5️⃣ things we learned from Tuesday’s Champions League action

The Champions League returned to our screens once again on Tuesday with nine ties taking place across the evening.

Atlético thrashed Sparta Prague before Arsenal and Atalanta both got in on the act, with Bayern Munich and Inter Milan both edging their way to three points too.

Here are five things we learned from this evening’s action.

Arsenal have got their mojo back

Sporting may have lost their manager over the international break, and now their unbeaten run has gone too as Arsenal eased past the Lisbon side.

Having beaten Manchester City 5-1, a tough test was expected in Portugal but Arsenal were 3-0 up by half time and despite an early Sporting goal in the second, the Gunners ran out impressive 5-1 winners.

For Arsenal, the return of Martin Ødegaard seems to have revitalised their side, and with him in the side they have returned to being one of the best sides in Europe.

Manchester City continue to struggle

Manchester City’s five losses in a row had raised questions about Pep Guardiola’s side, but they seemed to get themselves back on track against Feyenoord.

Until they didn’t.

Goals either side of half-time initially helped them into a 3-0 lead against the Dutch side, but three goals in the final 15 minutes saw Feyenoord draw level and stun the Premier League champions.

It is now six games without a win in the process.

With Liverpool next up for Guardiola’s side, just how long will this poor form continue?

Are Atalanta the competition’s dark horses?

A point off the top of Serie A and unbeaten in their five Champions League outings to date, last season’s Europa League Champions are a side well and truly in form.

They continued in that vein against Young Boys as they put five past the Swiss side, moving them up to fifth in the League table.

One star talent helped them do so in Charles De Ketelaere. The Belgian was involved in all of his side’s first five goals.

With just three losses all season, could Gasperini’s side be the dark horses of this year’s competition?

Robert Lewandowski is Champions League royalty

Robert Lewandowski has been at the top of his game for over a decade now and has finally written his name into Champions League royalty.

The Polish international scored a first-half penalty against Brest to bring up his 100th of the competition, behind only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the all-time list.

He later he added a second in stoppage time for good measure.

With 22 goals in all competitions already this season, it threatens to be another record-breaking one for the veteran. He currently leads the Champions League scoring charts.

PSG on the ropes

Kylian Mbappé’s PSG exit was always going to cause problems, but Luis Enrique’s side were hoping the impact would be far less severe than this.

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A 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich, their third of the Champions League campaign, means that they will likely need to win at least two of their final three games to have any chance of progression to the final 24 of the competition.

In that time, they face Salzburg, Monaco and Manchester City. Though they aren’t yet out of contention, they are well behind the early pace setters and need to get their act together. Fast.

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