The first night of UEFA Champions League matchday 5 had plentiful goals, surprise comebacks and severe wins and losses that could consolidate their teams in the highest and lowest parts of the ranking.
The day was opened with the largest hammering made by Atlético de Madrid away in Europe, 6-0 against Sparta Praha. The Czech team falls, perhaps inevitably, of the top 24. Simeone, who just celebrated his 700th match as Atleti’s manager, secures an almost guaranteed ticket to the play-offs.
The same goal count was achieved by Atalanta (won 6-1 against the worst team this year, Young Boys), entering the top 5, as well as Bayer Leverkusen, who thrashed Salzburg 5-0.
In the middle of the table is also Milan, who beat Slovan Bratislava 3-2 and fixes its bad start by winning three consecutive times. Inter (who beat Leipzig 1-0) and Barcelona (3-0 against Brest) are provisional leaders by continuing their winning streaks.
Then, the three surprises of the night: Sporting Lisboa, one of the strongest teams so far, fell painfully 1-5 against Arsenal. Manchester City was again the talk of the town by going from a 3-0 lead to 3-3 in the last fifteen minutes against Feyenoord. The Dutch team gets a point that’s worth its weight in gold.
Finally, the most renowned match of the night, Bayern München vs. Paris Saint-Germain, went to the German side 1-0. Both teams needed a win, but particularly Paris, who falls from the top 24.
