Match day four of the UEFA Champions League will be remembered by Spurs fans, Dele Alli, Sergio Aguero, Mo Salah and a few others. Aclsports have sifted through and come up with these five takeaways over the two nights of action.
1. Milestones for Sergio Aguero and Layvin Kurzawa
While these two weren’t the only ones who scored goals on match day four, theirs were historic ones. Aguero became Manchester City’s all time top scorer after he scored the third goal in Man City’s 4-2 win over Napoli. The Argentine, who was playing his 264th game for the club since his £38million move from Atletico Madrid in 2011, has now scored 178goals for the Cityzens.
Paris Saint-Germain’s defender, Layvin Kurzawa, was an unlikely hero for the French giants in their 5-0 thrashing of Belgian champions, Anderlecht. In a team parading the likes of Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe and world most expensive footballer, Neymar, it was the France international who stole the headlines after he inspired PSG to the round of 16 by bagging a hat trick on Tuesday.
It wasn’t the first time a defender would score in the CL, but Kurzawa’s goals, scored in the space of 26minutes, were the first time a defender had scored three times in a match in the history of the competition.
2. Four teams are through to the round of 16
Ahead of match day four, there were eleven teams could qualify for the round of 16, if results went their way. After the round of matches, only four teams were able to book their places in the knockout round. Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Tottenham and Manchester City the sides who have so far confirmed their places.
PSG did so with a 5-0 hammering of Anderlecht, Bayern picked up a 2-1 win at Celtic, while Man City and Tottenham recorded impressive 4-2 and 3-1 wins over Napoli and Real Madrid respectively.
3. Tottenham shock Real Madrid, as English sides shine
In what can only be described as an impressive night for English football, Tottenham led a pack of brilliant outings in the CL for clubs representing England. Spurs shocked Spanish giants, Real, at Wembley, after goals from Dele Alli, who grabbed a brace, and Christian Eriksen, earned them a very convincing and comfortable 3-1 win.
Elsewhere, Liverpool, and the Manchester clubs, recorded good wins, with Chelsea the only English side that failed to win, after their 3-0 loss to Italian side, Roma. Spurs and City, who lead their groups, are through to the next round, Manchester United, also leading their group, still need a point, Liverpool and Chelsea still having a lot to fight for.
4. Mohamed Salah celebrates CAF award nomination in style
Liverpool and Egypt forward, Mohamed Salah, was his usual self for his club side, as they ran out 3-0 winners over Maribor. Just before the game, the football governing body in Africa, CAF, had released a list of nominees for its coveted African Footballer of the year award, with the Egyptian leading the pack.
Salah went ahead to celebrate with a goal, the opener in the Reds’ win. It was Salah’s fourth goal in 4 games, as he continues to be the shining light for club and country. The 25-year-old, who guided his country Egypt to their first world cup in almost three decades, has been superb for Liverpool, with 5 goals in 10 PL games this season.
5. Nigerians missing in action
While Salah was doing his club and country proud, there was a noticeable absence of Nigerians in the CL. Henry Onyekuru, was the only Nigerian who featured on match day four, he was part of the Anderlecht side that lost heavily to French side, Paris Saint-Germain.
Victor Moses, another Nigerian to have played in this season’s CL, was expectedly missing in action as he continues his recovery from an injury. Moses’ Chelsea were comprehensively taken apart by Italian side, Roma, who also have a Nigerian, Umar Sadiq, at the Stadio Olympico. Sadiq was not listed at all, but his club still thrashed Chelsea 3-0.
Do you (dis)agree with our five talking points? Do let us know what your highlights were in the comment section.
