Manchester City blew their chance to go top of the Champions League table on Tuesday night as they were humbled at the Etihad by a buoyant Bayer Leverkusen.
City vs Leverkusen was fourth vs 21st and with Inter Milan, Arsenal and Bayern Munich all playing on Wednesday the Sky Blues knew they would go top of the table with a win, for 24 hours at least anyway.
But City have been making a habit of going behind in games and so it was on Tuesday night as Alex Grimado smashed in his eighth goal of the campaign, midway through the first half. Only Bayern Munich have scored more than Die Werkself in this season’s Bundesliga and, under new coach Kasper Hjulmand since his arrival in September, they have been gathering some serious momentum. City huffed and puffed but couldn’t blow a hole in the Bayer defence and early in the second half the Germans made it 2-0. Grimaldo was the provider for the second as he stood up a beautiful cross and Czech striker Patrik Schick planted his header home.
The SBOTOP Champions League 2025 betting odds rate Guardiola’s side as probable semi-finalists and they have one of the best squads in the competition, but they will have to do better than this. And don’t rule out Leverkusen on this showing.
The other Premier League side with a home match had an arguably tougher assignment as Chelsea hosted Barcelona in a 12th versus 11th clash.
But where the Sky Blues failed the darker shade of Blue succeeded in style.
The top eight beckoned for the winner and Enzo Maresca’s Blues made a bright start. And it was no surprise when Chelsea took a lead, though the manner of the goal was comical, as Pedro Neto’s shot hit Ferran Torres before bouncing off Jules Kounde and into the net.
Things went from bad to worse for the Catalans when centre back Ronald Araujo was sent off, just before the break, when his crude challenge on Marc Cucurella earned him a second yellow card and an early bath. Chelsea were even more comfortable against ten men and when teen sensation Estevao scored a brilliant individual goal it was game over for Barca. Liam Delap made it three when he tapped home a squared ball from Enzo Fernandez.
Marseilles turn the tables on the Magpies
Newcastle started the evening in sixth spot and they visited Olympique Marseilles who were in an elimination place, and the Magpies took the game to their French hosts, Harvey Barnes scoring his fourth goal in three Champions League games when he met a Sandro Tonali cross and fired home.
The game stayed at 0-1 until the break, but within five minutes of the restart it was turned on its head as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a quick-fire double. His first was a smart finish from a tight angle, after he had rounded Magpies keeper Nick Pope, and his second was a classy near post flick. Barnes had the ball in the net again but he was denied a second goal by the offside flag and the Magpies were sunk.
Elsewhere there were wins for Juventus, Napoli, Union Saint-Gilloise, and Borussia Dortmund, who thrashed Villarreal 4-0 to move up to fourth in the table, ahead of Chelsea and Manchester City.
Benfica wins the basement battle
The two clubs at the very bottom of the league table met on Tuesday night in Amsterdam, and it was Jose Mourinho’s Benfica who came out on top with a 2-0 victory over Ajax. With an identical set of Champions League 2025 results coming into the game, four defeats from four, both teams were under pressure to make a positive showing. And it was the Portuguese giants who came out of the blocks flying as Samuel Dahl broke the deadlock on six minutes.
It was a cagey game with both teams showing nerves as it wore on and, while Ajax dominated possession the visitors had more attempts on goal, and they were rewarded when Leandro Barreiro made the points safe in the last minute of normal time. The win took Benfica up eight places, but as the early kick-off that was sure to change as the results rolled in. But the Special One, who joined Benfica only in September, is off the mark and next up they will face Napoli, another team which made a slow start but picked up a handy 2-0 win over Qarabag at the Diego Maradona Stadium.
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