Champions League Report Card: How did the English contingent fare in the opening matchweek

Midweek mayhem is back and it delivered more than the scriptwriters had hoped. The Champions League is no wonder a gift that just keeps on giving. With the untamed brilliance of Messi to a billionaire like Ronaldo crying, the two match nights gave plenty of fodder for water cooler conversations and lunchroom banter. The opening act of the European football’s favorite stage drama has delivered as advertised. The second act follows in two weeks’ time.

There were some high octane clashes like Liverpool and PSG, some immaculate away victories like Young Boys vs Manchester United and some head-scratchingly confounding upsets like Manchester City vs Lyon.

Here is a look at the four English sides’ performance in their opening European fixtures:

Liverpool

Result: Won at home against PSG

Scoreline: (Milner 30’ P, Sturridge 36’, Firmino 90+1’) 3- 2 (Meunier 40’, Mbappe 83’)

The power and will of Anfield

Liverpool’s European Cup dream got off to a romantically effervescent start on Tuesday night. Left pining for what could have been in the May final against Real Madrid the Reds started on this year’s march to the final in Madrid with a seismic victory against one of the most glamorous of opponents in PSG.

The Anfield atmosphere is one of the most intimidating of experience for an away team and it certainly dissuaded a few in the Parisian outfit. Tuchel knew about it as his Dortmund side got a serving two years back but the new money of Paris still could not brook the red tide of hard tenacious Liverpool.

Conceding the early penalty did not help settle the jangling nerves and with consummate conversion by Milner, the task became uphill. PSG had the superstars on Neymar, Mbappe, Cavani, and Rabiot but they needed warriors and workhorses like Milner and Henderson.

Unfortunately for the French cause, they shipped in a horrendous second to Sturridge. A defensive inquisition should have ensued but it did not.

They are not ones to fuss about defensive lacunae so they stuck to what they do best. Finally, they recovered the deficit in full. Meunier got a classy opener and the wonder kid, Kylian Mbappe, made it even steven with seven minutes remaining.

Liverpool had one more highlight moment left in them and it was the blinding genius (no pun intended) of Roberto Firmino. He got the bull’s eye.

Klopp had his players fired up and the crowd baying for French blood. The pull of the roaring thousands was just enough to suck the ball in for the stoppage-time winner. James Milner crashed into Neymar early doors and the likes of Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Joe Gomez, 21 were taking no prisoners when it came to the French bourgeoisie.

It was another of those raucous Anfield nights that send a chill down the spine and a sweat down the temple for opponents. The game delivered in terms of its billing as the spectacle. Liverpool was ravenous, PSG was hunting for control and, as Tuchel said, for confidence and mental strength.

For PSG, until they can overcome the trials that places like Bernabeu, Camp Nou, Old Trafford or Anfield offer, they will remain challengers rather than favorites at the European football’s pinnacle. There is still a lot of work to do before they can claim to be a big team and not just a team of big names.

Tottenham Hotspurs

Result: Lost away to Inter Milan

Scoreline: (Erikson 53’) 1- 2 (Icardi 85’, Vecino 90+2’)

Spurs capitulated in the last 10 minutes at the San Siro

Tottenham is on a downward spiral and it can be evinced by the tetchy avatar Pochettino's post-match conference. Not known to stir a drama he finally is showing signs of cracking under scrutiny. The results on the pitch maybe reflect the greater chaos within the citadel of the club.

Spurs lost 2-1 to Inter in the most excruciating of matter. With virtually the last header they were able to snatch their third defeat in a row, from the claws of an uninspired draw.

In all honesty, Spurs dominated the second half and went ahead deservingly with a scruffy goal from Eriksen. They were circulating the ball well until Inter equalised with a pyroclastic finish by Icardi. Left with the freedom of the San Siro at the 18-yard line, Icardi deposited an unstoppable volley into the bottom corner. The match was petering to a drab draw when four minutes when Uruguayan Vecino headed in the winner from close range to add more misery to a faltering Spurs side and perturbed Pochettino.

