Champions League with a much-needed 3-2 win against Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night.
The game started with the Rossoneri being largely dominant, and after 20 minutes the visitors took the lead through Christian Pulisic after some nice work from Tammy Abraham. Frustratingly, though, they did not learn from an earlier mistake and were not lucky as Tigran Barseghyan lofted the ball over Mike Maignan to level the proceedings.
The second half was quite lacklustre for the most part until Rafael Leão set things in motion after coming on at the start of the half, scoring to make it 2-1. Then, just minutes later, Abraham got his goal for the evening, pouncing on a mistake from the Slovan defence and slotting home with ease.
Slovan did get themselves a goal back a minute away from the end of normal time, adding a bit of nerve to the game, but a late red card quickly eased Milan’s worries.
Player of the Match: Rafael Leão
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | BSC Young Boys 1-6 Atalanta BC
Last season’s UEFA Europa League winners continued to thrive in the European topflight with a victory in Bern, which takes them to fourth place in the table. The Bergamaschi remain unbeaten in the UCL thus far.
Mateo Retegui opened the scoring inside ten minutes, though Young Boys provided an immediate response as forward Silvère Ganvoula nodded home a corner at the near post. The Swiss joy was short-lived, however, as Charles De Ketelaere, provider for the first goal, turned goalscorer for the second to re-establish Atalanta’s lead. He then turned provider twice more to cap off a stunning first-half performance.
After the interval, De Ketelaere secured his second with a low deflected finish from the edge of the box, while substitute Lazar Samardžic tricked his way into the box to add a sixth goal in stoppage time.
Player of the Match: Mateo Retegui
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen 5-0 FC Red Bull Salzburg
Bayer Leverkusen got their Champions League campaign back on track with a 5-0 home win over Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday.
Leverkusen, beaten 4-0 by Liverpool in their last game, raced into an early lead as Florian Wirtz scored from the penalty spot in the eighth minute, with Alejandro Grimaldo netting from a free kick three minutes later to double their lead.
Wirtz scored again on the half-hour mark as Leverkusen threatened to run riot, with Patrik Schick adding a fourth goal 16 minutes after the break. Substitute Aleix García then rounded off the win 18 minutes from time, just four minutes after entering the pitch.
This win moves Leverkusen up to fifth with 10 points, while Salzburg remain on three points in 30th after suffering their fourth defeat in five matches.
Player of the Match: Florian Wirtz
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | FC Internazionale Milano 1-0 RB Leipzig
Inter took another step towards direct qualification for the last 16 with a 1-0 win over Leipzig on Tuesday to go top of the table.
Castello Lukeba’s own goal midway through the first half was enough for the Nerazzurri—who are yet to concede a goal in the UCL this season—to win their fourth straight match in the competition.
The reigning Serie A champions now lead Barça by a point as they sit second in the table, while Leipzig remain on no points after a fifth defeat in as many games, with qualification to the playoffs looking extremely tricky.
Player of the Match: Piotr Zielinski
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | Sporting CP 1-5 Arsenal FC
Arsenal produced a statement win as Mikel Arteta’s full-strength side thrashed Sporting 5-1 in Lisbon to boost their chances of automatic qualification to the UCL playoffs.
The Gunners punched in three first-half goals through Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, and Gabriel Magalhães, with an inspired Bukayo Saka wreaking havoc down the right flank.
Sporting did pull a goal back less than three minutes after the restart as centre-back Gonçalo Inácio turned in a corner at the front post, raising the possibility of an unlikely comeback, but Saka slotted his penalty past the Sporting keeper in the 65th minute to regain Arsenal’s three-goal lead before substitute Leandro Trossard tapped in a fifth eight minutes from time to put the result beyond doubt
Arsenal have now into seventh in the table, above Sporting on goal difference.
