Gameweek 6 of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League (UCL) had in store some mouthwatering clashes between Europe’s elite clubs. Cagey draws, high-scoring entertainers and feisty encounters that enthralled football fans were the order of the day.
While Liverpool maintained their 100% record in the league phase, PSG and Real Madrid secured all-important wins. Inter suffered their first defeat of the campaign against Bayer Leverkusen, while the Villans came out on top in an almighty tussle.
Let’s take a look at the happenings of Gameweek 6.
Liverpool became the first club to secure the Round of 16 qualification with a win here, albeit with a far-from-convincing display.
The visitors started the game positively and controlled most of the possession in the first 15 minutes. The Reds came close with a Joe Gomez header which forced a save from Paulo Gazzaniga from close range. Liverpool didn’t see many chances after that in the first half, with the home team taking the initiative and making their backline toil and sweat. Arnaut Danjuma was a particular threat, as both he and Bryan Gil forced saves from Liverpool’s returning goalkeeper, Alisson Becker. Liverpool forward Darwin Núñez missed a few big chances as it remained goalless at the break.
The away side got slightly better and started to attack with intensity as the second half began. The increased possession in the opposition half reaped rewards when Luis Díaz was fouled by Donny van de Beek in the box. After a lengthy VAR review, the on-field decision was overturned and a penalty was awarded to Liverpool at the hour mark, which Mohamed Salah converted. Liverpool managed to keep control of the game from there on and didn’t allow Girona any clear-cut chances to equalise.
Dinamo Zagreb and Celtic played out a goalless draw as neither side could really force the issue.
Celtic were the better side, but they were restricted to shots from outside the box. Their most clear-cut chance arrived just before the break when Nicolas-Gerrit Kühn was denied by Danijel Zagorac.
The hosts showed more intent after the break, with Celtic goalie Kasper Schmeichel denying Martin Baturina and Marko Pjaca. Late in the game, Adam Idah looked certain to score from an Arne Engles pass only for a last-ditch intervention by Zagreb defender Kévin Théophile-Catherine to deny the Celtic striker.
Even though Celtic could be on their way to playoff qualification with a decent point away, their wait for away win in the Champions League still continues, which they last managed in 2017.
Brest’s inaugural Champions League campaign continues going beyond their wildest dreams so far as they edged PSV at home with a crucial win.
PSV would be ruing their missed chances as they dominated proceedings in the first half. Brest have now won four of their first six UCL matches, but this could have gone the other way had their goalkeeper Marco Bizot not been in top form. The Dutchman made a string of impressive saves to keep his countrymen at bay. Two minutes before half-time, the hosts delivered the telling blow against the run of play as a header from Mama Baldé deflected off a defender and landed perfectly for Julien Le Cardinal to tap in his first Brest goal.
PSV came buzzing in the second half but were unlucky as a couple of their shots hit the post. On the other side, Brest had a glorious opportunity to double their lead, but opposition goalkeeper Walter Benítez made a low, diving save to keep PSV in the game. The Dutch outfit couldn’t find an equaliser, though, and went home with a loss despite dominating the game.
PSV had an incredible 18 attempts on goal but failed to score from any of them as Benítez pulled off a Man of the Match performance.
Also read: UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Sponsors
Sporting CP’s winless run continued as they dealt with life post the Ruben Amorim era while Club Brugge boosted their chances of qualification with a home win.
Sporting had a dream start when they opened the scoring inside three minutes. Geny Catamo pounced on a rebound to give his side the lead. Brugge levelled in the 24th minute when Eduardo Quaresma diverted Christos Tzolis’s shot into his own net. Moments later, Sporting also had a penalty awarded for a foul on Maximiliano Araújo but VAR replays showed the tackle was outside the box and Viktor Gyökeres blasted the free-kick over the crossbar.
The game remained in the balance until the 84th minute when substitute Casper Nielsen blasted Brugge to victory from captain Hans Vanaken’s pass.
With this win Club Brugge piled more misery on the Portuguese club who are now winless in four straight games in all competitions.
Leverkusen left it late at home to grab all three points ending Inter’s unbeaten run in the competition.
Leverkusen almost made a perfect start with Nathan Tella’s shot hitting the crossbar inside three minutes. Granit Xhaka had another decent opportunity but his curling shot from outside the box was saved by Jan Sommer. The German champions dominated proceedings with the Nerrazzuri having no sight on goal in the first half.
The second half saw the hosts trying to break the deadlock but stout defending from the highly-rated Alexander Bastoni denied them the opener. However, the home side’s efforts paid rich dividends in the closing stages of the game when
Alejandro Grimaldo’s dangerous cross into the box was latched on by Nordi Mukiele and shot calmly into the Inter net to the delight of the fans in the Bayer Arena.
A much-deserved victory for the Die Werkself who kept Inter on the backfoot the entire game. Even though the result doesn’t affect either team much in terms of qualification, it would certainly be a huge confidence booster for Xabi Alonso’s side.
A five-goal thriller at the Red Bull Arena but it’s been a dismal campaign for the home side who remain winless in the competition.
