Happy Wednesday! Matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League is already off to an entertaining start with 40 goals and a big surprise on Tuesday, and that's before the headlining act of the week – Liverpool's clash with Real Madrid. I'm Pardeep Cattry with a midweek update.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Wednesday, Nov. 27
🇪🇺 UCL: Sturm Graz vs. Girona, 12:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Liverpool vs. Real Madrid, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
Thursday, Nov. 28
🇪🇺 UECL: Heidenheim vs. Chelsea, 12:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UEL: Tottenham vs. Roma, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
⚽ The Forward Line
😮 Manchester City's surprising capitulation
Up until the 75th minute of play in the later games on Tuesday, it felt like Bayern Munich's 1-0 win over a 10-man Paris Saint-Germain would be the story of the day, especially since the loss leaves the French champions at risk of not advancing to the next round. Manchester City and Feyenoord, though, had other plans.
City threw away a 3-0 lead in the span of 13 minutes on Tuesday and extended their winless run to six games, the worst in Pep Guardiola's managerial career. The surprise draw offered fresh reminders of the issues that have plagued them during their winless run and all season long, chief among them being Rodri's absence after he tore his ACL in September. That does not seem to be City's only problem, though – they are averaging 0.6 fewer goals per game despite averaging 1.5 more shots per match than they were last year. Erling Haaland remains a frequent contributor and scored a brace on Tuesday, but Phil Foden looks far off from his 27 goal season last year while Julian Alvarez, who scored 19 goals last season, has not been replaced after he left for Atletico Madrid over the summer.
Rodri's absence might explain their defensive instability, conceding 18 goals in their last six games and seven in their last two matches alone. City are conceding 0.5 more goals per game on average this season, some of it down to individual errors, much as it was on Tuesday. The speed at which their three goal lead unraveled, though, asks some questions about what Guardiola described as their newfound fragility.
- Guardiola: "The game was fine at 3-0 and playing good, didn't really concede much but after, we concede a lot of goals because we are not stable. … We lost a lot of games lately. We are fragile because you need a victory and the game was good for the confidence, we're playing [at] a good level and for the first time something happened, we have problems"
Guardiola was unable to truly explain City's downward turn, but the pressure is on him to find a fix not only in time for Sunday's game at Liverpool, but as they continue to target titles like the Premier League and the Champions League. The situation sets up for a major rebuild ahead of next season, with Guardiola opting to stick around for a project that will be led by incoming sporting director Hugo Viana. What exactly they do in the meantime, though, is incredibly unclear and forces the question of whether or not things will get worse before they get better.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
🇪🇺 High-flying Liverpool face battered Real Madrid
European heavyweights Liverpool and Real Madrid will face off on Wednesday in one of the biggest matches on the league phase calendar, but despite their histories of successes, the two teams enter the matchup in very different circumstances.
Liverpool's impressive start under new manager Arne Slot continues, winning all but one game since he took over at the start of the season. They have excelled in a variety of tests, notching notable wins against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen along the way, doing so as Slot turns Liverpool into a defensively-minded team. Their productivity in front of goal has not dipped too much despite the switch from Jurgen Klopp's attack-focused strategy, but the Reds' ability to slip seamlessly into Slot's preferences makes them seem like a well-oiled machine. A game against Real Madrid, though, will undoubtedly serve as the most meaningful progress report on their new project and perhaps one of the final chapters for Liverpool's current crop of stars. Mohamed Salah's suggestion that he's on his way out has dominated the conversation this week but as James Benge writes, this season might be the last dance for this particular iteration of the team.
- Benge: "Doesn't this season feel much more like the natural end point for this great Liverpool side? After all, the end of it may bring the departure of anywhere up to three times as many decisive figures as Klopp in Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah. All three are out of contract at the end of the season. It is hard to imagine Liverpool would have enjoyed quite the success they did under Klopp without even one of them. Meanwhile, it is eminently plausible that they could do something special indeed this season. They're eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table and the last team with a 100 percent record in the Champions League. … A different opportunity confronts them now. Beat Real Madrid and Manchester City and Liverpool have as compelling a case as anyone to be the best team in Europe. Keep that up and, well, talk about some Liverpool legends potentially going out on top."
Real Madrid, meanwhile, are trying to extend a recent era of dominance that began with their 2022 Champions League victory, but doing so has been easier said than done so far. They sit four points behind Barcelona in La Liga and have two wins and two losses in Champions League action, mixing in big losses in El Clasico and to AC Milan in recent weeks. Kylian Mbappe has yet to really cement himself as a key player for his new club, while injuries are beginning to pile up for the European champions. They will be without Vinicius Junior after he picked up a hamstring injury over the weekend, joining the likes of Rodrygo and Aurelien Tchouameni on the sidelines. Though Madrid will be shorthanded, Jonathan Johnson notes that the absences could allow Mbappe to finally put together a statement-making performance for the team.
- Johnson: "Positionally, it is complicated for [manager Carlo] Ancelotti who just played Vini Jr. through the middle to make the most of Mbappe's greater freshness, only to see the Brazil international struck down at a time when both attacking stars were required. Unless Real get adventurous with their setup, the French superstar will logically have to be the main focal point of the attack given that there is no credible alternative despite playing in from the left suiting his game better. Jude Bellingham can step up and provide impetus more similar to that of last season, but there is no guarantee that it is a seamless transition with Mbappe given that Vini Jr. and Rodrygo had a lot longer to get used to it."
🔗 Top Stories
💯 Lewandowski makes history: Robert Lewandowski scored his 100th Champions League goal in Barcelona's 3-0 win over Brest on Tuesday, becoming only the third player after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to reach that mark.
🏆 Making the case: Arsenal's 5-1 win over Sporting Lisbon and Inter's 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig offered a glimpse at each team's case as serious contenders to win the Champions League.
🔴⚫ Milan keep it close: Christian Pulisic scored again for AC Milan as they picked up a narrow 3-2 win over Slovan Bratislava, winning three Champions League games in a row for only the second time since the 2007-08 season.
✅ Leverkusen rebound: Florian Wirtz led Bayer Leverkusen to a 5-0 win over RB Salzburg, rebounding nicely from a 4-0 loss to Liverpool on Matchday 4.
🇺🇸 Naeher's USWNT exit: Women's World Cup winner and Olympic gold medalist Alyssa Naeher will retire from international soccer following the USWNT's friendlies at England and the Netherlands in the next week.
🌴 Inter Miami's next move: With Javier Mascherano in as Inter Miami's new head coach, here's what Lionel Messi can learn from LeBron James as he takes on an increasingly influential role at the MLS club.
🔮 Marta's future: Fresh off winning the NWSL Championship with the Orlando Pride, here's what could come next for Marta as she enters free agency.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- UEFA Conference League: Heidenheim vs. Chelsea, Thursday, 12:45 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Chelsea to win 2-0 (+650) – Chelsea have a five point lead atop the UEFA Conference League table and seem likely stay there as the heavy favorites in Thursday's clash against Heidenheim. Expect a straightforward outing for the Londoners, even as manager Enzo Maresca continues to rotate through his team during the league phase. - UEFA Europa League: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Roma, Thursday, 3 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Dominic Solanke to score (+135) – Tottenham Hotspur may have slipped with a loss on Matchday 4 in the UEFA Europa League, but they are still in the top eight for a reason and could demonstrate that with a strong outing in attack. Dominic Solanke could play a big role with six goals to start his Spurs career, making him a top candidate to score on Thursday and help his side collect a notable win against a defensively porous Roma side.
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.
📺 What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network
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