Icardi’s goal was the first by an Inter player in the Champions League from outside the box since 2011. It was Mauro Zarate who scored the last outside-the-box strike against CSKA Moscow.

Inter’s seven years of absence meant this was their first victory in the first round of matches since the 2008/2009 season. It was goals from Brazilians Mancini and Adriano that sealed an Inter win against Panathinaikos on that occasion.

For Tottenham, this is already their worst run since the dark days of Tim Sherwood. With revitalised Messi and Barcelona next at Wembley, their tale of plaintive misery might still have a few chapters left.

Manchester City

Result: Lost at home to Lyon

Scoreline: (Bernardo Silva 67’) 1- 2 (Maxwell Cornet 26‘, Nabil Fekir 43’)

An empty stadium and a defeated team

With the customary boos from the City, the Champions League started with inauspicious portents. There were plenty of empty seats in the stadium and maybe poetically the team got lost to visiting Lyon 2-1 in the surprise result of the opening match week.

No team has won the tournament with a losing start, and only two reached the final. And after their record-breaking Premier League win last season, City's dream of European glory is looking any nearer to reality. More alarmingly, City is now on a four-match losing streak in the Champions League with past losses against Basel and Liverpool (2).

City boss Guardiola was in the stands as he was serving a touchline ban and his absence was manifest. Mikel Arteta was the stand-in custodian in the dugout and his City side looked against an unnerved Lyon side with pace to burn on the counter-attack.

Midfield sheriff Fernandinho struggled against a physical and rapid Lyon midfield. He gave the ball away in lead up to both the goals. Fabian Delph had a shocker too. The whole team was dreadful in the first half. They could not play out from the back under Lyon’s intense pressure.

Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele had an immense performance in the night and the likes of Depay, Cornet, Denayer, Rafael Da Silva and Fekir were very good too.

There could be a modicum of ill-advised complacency against a side that has lit the French on fire this season but given Guardiola's tactical approach and insistence on minutiae that seems unlikely.

Leroy Sane came off the bench and set up Bernardo Silva’s goal. City, however, could not muster an equaliser. There were some close shaves and Lyon could have easily made it 3-0 with Memphis Depay hitting the post after a spectacular save from Edison.

Hoffenheim and Shakhtar drew their match and City are at the bottom of the group for another two weeks at least. Pep Guardiola's side will be hoping to defy the history books as he has done before but the loss was a reminder that there are many a mile to go yet. For now, Manchester is still red!

Manchester United

Result: Won away against Young Boys

Scoreline: (Pogba 35’, 44’ P, Martial 66’) 3- 0

The French connection in Switzerland

In their most accomplished performance of the season, Manchester United cruised to a 3-0 win away at Young Boys. The first 30 minutes were cagey with Swiss side showing ample pace in razor-sharp counter attacks.

It was down to United’s captain on the night, Paul Pogba, to stamp his authority on the match with a sumptuous day with his right peg and unleashing an Exocet from his left. Ten minutes later, some good work on the left from Shaw and Martial led to a penalty, soft but penalty nonetheless. Up stepped Pogba, having missed his last at Burnley, and dismissed it with aplomb and now characteristic glacial run-up.

The second goal broke the Swiss resistance and it was an uneventful second half. Up until Pogba drove from midfield and on a rapier-like move cut through Young Boys’ defenses. He released Anthony Martial and the French winger sent the ball into the back of the net albeit with the aid of a deflection off the defender Mohamed Ali Camara.

Apart from Pogba there were impressive performances from center-backs Smalling and Lindeloff and encouraging signs from Martial.

Diogo Dalot had a scintillating first half at right back on his debut for United and was defensively solid throughout the match. Returning left-back Luke Shaw also put in an accomplished display both on the defensive and offensive fronts.

Much of the talk before the match was focused on the artificial pitch which actually was heavily watered to the surprise of many. That certainly made it easier for the traveling United players to zip the ball about with authority.

With Juventus winning at the Mestalla, United will be hoping to carry the momentum of the win into their home match against Valencia in two weeks’ time.