Player of the Match: Bukayo Saka
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | FC Bayern Munich 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain FC
Bayern Munich won 1-0 over a ten-man PSG side thanks to a Kim Min-jae winner to improve their chances of direct qualification and leave the visitors in trouble after a third defeat in the competition.
Having not won a game in the UCL since beating Girona in the opener, PSG were desperate for points coming into this game, but Bayern struck first through the South Korea international as he headed home from close range on the back of Matvei Safonov fluffing a corner in the 38th minute.
Things got worse for Luis Enrique’s team when Ousmane Dembélé was dismissed for a lunging tackle that brought a second booking in the 57th minute, weakening an already struggling side. Safonov did make amends for his earlier mistake by tipping a Jamal Musiala shot on to the post, but despite some late pressure PSG could not deny Bayern all three points.
Player of the Match: Kim Min-jae
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | Manchester City FC 3-3 Feyenoord Rotterdam
Man City’s woes continued as they surrendered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 at home to Feyenoord, making it six games without a win across all competitions.
Guardiola, enduring his worst run as a coach, seemed on course to see his side cruise to victory when two goals from Erling Haaland either side of half-time sandwiched Ilkay Gündogan’s 50th-minute deflected volley. But there was late drama.
Anis Hadj-Moussa seized upon a defensive error by Joško Gvardiol to pull the first goal back in 75th minute before substitute Santiago Giménez converted from close range to get the City nerves jangling. Dávid Hancko then headed in the equaliser with a minute of regular time remaining, leaving the Cityzens and Guardiola scratching their heads.
Player of the Match: Anis Hadj-Moussa
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | FC Barcelona 3-0 Stade Brestois 29
Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Barça cruised to a 3-0 win over the French side on Tuesday. The veteran Pole has thus joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the only players to pass the 100-goal mark in the competition.
After successive LaLiga games without a victory, the Blaugrana returned to winning ways with a dominant display. Lewandowski gave his side the lead within ten minutes after kick-off, but the hosts squandered several chances to extend their lead before Dani Olmo got their second with a fine individual finish in the 66th minute after dribbling past two defenders. Lewandowski then wrapped up the win in added time with a tidy finish inside the far post from Alejandro Balde’s assist.
The victory has lifted Barça to second in the 36-team UCL table, with 12 points from five games, one point behind Inter and three points off the table-topping Liverpool. Brest, meanwhile, have dropped to ninth and sit on 10 points.
Player of the Match: Pau Cubarsí
Also read: UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Sponsors
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | SK Sturm Graz 1-0 Girona FC
Austrian Bundesliga outfit SK Sturm Graz narrowly beat Girona at home, getting their first win of this UCL season.
Chances were few and far between for both sides as they failed to create any clear-cut opportunities, but Girona had the best chance of the game in the 22nd minute when an unmarked Iván Martín in the box turned the ball over from five yards out.
Sturm Graz broke the deadlock before the hour mark when Mika Biereth scored from a rebound after Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga had parried off Tochi Chukwuani’s shot. An uninspired Girona couldn’t find a response and hardly troubling Sturm Graz, who held on to the three vital points.
Player of the Match: Oriol Romeu
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | FK Crvena zvezda 5-1 VfB Stuttgart
It was a five-star from Crvena zvezda as they ran riot against a hapless Stuttgart at home.
The visitors opened the scoring when Ermedin Demirovic volleyed in from close range to give his side a fifth-minute lead, the Red Star defence having failed to clear the ball, though they responded seven minutes later with an equaliser from Silas, whose low-curled finish found the net against his parent club. Amidst a raucous home crowd, Red Star took the lead just after the half-hour mark through a fine volley from Rade Krunic.
The hosts squandered glorious opportunities with two back-to-back counterattack moves in the second half but finally turned the screws with a third goal in the 65th minute when an unmarked Mirko Ivanic headed in at the far post. Substitute Nemanja Radonjic added a fourth goal just four minutes later, finishing off a blistering counter attack. The home team completed the rout in the 89th minute as Radonjic scored his second of the night.