Aston Villa had a perfect start with John McGinn providing the opener in the 3rd minute of the game. Matty Cash chipped in the ball to Ollie Watkins who headed it down in the box for McGinn for an easy finish. However, a defensive mix-up between Ezri Konsa and Emiliano Martínez gifted Leipzig an equaliser in the 26th minute when Loïs Openda cashed in on the mistake. The first half ended 1-1.
Seven minutes into the second half, the Villans regained the lead with a Jhon Durán swerving strike from outside the box beating the Leipzig goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi from distance. Durán scored again from a Matty Cash assist but the full back was marginally offside in the buildup. But the Villa dominance was short-lived as Christoph Baumgartner restored parity with a looping finish five minutes later from an Openda pass into the box. Both sides missed chances with Lucas Digne’s shot forcing a save from Gulácsi and Openda failing to capitalise on a Pau Torres error. The home crowd were heartbroken five minutes from full-time when Ross Barkley’s shot was deflected off a Leipzig defender to give Villa the winner.
A massive three points away for Aston Villa who have more or less boosted their chances of qualification while Leipzig continue to suffer in the Champions League this season.
Bayern Munich put in a five-star performance against Shakhtar Donetsk in Gelsenkirchen having gone down a goal early in the game.
Shakhtar’s solitary goal of the game came in the 5th minute when Oleksandr Zubkov’s through ball found Kevin, who cut inside Kim Min-jae before sending his shot into the far corner. However, the German side levelled just six minutes later. Michael Olise lost possession in the area but the ball fell kindly to his teammate Konrad Laimer who took a touch to control it and then smashed it into the roof of the net. Shakhtar had the chance to go back in front but Georgiy Sudakov put his shot wide after an excellent pass from Kevin in the box. On the stroke of halftime though, Thomas Mueller didn’t make a mistake when Jamal Musiala took the ball into the box and laid it for the veteran forward, giving Bayern a 2-1 lead.
Shakhtar put pressure on Bayern at the start of the second half but were unable to find an equaliser while Bayern put their foot on the pedal now. Bayern thought they had extended their lead when Musiala volleyed home from a corner but the goal was chalked off for a foul on the opposition keeper. However, minutes later the referee pointed to the spot for a foul by Alaa Ghram on substitute Sacha Boey. Olise stepped up in the 70th minute to convert the penalty, putting daylight between the two sides. Musiala then capped off an excellent performance in the 87th minute, collecting a loose ball in the box and firing past Dmytro Riznyk. Olise then got his brace with a magical goal, weaving through the Shakhtar defenders and firing into the bottom corner to complete a five-star performance for the Bavarians.
With this win, Bayern Munich rose up to 8th position while Shakhtar have work to do if they don’t want to directly bow out of the UCL.
Real Madrid narrowly beat a gritty Atalanta away at the Bergamo, grabbing a crucial three points to ensure they have a chance of qualifying.
Boosted by the return of their talismanic winger, Vinicius Jr., Real Madrid started on the front foot and opened the scoring in the 10th minute from the much-discussed Kylian Mbappé who took a brilliant touch past the defender and struck the ball low into the far corner. However, he had to leave the match in the first half due to injury and was replaced by Rodrygo who also returned to the team post an injury layoff. To make matters worse, Atalanta equalised just before the break from Charles de Ketelaere who took the resulting penalty when Aurélien Tchouaméni fouled Sead Kolašinac from behind inside the six-yard box.
However, the late setback didn’t deter the Galácticos and they regained the lead in the 56th minute through Vinicius Jr who scored from a rebound. Three minutes later, Jude Bellingham scored from a blistering counter attack from the visitors giving Los Blancos a 3-1 lead. The Italian league leaders weren’t the ones to hold back though and reduced the deficit through marksman Ademola Lookman in the 65th minute before Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois highlighted his importance with a string of saves to secure a hard-fought win.
With two games left, the defending champions have climbed up to 18th in the 36-team table on nine points, three points off the top eight spots which secure direct qualification to the last 16. Atalanta is ninth on 11 points.
PSG finally secured a crucial three points against a struggling RB Salzburg as they moved into the playoff spots.
The French side threatened from the outset, through Lee Kang-in, Achraf Hakimi and Bradley Barcola, but the Salzburg goalkeeper Alexander Schlager managed to keep them at bay in the early period. At the half-hour mark though, Achraf Hakimi set up Portuguese forward Gonçalo Ramos for a fine finish for the opener. The lacklustre home side had no clear-cut chances and were lucky to go into the break with a 1-0 deficit.
The Parisians looked dangerous in the second half as well as the hosts struggled to keep up with them. The closest Salzburg came was through Nene Dorgeles in the 63rd minute, as he broke into the box on the left and shot at goal, but PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kept the ball out of his net. PSG were the better side and Mendes doubled their advantage in the 72nd minute with a powerful left-footed shot from Doue’s pass. Doue then added a third goal in the 85th minute to put the game to bed.
With this vital win, PSG got up into playoff spots while RB Salzburg’s abysmal CL campaign continued with them languishing in the 32nd place.
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