Premier League in Europe

Champions League

Cristiano Ronaldo was glorious, Manchester City lost to a worthy competitor, Chelsea stumbled, and Liverpool cruised in Champions League matches this week. Ronaldo ‘s goal in the 95th minute versus Villareal handed Manchester United, and particularly manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a much-needed 2-1 victory following an embarrassing opening match loss to Young Boys. Manchester City, meanwhile, faced a huge challenge and failed in Paris when they fell 2-0 to star-studded PSG. Lionel Messi scored his first goal for PSG in the match, adding to the 672 he scored for Barcelona. The Parisians earned a measure of redemption against a City side which won both legs versus PSG in last years’ Champions League semi-finals. Chelsea followed up their league loss to Manchester City with a second consecutive defeat as the Blues were frustrated in a 1-0 loss to Juventus. Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz missed golden opportunities to deliver a better result for the Blues. Liverpool smashed Porto 5-1 as Mohamed Salah and Bobby Firmino both had braces for the Reds. Liverpool linemate Sadio Mane completed the barrage of goals by the Reds. 

Europa and Conference League

West Ham won their second consecutive group stage match defeating Rapid Wien 2-0 at London Stadium. The Hammers are now well positioned for advancement in the group ahead of upcoming back-to-back matches with Genk. Leicester’s disappointing season continued with a 1-0 loss to Liege Warsaw which leaves them winless after two Europa League matches. In Europa Conference League play, Spurs Harry Kane emphatically ended his scoring drought with a hat trick in a 5-1 Spurs demolition of hapless Slovenian side NS Mura.