Red Star’s incredible performance earned them the crucial three points, while Stuttgart continue to struggle in the Champions League.
Player of the Match: Rade Krunic
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | Aston Villa FC 0-0 Juventus FC
Late drama ensued at Villa Park as Morgan Rogers was denied a late winner due to a controversial refereeing call.
The hosts had the majority of chances in an otherwise not-so-happening game. Juve were kept quiet for prolonged periods of the game, with Villa showing the attacking spark. The first real chance of the game arrived in the 36th minute, when Ollie Watkins’ low shot was saved by Michele Di Gregorio. The Villans had another chance to break the deadlock just before the break when Lucas Digne’s free kick rattled the crossbar.
Juventus’s only clear-cut chance of the game was sensationally saved by Emiliano Martínez as he saved Francisco Conceição’s close-range header. Villa did score in stoppage time when Rogers headed in the ball, but it was denied for a foul on Di Gregorio.
The Villans would be considering themselves unlucky as The Old Lady return home with a mighty let-off.
Player of the Match: Francisco Conceição
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | AS Monaco 2-3 SL Benfica
Portuguese side Benfica came twice from behind to end ten-men Monaco’s unbeaten run thanks to an inspired display by Ángel Di María.
Monaco forward Eliesse Ben Seghir gave his side the perfect start in the 13th minute, shooting home Aleksandr Golovin’s pullback after a superb counter-attacking move. Benfica should have equalised in the 37th minute when Di María caught hold of a poor back pass, but Monaco goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki saved the chance.
The second half started in even more frenetic fashion when Breel Embolo’s shot hit the post, a chance he would rue a few minutes later as Benfica equalised through Vangelis Pavlidis, who capitalised on a poor headed back pass from Caio Henrique. To add insult to injury, Monaco then had centre-back Wilfried Singo pick up his second yellow card just before the hour mark. However, that didn’t deter the hosts and they took the lead in the 67th minute through substitute Soungoutou Magassa’s low-shot into the corner.
Numerical advantage gave Benfica the courage, however, and Di María crossed to Arthur Cabral to level in the 84th minute. Four minutes later, the Argentine winger crossed again for Zeki Amdouni to head the winner, giving Benfica a massive three points against an in-form opposition.
Player of the Match: Ángel Di María
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | PSV Eindhoven 3-2 FC Shakhtar Donetsk
Dutch side PSV staged a late dramatic comeback to beat ten-men Shakhtar Donetsk in a highly entertaining encounter.
The away side raced to a two-goal lead before the break much to the despair of the home side. Shakhtar opened the scoring in the eighth minute through a counter-attacking move as Yukhym Konoplya set up Danylo Sikan for a sliding finish. The visitors doubled their advantage in the 37th minute through Olexandr Zubkov, whose curling shot beat Walter Benítez in goal.
PSV came out determined after the break, but even though they had several attempts on goal they didn’t really threaten until the sending-off of Pedro Henrique for a dangerous challenge. Armed with numerical advantage, PSV piled on the pressure and Shakhtar’s resistance crumbled as Malik Tillman scored a brace within three minutes—first squeezing in a free kick near post in the 87th minute and then from a long- range effort beyond Shakhtar keeper Dmytro Riznyk. Further drama ensued as deep into stoppage time Ricardo Pepi found the winner for the home side from a shot in off the post.
This was an incredible Champions League encounter, and Shakhtar will be disappointed with the dropped points.
Player of the Match: Malik Tillman
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | Liverpool FC 2-0 Real Madrid CF
Hosting arguably the headline fixture of Gameweek 5, Anfield was raring to go for this iconic encounter between two of Europe’s greatest clubs.
Liverpool dominated the game and possession from start to finish and ended up deserved winners, while an injury-ravaged Real Madrid could barely cope with the Reds’ intensity.
