We take a look at the key lessons from the midweek UEFA Champions League matches, ahead of the weekend's Premier League fixtures.
Rare disappointment
It has not been a great couple of weeks for Premier League teams in Europe's leading club competition.
Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea both suffered 1-0 away defeats at AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund respectively, before Liverpool conceded a 2-0 lead to be crushed 5-2 by defending champions Real Madrid and Manchester City were held 1-1 against RB Leipzig.
For the first time in nine years, and for only the second time since the round of 16 was introduced into the UEFA Champions League, all four English sides failed to win their first-leg encounters.
On that occasion, only two Premier League sides progressed into the quarters. With English clubs making up six of the last 10 finalists, a lot of work needs to be done to continue to have such representation in Istanbul on 10 June.
Liverpool’s defensive frailties exposed
The Premier League club with the most to do are Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp's team showed at Anfield the defensive frailties that have often been exposed in the league this season.
"OK, the second goal, we cannot defend better because it is a slapstick [moment]," Klopp said of the Alisson error that led to it.
The manner of the other four goals conceded to Real were far more alarming, though, and something that their next opponents, Crystal Palace, could look to replicate this Saturday.
Liverpool's 28 conceded goals this season, the fourth-best record in the top eight, is two more than they did for the whole of 2021/22.
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As Adrian Clarke points out, Palace are likely to adopt a similar approach to Real did at Anfield with a low defensive block, looking to exploit Liverpool on the counter.
See: Firmino gives right balance to Liverpool's attack
Patrick Vieira's men are going to be fresher than Klopp's, so it might represent a great chance for Palace to get a first win of the year.
Hope for the Reds?
That said, there were some attacking moments from Liverpool that could provide hope for their fans. They scored twice for a third consecutive match, with key players Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah combining well again.
Nunez has goals in back-to-back matches and his confidence is rising, while Salah has either scored or assisted for three matches in a row in all competitions. With Roberto Firmino also providing a threat from the bench against Real, Klopp's issues up front appear to be receding.
Now, just that defence and midfield enforcement to sort.
Déjà vu for Man City
For the second successive match, City were held to a 1-1 draw after dominating the first half.
That said, Leipzig did bring more of a threat in the second half than Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Their equaliser was not their first shot on target, as was the case with Forest.
Pep Guardiola was not too displeased in public and he decided not to use his bench, even if his team had only three shots on target and struggled for chance creation in the absence of the ill Kevin De Bruyne.
"We don't have the team to compete with them in the transitions," Guardiola said. "They are better than us, they are faster and quicker.
"In these situations, German teams are better than us. We had to have a lot of control.
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"We had four games in 10 days, we come here, and then the day after tomorrow we fly to Bournemouth."
At AFC Bournemouth, they are unlikely to encounter an opponent as fast as Leipzig but one who will set up similar to how Forest did.
The Cherries will have been buoyed by Forest's display as they seek their first point against Man City.
After some wayward finishing on Saturday, Erling Haaland had a quiet match in Leipzig. His first touch in the opposing penalty area came in the 68th minute.
At one point towards the end of the match, the Norwegian cut a frustrated figure, flinging his arms up in frustration as his run ignored by a team-mate.
Haaland, who has one goal in his past four Premier League matches, did not score in City's 4-0 win in the reverse fixture and was subbed off in the 74th minute.