UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Gameweek 4 Review Part-1

Day 1 of UEFA Champions League Gameweek 4 had plenty in store for us. In the early kick-offs, Dinamo Zagreb thrashed Slovan Bratislava 4-1 away from home while PSV Eindhoven made light work of a 10-man Girona side at home. 

In the late kick-offs, AS Monaco registered another impressive win away from home at Bologna to continue their good run, while Celtic comfortably navigated RB Leipzig at home. Liverpool thrashed former player Xavi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen side, while Dortmund left it late to secure a narrow one-nil win against Sturm Graz. High flying Lille were held to 1-1 draw at home by Thiago Motta’s Juve while the last two UCL champions Real Madrid and Manchester City suffered humiliating defeats to AC Milan and Sporting Lisbon respectively. 

In this article, we take a look at the all the action from Day 1 of Gameweek 4 in the UEFA Champions League league phase. 

Slovan Bratislava 1-4 Dinamo Zagreb

Dinamo Zagreb eased to a convincing 4-1 victory at Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday, recovering from an early scare to dominate the match.

It took five minutes for David Strelec to put Bratislava ahead, but the visitors quickly took control of the contest. Dario Špiki? equalised five minutes later, and Petar Su?i? turned the tide in Dinamo’s favour with a goal on the half-hour mark. The visitors maintained their dominance in the second half as Sandro Kulenovi? netted a quick double with goals in the 54th and 72nd minutes.

The result left Bratislava in a spot of bother, searching for their first point after four matches.

Dinamo, on the other hand, are comfortable in the playoff section of the table, with seven points after four matches.

PSV Eindhoven 4-0 Girona

PSV Eindhoven won their first match in the Champions League this season as they thrashed Girona 4-0 at the Philips Stadion on Tuesday.

Ryan Flamingo got the scoring under way after 16 minutes as he turned Malik Tillman’s long throw home, before Tillman himself got on the scoresheet 17 minutes later with a fine finish after he arrived into the box unopposed. 

Things went from bad to worst for Girona after half-time, with Arnau Martínez receiving a red card 10 minutes into the second half for a second bookable offence.

From then, it was all one-way traffic and PSV might feel aggrieved not to have won by a bigger margin given their glut of second-half chances.

Bologna 0-1 AS Monaco

AS Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer snatched a late goal to earn a 1-0 victory at Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday. The Monaco captain was left unmarked in front of goal four minutes from time, who stretched out a leg to poke the ball home from a flick off a corner to claim the points.

Both sides believed they had achieved a breakthrough in the first half but each time the goal was disallowed. There were chances in the second half but neither team could break the deadlock until Kehrer struck in the 86th minute.

The visitors maintained their unbeaten start to this season’s Champions League while dealing Bologna their first ever home defeat in European competition. The win puts Monaco in third place with 10 points, while Bologna are down in 30th spot with one point after four games.

Celtic 3-1 RB Leipzig

Nicolas Kühn scored an impressive double as Celtic secured back-to-back home wins in this season’s Champions League with a convincing 3-1 win against RB Leipzig.

The Hoops again proved their dismal showing in Dortmund was a one-off as they took belief from their draw against Atalanta last time out to stun the side sitting second in the Bundesliga.

Christophe Baumgartner headed the visitors in front but Kühn curled a stunning shot in off the post and smashed Greg Taylor’s cross into the net before the break to give Celtic the lead. In the second half, Reo Hatate put the game out of reach as he slammed the ball in after Leipzig keeper Péter Gulácsi made a mess of Alistair Johnston’s cross.

Following this result, Celtic now have seven points from four games with four games remaining, while RB Leipzig are yet to get off the mark in the competition.

Borussia Dortmund 1-0 SK Sturm Graz

Donyell Malen hit a late winner as Borussia Dortmund squeezed past Sturm Graz on Tuesday. The German side came into the match as the Champions League’s top scorers this season, but they could not find a way past visiting goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen with their first 18 shots.

