Tottenham Hotspurs and Liverpool Earn Top Positions Following Crucial Performances

On Tuesday night, the 22^nd Nov., the Champions League returned with an action-packed night that saw stunning performances with a new line-up of teams headlining the table positions. Whereas the results were not short of expectations, some football heavyweights may face an early and disappointing exit that may see their campaign end in the group stages.

Real Madrid and Manchester City got easy leads to end with three points, however, Tottenham took a shocking but well-earned 2-1 win over Dortmund who has struggled this season to finish top of what is the group of death, with a trailing Real Madrid in the second position.

Napoli and RB Leipzig were also part of the winning line-up but have no guarantees as they hang onto the third position with hopes for a win and loss for second positioned Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto in Group and F and G, respectively, in hopes of advancing to the last 16.

Liverpool’s position at the top remains intact despite throwing away a 3-0 lead to draw with a resilient Sevilla 3-3. On the upside, Jurgen Klopp must be happy to have had Sadio Mane on the score sheet, scoring the second before Roberto Firmino doubled his tally to six goals, all in the first half, while future signing, Naby Keita showed up for RB Leipzig with a fourth goal to beat Monaco 4-1, away.

But the Reds’ defence slipped in the second half losing two quick goals in the 51^st and 60^th minutes and a third in stoppage time, a concern going forward.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s opening goal in the 31^st minute was washed away with two crucial comebacks from Tottenham through Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in the 49^th and 76^th minute, respectively. The Gabonese has not endured a transformational season this campaign, with Dortmund struggling to regain its prowess both at home and in Europe with a possible early exit in the Champions League.

Manchester City through Raheem Sterling in the 88^th minute secured three points with a lone goal.

Apoel Nicosia was no match for Real Madrid and was thrashed 6-0 at home – Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Nacho and Cristiano Ronaldo leading the frontline with the goals.

Group A, B, C and D play tonight: CSKA Moscow hosts Benfica, Qarabag FK Vs Chelsea, FC Basel Vs Manchester United, Sporting Vs Olympiacos, Anderlecht Vs Bayern, Atletico Madrid Vs Roma, Juventus Vs Barcelona, and Paris St. Germain Vs Celtic.

The Juventus/Barcelona match is sure to bring back a bitter taste of rivalry after the Italians eliminated the Spaniards in the quarter-final of the last campaign.

Here are the current group standings including updated standings from featured matches for Groups E, F, G, and H.

GROUP A

GROUP B

GROUP C

GROUP D

GROUP E

GROUP F

GROUP G

GROUP H

Featured Photo: UEFA