Liverpool had a great chance inside five minutes when Darwin Núñez’ low shot was touched by Thibaut Courtois before the tricking ball was cleared off the line by Raúl Asencio. The first half saw Liverpool continue to threaten as, in another chance, Núñez hit straight to a charging Courtois. The first half ended goalless.
The hosts upped the tempo in the second half and reaped rewards when Alexis Mac Allister interlinked with Conor Bradley to score the opener in the 52nd minute. The Galácticos had a huge chance to equalise when they were awarded a penalty for an Andy Robertson foul on Lucas Vázquez in the box, but Kylian Mbappé’s weak shot was parried away by Caoimhín Kelleher. Minutes later, on the opposite side of the pitch, Mohamed Salah stepped up to take the spot kick for a penalty that was awarded for a foul on him by Ferland Mendy, but he too failed to take the advantage and scuffed his shot wide of the post. However, Liverpool did get their second from a short corner routine when Cody Gakpo rose highest to head home in the 76th minute. The hosts defended well in the late stages and managed to keep a clean sheet as well.
The Reds remain unbeaten with five wins out of five in the Champions League this season, while on the other hand Los Blancos are now in a spot of bother for automatic qualification.
Player of the Match: Alexis Mac Allister
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | Celtic FC 1-1 Club Brugge KV
Celtic were held to a 1-1 draw by Club Brugge after probably conceding one of the worst own goals in the history of the Champions League.
It was the visitors who controlled large parts of the first half and broke the deadlock in the 26th minute when a bizarre back pass to an out-of-goal Kasper Schmeichel from defender Cameron Carter-Vickers ended up in the net, giving the Belgian side the lead.
The home side played much better after the break and Schmeichel kept them in the game as he denied Maxim De Cuyper with a fine save. The hosts found the equaliser at the hour mark from Daizen Maeda, who cut inside before bending a curled shot in off the far post. The reigning Belgian Pro League champions thought they had grabbed the winner nine minutes later, but the VAR disallowed Ferran Jutglà’s goal and the game ended in a draw.
Player of the Match: Daizen Maeda
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | Bologna FC 1909 1-2 LOSC Lille
Lille ended up deserved winners as they beat Bologna 2-1 away from home with an impressive start-to-finish performance.
Lille started attacking from the get-go and almost scored from Alexsandro’s header off the post. However, the visitors kept pressing and got the opener two minutes from the break through Ngal’ayel Mukau, whose initial shot was saved but the ball ricocheted back to him and he didn’t miss at the second time of asking.
Bologna improved in the second half and found the equaliser through a free-kick routine as Jhon Lucumí scored from a well-directed curling cross in the 61st minute. Bologna fans were still celebrating when their team conceded a lead three minutes later, once again through Mukau. Bologna couldn’t find another opportunity to score, while Lille still pressed to create more chances, and if not for Lukasz Skorupski pulling off some fine saves for the Rossoblù, the final score could have ended up looking even worse for the home side.
Player of the Match: Ngal’ayel Mukau
UCL 2024/25 Gameweek 5 | GNK Dinamo Zagreb 0-3 Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund thrashed their Czech opponents in a one-sided encounter, putting behind their dismal recent away record in the process.
Dortmund started in attacking fashion and had the majority of the chances to score, with Donyell Malen missing at least two glorious opportunities and Dinamo goalkeeper Danijel Zagorac making a string of exceptional saves. However, the visitors finally broke the deadlock in the 41st minute courtesy of a powerful curling shot from outside the box from Jamie Gittens.
The visitors doubled their advantage in the 56th minute through an unmarked Ramy Bensebaini header. Dinamo could hardly manage a decent scoring opportunity and Dortmund killed off the game in the final minute through Serhou Guirassy, who came off the bench and piled on more misery on the home side with a drilled finish.
While Dortmund remain on track for direct playoff qualification, Dinamo Zagreb languish in the bottom half of the first phase table.
Player of the Match: Ramy Bensebaini
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