Dortmund were missing several regular starters through injury and, as the second half went on, they tired and allowed the visitors to gain a foothold in the game.

Sturm grew in confidence and came close to taking the lead when Mika Biereth headed narrowly over. However, just as they looked set to leave the Westfalenstadion with a point, Dutch substitute Malen fired home five minutes from time in front of the Yellow Wall with his side’s 19th attempt.

This victory moved Dortmund up to fourth in the table on nine points after four games, while Sturm Graz still wait for their first point.

LOSC Lille 1-1 Juventus

Lille kept their composure to hold visitors Juventus to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday as the French side maintained their solid form in the group phase of the Champions League.

Bruno Genesio’s team, who beat Real and Atlético Madrid in their two previous outings, were under pressure throughout but another scintillating performance by keeper Lucas Chevalier helped them secure a point.

Jonathan David’s first-half opener for Lille was cancelled out by Dušan Vlahovi?’s penalty after the interval with both sides now on seven points from four games. Juve next travel to Aston Villa before hosting Manchester City while Lille’s schedule gets easier on paper as they face Bologna away and entertain Sturm Graz.

Liverpool 4-0 Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Liverpool’s Luis Díaz scored a hat-trick as they maintained their perfect Champions League campaign with a barnstorming second-half display in a 4-0 victory over Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield on Tuesday.

Arne Slot played Díaz as a centre forward and it proved to be a masterful move, as the Colombian broke the deadlock of what had been a sluggish affair in stunning fashion in the 61st minute. Cody Gakpo then doubled the Reds’ lead two minutes later when he dived to head Mohamed Salah’s cross home at the back post. 

Díaz netted his second in the 83rd minute when he latched onto a cross from Salah. He completed his hat-trick with a tap-in from close range in stoppage time after Darwin Núñez’s initial shot was blocked. 

Arne Slot’s men, who top the Premier League table, now provisionally lead the standings of Europe’s elite club competition with their fourth win in four matches, with Aston Villa, the only other team with a 100% record, playing Club Brugge in their fourth game on Wednesday.

Sporting 4-1 Manchester City

Sporting marked the final home game of coach Rúben Amorim’s reign in stunning fashion as Viktor Gyökeres’ hat-trick saw them come from behind to thrash Manchester City 4-1 and maintain their superb start to the Champions League on Tuesday.

The Portuguese league leaders were outplayed for most of the first half and should have trailed by more than Phil Foden’s early goal, but Swedish striker Gyökeres levelled it up before the break.

City were caught cold at the start of the second period as Maximiliano Araújo finished a flowing move straight from the kickoff, before Gyökeres doubled Sporting’s lead minutes later from the penalty spot. Erling Haaland had the chance to drag City back into the game but struck the crossbar with a penalty before Gyökeres wrapped it up for the hosts with another spot kick to send the Estadio José Alvalade crowd into raptures.

Amorim will be leaving the club in second position in the Champions League group phase with 10 points from four games, behind only Liverpool. Whereas City’s first defeat in this year’s competition leaves them on seven points although more worryingly they have now lost three games in a row in all competitions.

Real Madrid 1-3 AC Milan

AC Milan’s Malick Thiaw, Alvaro Morata and Tijjani Reijnders all got on the scoresheet in a surprise 3-1 win at holders Real Madrid in their Champions League clash on Tuesday.

Thiaw gave seven-times European champions Milan the lead with a header from a corner in the 12th minute but Vinícius Jr equalised with a penalty in the 23rd minutes. Álvaro Morata then put the visitors back in front by netting from a rebound in the 39th and Reijnders fired home a Rafael Leao cross after a counter attack to wrap up Milan’s statement win over the lacklustre title holders.

Following this result, Real Madrid are languishing in 17th place in the 36-team Champions League table with six points, one spot ahead of Milan on goal difference after four games.