As we reach the halfway stage of the Champions League group stages, it is time to reassess the fortunes of the Spanish sides.
Atlético de Madrid 2-3 Liverpool
Where to start?
Atlético de Madrid’s pulsating match on Tuesday at the Wanda Metropolitano against Liverpool is a great place to begin this round-up.
It had it all.
After Liverpool had taken a quick-fire 2-0 lead inside 13 minutes, French star Antoine Griezmann scored a brace to make the scores level at the break.
He got sent off in the second half and that wasn’t the end of the drama.
Liverpool were awarded a penalty which Mo Salah duly converted.
Atlético were then awarded a spot-kick of their own, but after a few minutes of deliberation, the referee went to the monitor and reversed his decision, much to the dismay of the home fans.
Atlético’s defeat still leaves them in second place, although their next match is a return to Anfield whilst AC Milan host Porto.
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-5 Real Madrid
Playing at the same time as their cross-city rivals, Carlo Ancelotti’s men were preparing for this weekend’s El Clásico with a stunning victory of their own.
An own goal from Serhiy Kryvtsov was the only thing that separated the two sides at the half-time break before Los Blancos really turned on the style.
Two goals in five second half minutes from Vinicius Jr, followed by a Rodrygo strike gave the away side a 4-0 lead in the 65th minute.
Karim Benzema’s finish in stoppage time was the icing on the cake.
Real Madrid’s next match in the Champions League is the home tie against the Ukrainians, before playing away at this year’s surprise package, Sheriff Tiraspol.
Barcelona 1-0 Dynamo Kyiv
After Barcelona’s two 3-0 defeats against Bayern Munich and Benfica, Wednesday’s early kick-off was a must-win match for the Catalan side.
And they did win, but not very convincingly. Gerard Piqué’s first half goal was enough to give Ronald Koeman’s side their first win in Group E.
They now also go to Ukraine before facing the return fixtures against Benfica and Bayern.
And if they are to get out of their group, they will need to perform better, just like they did on the weekend against Valencia.
Lille 0-0 Sevilla
Although Sevilla are in second place in their group, they have failed to win a fixture thus far.
Having drawn all three matches, Julen Lopetegui’s side need to win if they are to progress to the next stage.
Two out of their remaining three fixtures are at home, meaning they still have a reasonably good chance of making the knockout stages.
Young Boys 1-4 Villarreal
Despite their average results in La Liga, Unai Emery’s men have catapulted themselves into second place in this very open group.
After their defeat against Manchester United, the Yellow Submarine were in need of the three points.
And they won in emphatic style, beating Young Boys 4-1 away.
They next host them at La Cerámica.
Another performance like Wednesday’s and they will be in good stead to make the next round.
