Champions League: verdict at the halfway point of group stage

PSG do not have the squad to win the Champions League this season

Ángel Di María rescued a point for Paris St-Germain at home against Napoli with his stunning late equaliser but there is no glossing over the fact that Thomas Tuchel is having to work with an extremely unbalanced squad. The front three of Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Edinson Cavani are potent enough but the midfield and defence are simply not equipped to win the Champions League. Adrien Rabiot looked like his defensive duties were optional against Napoli while there were loads of space for Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne to exploit behind PSG’s back four. After the game Tuchel was repeatedly asked why PSG are not one of the favourites to win the competition and, having replied to the same question several times, he finally said: “Wow, OK, that is your argument … But our conversation is a bit strange too. We are not at a restaurant. You just asked me a question, I give you my opinion and you have to accept that opinion, no?”

Manchester City lead way among contenders

Pep Guardiola said the first half against Shakhtar Donetsk was the best Manchester City had played since his arrival in 2016 and they have certainly shrugged off that home defeat to Lyon and should qualify for the last 16 as group winners. Riyad Mahrez has given Guardiola even more options going forward and the return of Kevin De Bruyne means competition for places in midfield is staggeringly high. The Belgian was asked after the 3-0 win in Ukraine whether City could win the competition this season, to which he replied: “We just try to win every game and see where that takes us. There are about 10 teams who could win it.” And out of the 10 teams City look arguably the strongest of the lot at the moment.

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Will Brozovic’s tactic at defending free-kicks catch on?

Luis Suárez had a wry smile on his face that said: “I thought I had scored but fair play to you,” as he contemplated Marcelo Brozovic’s actions to prevent his free-kick from finding the net. The Uruguayan, as is becoming more frequent, decided to aim his free-kick under the wall. So far, so good as the wall jumped and the ball made its way towards the Inter goal. But then Brozovic appeared from nowhere, sliding in on the floor to stop the ball in its track. It was so surprising and so well-executed that even Lionel Messi, in the stands with his injured arm, had to smile. In the end it was not enough for Inter to get a point but they did unsettle Barcelona at times, especially in the second half. The home team showed they can win without Messi and there were signs that Arthur could possibly become a midfield giant for them. Early days, though.

Borussia Dortmund are a joy to watch

Dortmund have been playing well for a long time now – and are top of the Bundesliga – but it was still a surprise to see them beat Atlético Madrid 4-0. It was Diego Simeone’s heaviest defeat in his seven years as Atlético manager and he was full of praise for Lucien Favre’s side, saying: “They played very efficiently, very dynamically. The most important thing is to quickly use possession, and they did so wonderfully, it is very nice to watch.” Favre has so many options going forward and his 4-2-3-1 is working perfectly at the moment. Axel Witsel has been an inspired signing in defensive midfield and it will be interested to see how far this young side can go in the competition.

Real Madrid do not look like contenders

The holders squeezed past Viktoria Plzen 2-1 with goals from Karim Benzema and Marcelo and they are joint top on six points with Roma in their group but there is little to suggest that they will win a fourth consecutive Champions League. Goalscoring, for so long their strength, has become a problem and confidence has been affected. Julen Lopetegui appears to be a dead man walking and the question is whether the players can save him. To be fair to the players, though, it seems as if they do want to save him. After the game on Tuesday, Marcelo said: “The manager is doing a great job. We’re on his side and the results will come. We’ll keep working to win. Real Madrid always come back.”

Ajax’s band of youngsters set for knockout phase

The Dutch side are not quite up there with Dortmund when it comes to attacking fluency and threat but they are becoming a great side to watch under Erik ten Hag, who replaced Marcel Keizer as manager in December 2017. Ajax, just like Dortmund, are full of youthful potential, with the centre-back Matthijs de Ligt (captain at 19), Noussair Mazraoui (20), Frenkie de Jong (21) and Kasper Dolberg (21) playing with a maturity beyond their years. Against Benfica on Tuesday night they simply did not give up and Mazraoui scored the winner in the 92nd minute. They have already drawn away to Bayern and are joint top with the German champions after three games.

Juventus are getting better and better under Allegri

The gulf in class between Juventus and Manchester United was almost embarrassing for the Premier League team on Tuesday night. The game finished 1-0 to Massimiliano Allegri’s side but they could have scored three or four. The complete control with which Juve dictated the game suggests they will go far this season, too. Allegri has an astonishing capability to tweak his team to make it better and better despite losing key players. They certainly look stronger with Cristiano Ronaldo up front rather than Gonzalo Higuaín and the midfield three at Old Trafford – Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi and Rodrigo Bentancur – was a lesson in how to control a game. Paulo Dybala got the winner and there are few better forwards in Europe at the moment.

The Champions League is a tough learning curve

It takes time to adapt to the Champions League – everyone knows that – and for Tottenham it is proving a painful experience. Last season they had Juventus on the ropes in the last 16 but despite a 2-2 draw away in the first leg and a 1-0 lead at home until the 64th minute they threw it away. They said they had learned their lesson but this season they have surrendered leads at Internazionale and PSV Eindhoven and Mauricio Pochettino admitted after the 2-2 draw against the Dutch side that Spurs’ hopes of progressing are “nearly over”. This is Tottenham’s third consecutive season in Europe’s premier club competition but it looks as if it is a step back rather than forward for the north London team.