The Champions League is back for a new season, with a new format and plenty of intrigue – including the rarity of action on a Thursday!
Here are five things we learned from Wednesday’s games.
And are the five biggest things to look out for from the third successive night of Champions League action.
⚔️ Match of the Day
That comes in Bergamo where Europa League holders Atalanta kickstart their campaign with the visit of Arsenal to their updated, new-look Gewiss Stadium in a first ever meeting between the clubs.
Last season, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side held the distinction of being the only team to defeat the all-conquering Bayer Leverkusen when Ademola Lookman’s heroics inspired a glorious and historic victory in Dublin.
The arrival of Arsenal promises to produce another memorable European night, with the Gunners in impressive form themselves recently and coming into this on the back of a gutsy derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
La Dea have guaranteed excitement in this competition – in their last four Champions League games, both they and their opponents have scored two or more goals each time. No side has both scored and conceded two or more in five straight outings.
Overall, their 23 Champions League games have produced an average of 3.6 goals per game (the second highest of any team who have featured 20+ times after Viktoria Plzeň) and Arsenal have plenty of firepower of their own in their ranks.
🔎 Team to Watch
As with Girona, Brest are the only other side competing in the competition this season who have never appeared in it before under any description.
In fact, like the Spanish side, Brest are also enjoying their first ever taste of European football this season after Eric Roy arrived in January following a lengthy spell out of the game and helped lead them to a third place finish.
It is the first time a French side has made its continental bow in Europe’s biggest competition since Nantes in 1965 and they will be the 12th different Ligue 1 outfit to compete in the tournament when they take to the field against Austria’s Sturm Graz.
That means only Germany (15) and Spain (14) have had more different representatives across the European Cup/Champions League.
Look out for maverick midfielder Romain Del Castillo who makes everything click for Les Pirates.
🔥 Player to Watch
In recent weeks, headlines have been dominated by the Gallagher clan.
But our focus is on Madrid rather than Manchester, where new Atleti signing Conor has become a swift hero to fans following his summer arrival from Chelsea.
The England midfielder netted his first goal for the club in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Valencia (becoming the first Englishman in over a century to score for the Colchoneros) and was serenaded off the field by a support who have already been won over by his attitude and performances.
RB Leipzig’s trip to the Metropolitano provides him with a chance to keep rolling with it and have frustrated Chelsea fans looking back in anger.
👀 Potential upset
Monaco have been in excellent form to start the Ligue 1 season and welcome Barcelona to the Stade Louis II looking to replicate both that and their 3-0 pre-season win over the Blaugrana just last month.
Their task has been helped with the news that Dani Olmo and Fermín Lopez are sidelined for visitors, who nonetheless still come in as favourites – which is more than merited given they are the only team in LaLiga with a 100% record after five games.
But Monaco will prove a tough nut to crack and they’ve conceded just once so far this season and been clinical in the final third, where Breel Embolo will be out to take down the Blaugrana and make some interesting history in the process.
He has three career Champions League goals to his name and each strike came for a different club (Basel, Schalke, Borussia Mönchengladbach). No player’s first four goals in the tournament have been scored for four different teams.
📊 Fascinating stat
Look out for Bayer Leverkusen sensation Florian Wirtz to finally making his long-awaited Champions League bow this week when they take on Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
He has torn it up over the last four years in the Europa League, having been directly involved in more goals with 24 (12 goals, 12 assists) and created more chances (88) than any other player in the competition during that time.