Champions League Matchday 2: What we learned

Four Premier League clubs have been in UEFA Champions League action this week, producing four victories without a goal conceded. Football writer Alex Keble analyses the key takeaways.

Villa have tools to go deep in Champions League

Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich

From Unai Emery’s immaculate tactical battle plan to Jhon Duran’s brilliant lob over Manuel Neuer, from the atmosphere inside Villa Park to the poetic repeat of the scoreline in the 1982 European Cup final, this was a perfect win for Aston Villa.

Nights like these tend to be cherished as one-off giant-killings, but the resilience and composure of Villa’s performance hinted at this being the first of many.

Emery’s strategy - hunkering down in a low-block 4-4-2 to draw Bayern forward before counter-attacking through Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins - successfully nullified a Bayern attack that had scored 30 goals in seven matches in all competitions under Vincent Kompany, an average of 4.3 per game.

Then Duran came off the bench to strike the winner for the fifth time this season - and his sixth goal in only 303 minutes of action. Even his winning strike had Emery’s fingerprints over it.

“In the analysis, we were speaking about the positioning of [Bayern goalkeeper Manuel] Neuer — always high,” said Emery. “I spoke to my assistant coaches about how he [Duran] shoots. Because he had in his mind this possibility. He scored a goal similar last year against Hibernian. Pau Torres made a similar pass and at that moment, he drove at the 'keeper and shot. This time, he just shot.”

Put simply, Villa looked like they belonged – as the league table suggests. They are one of only two clubs with a 100 per cent UEFA Champions League record and no goals conceded.

And that’s why Villa fans have a right to dream big.

Emery reached the Champions League semi-final in 2022 with Villarreal, a team with a fraction of Villa’s budget. After beating a six-time winner and Champions League royalty, who’s to say where this adventure will end?

Salah brilliance behind Slot’s record start

Liverpool 2-0 Bologna

For all the analysis of Ryan Gravenberch’s midfield role and Liverpool’s subtle tactical changes, we are perhaps overlooking the simplest explanation for Arne Slot’s record-breaking start - a refreshed Mohamed Salah.

Salah’s assist for Alexis Mac Allister’s opening goal meant he became the fastest player to reach five goals and five assists in a season for Liverpool since John Barnes in 1989/90.

Later, his magnificent second-half goal made him the third player to score in five consecutive Champions League home matches for a Premier League team - after  Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy, with seven and six goals respectively.

Salah is clearly benefiting from a summer without an international tournament, and now has 10 goal contributions in only eight starts in the Premier League and Champions League.

No wonder life at Liverpool has looked so easy for Slot. Indeed, with eight wins from his first nine matches in all competitions, he has officially made the best ever start by a Liverpool manager.

With Salah fit and firing, there is no reason why Liverpool cannot continue to glide through matches - starting with Crystal Palace on Saturday.

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Experienced Arsenal know they can rely on Havertz

Arsenal 2-0 PSG

It was a perfect night at the Emirates Stadium for Mikel Arteta. Free-flowing in the first half and resolute in the second, here was confirmation Arsenal have the experience, composure and quality to go deep in this competition – and the Premier League.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on us,” Bukayo Saka said on winning the Premier League, “but I do think this is the year.”

Not since a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in 2015 have Arsenal claimed such a big scalp, while their clean sheet ended Paris Saint-Germain’s 51-match scoring sequence in the group stage or league phase.

A comfortable shutout is just what Arsenal needed after they gave up a two-goal lead against Leicester City last weekend, before scoring twice late on to win 4-2. They will be in relaxed mood now for the visit of Southampton on Saturday.

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Of even greater significance was Kai Havertz’s brilliant headed goal, his sixth goal in his last six matches at home - many of them classic striker’s finishes. It was his 21st goal involvement, scoring 14 and assisting seven, since becoming Arsenal’s first-choice centre-forward in February.

Talk of the Gunners needing a No 9 has rightly disappeared. In Havertz – a big-match player, on-field leader and now reliable goalscorer – they already have one. 

No wonder Saka feels so confident.

Arsenal v PSG highlights

Foden on comeback trail as Pep experiments in midfield 

Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Man City

Manchester City won’t get an easier Champions League win all season. They won by four goals but it could have been seven or eight.

The simplicity of the fixture clearly helped Phil Foden find his feet after a difficult start to 2024/25.

Bratislava v Man City highlights

Foden moved in the right direction on Tuesday with a well-taken goal and a clever late assist, making a better fist of his second start of the season following a wayward performance against Watford in the EFL Cup.

“He still is not [at] his best,” Pep Guardiola said after. “Step by step he's coming back.”

That kind of caveated satisfaction defined the evening. 

Man City equalled the Champions League record of 25 matches unbeaten, set by Manchester United between 2007 and 2009, but there was no revelation in the mission to replace Rodri.

Matheus Nunes struggled to assert himself. He ranked 11th out of 16 Man City players for pass completion, with 86.5 per cent, and managed 63 fewer touches than Ilkay Gundogan (82 compared with 145) despite playing the full match.

A first Premier League appearance of the season against Fulham on Saturday feels unlikely.

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