Solskjaer and Giroud are among the winners and losers of the Champions League

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Winners

Olivier giroud
“Lampard has a problem,” Jermaine Jenas said in a comment. He was referring to the selection dilemma that the Chelsea manager now faces: Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham.

It should be an easy decision. Abraham’s performance against Tottenham was clumsy, rash and frantic, while Giroud was serenity personified in a almost impeccable performance against Sevilla.

It was a perfect hat-trick as pure and varied as it is possible to score. The first was a delicious curved sweep with the left foot to the far corner after a quick touch with the right. The second saw him sit down a Sevilla defender with a mannequin before hitting the goalkeeper with his right hand. The third was a vintage quilted looking header.

His fourth, a crashed penalty in the upper right corner, was followed by his retirement, presumably with Saturday night’s clash with Leeds in mind. No striker in world football could have improved Giroud’s performance and if that weren’t enough to make his way for this Chelsea team this season, nothing will be. Ignoring that could be a treacherous precedent for Lampard.

Liverpool
Liverpool are joint leaders of the Premier League and now safely won their Champions League group They have barely caught up this season.

Between Jurgen Klopp’s swashbuckling media antics, Diogo Jota’s impressive start and Virgil van Dijk’s injury, Liverpool’s actual performances on the pitch have been of secondary importance, or quaternary if you’re fussy.

They have not been great and neither were they again against Ajax. Most enjoyable for Klopp will be the role of the young replacements in victory.

The now world renowned Caoimhin Kelleher didn’t make any particularly outstanding saves, but simply by not being crazy, his spot as No. 2 should now be secure ahead of Adrian. Neco Williams had arguably his best game for Liverpool, he was orderly with the ball, progressive without forcing it and, more importantly, he did not try to be Trent Alexander-Arnold. And the man The Williams kid assisted for Liverpool’s goal – Curtis Jones – was assured and so impressive once again.

The shot with the outside of his foot from a closed angle was delicious and his complete game contrasts with his tender age. the arrogant 19 year old can be seen yelling at teammates; coax them into positions. His awareness of space, do’s and don’ts and his ability to use the ball quickly, efficiently and effectively should now put him above Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, injury issues aside.

Both Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain, when in shape, tend to drift in games. An affliction that does not hinder Jones. Maybe it is that arrogance – perceived or real – that means he’s always desperate to get involved, to prove he’s the best player on the field, even when he rarely will be.

Barcelona
They played sumptuous football in the first 30 minutes to put the game to bed and maintain their 100% record. Antoine Griezmann’s starter was beautiful.

RB Leipzig
They survived a scare. If they hadn’t defeated Istanbul Basaksehir, they would have really been kicking themselves. But Alexander Sorloth’s goal in the 92nd minute means Manchester United are still on the hook. Julian Nagelsmann’s team has won all seven of its home games this season; They’ll be feeling very confident when they welcome United on Tuesday.

Karim Adeyemi
Point out the noises of the Spanish commentator’s car …

Malang sarr
The center-back has helped Porto keep a clean sheet five in their seven games, including three in four Champions League games. Chelsea have already made a profit of £ 2m by loaning the 21-year-old to the Portuguese team, having secured him a free transfer in the summer. And look at the business.

Marseilles
A victory after 13 defeats in the Champions League. Dimitri Payet scored his first and second goals in the competition, both from point of view, to secure the 2-1 victory.

Romelu lukaku
His move was crucial for Matteo Darmian’s starter; His brilliant heist game presented two great opportunities for Lautaro Martínez; his first goal was an impressive right-footed shot that crossed the goalkeeper and his second was a relatively simple left-back into the corner. It was a performance close to Giroud’s levels of brilliance.

Stephanie frappart
She became the first woman to referee a men’s Champions League match by taking over Juventus’ 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv. Congratulations, Stephanie.

Losers

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Having already chosen “Clinical finish” As United’s key failure against PSG, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said they “really can’t put their finger on the deciding factors.”

It was a weak sentiment shared by Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes on BT’s balcony – they too were strangely, overwhelmingly positive after a 3-1 home loss. Scholes looked as if he had just woken up from a football daze, in which heels, chips, and moves that did not result in goals had suddenly made him forget his own Old Trafford career and everything he has said as an expert since. .

Where was he insisting on bound DNA, or history, heritage, pedigree mindless? Just because they played beautiful football between the two boxes, did the coach and United let them go?

And it’s not that on Saturday, if they lose, draw or even win while playing poorly against West Ham, those same experts won’t pick up Sir Alex Ferguson’s engraved baton from the floor and start hitting us over the head with it. again. Are we now going to accept that United’s DNA is not about winning at all, but about entertaining while losing? That sounds more West Ham style, if at all.

Perhaps seeking some justified criticism, Gary Lineker asked if Fred, if he could be identified through the red mist that enveloped him, should have been replaced by Solskjaer. “Ahh, well, in hindsight,” the two experts replied in crazed, dreamlike unison.

Yes in hindsight, but also in sight and forecast. Replace it with one of your two world-class midfielders sitting on the bench. Force the problem, take your ancestry in the game to another level and win. Follow.

Even after Fred was sent off, with United losing 2-1, it took Solskjaer nine more minutes to bring in Mason Greenwood and Donny van de Beek. And Anthony Martial should have retired well before the 79th minute anyway. These were some of those “deciding factors”.

United played football very well; it was a brilliant game to watch. But as Harry Maguire put it after the game to say that not everyone had lost their Red Devil sensibility: “This is Manchester United and losing at home will never be good enough.” Thanks Harry.

Fred
Nine out of ten referees would have shown Fred a straight red in the first half. It was far from being a head butt in a bar fight, but compared to some of the forehead tickling deemed worthy of a red card, it was a damn friend of Carlsberg.

It was an example of the kind of moment for which the VAR was brought in; one, the referee was still wrong with the advantage of a second look. It is good to blame a mistake directly on the man who wears black cyan for a change. Bloody refs.

With 1-0 down, it probably would have been United’s death sentence, but the bell sounded at 2-1, when Fred was shown a well deserved second yellow card for an undeserved challenge.

Pep Guardiola
“We don’t protect the players, and that’s why it’s a disaster,” Guardiola said on November 9. “On this calendar, especially. I will demand, if people allow it, that we have to go back to five substitutions. If not, it is difficult to maintain it. “

On December 1, after Manchester City drew 0-0 with Porto to confirm their classification as Group C champions, Guardiola said: “I didn’t make substitutions (because) I think (the players need) to keep up.”

So in addition to his irritating complaints about footballers playing soccer and the need for five substitutes instead of three in the Premier League, he only uses one when five are allowed. You can “demand” what you want from Pep, you are not helping yourself.

Apart from Sergio Agüero, who is almost back, City currently have a team in top form. While other managers can, feasibly, albeit tedious, complain about “a disaster,” Guardiola cannot.

Zinedine Zidane
Tickers have this.

Atalanta
A win over the boys from the group FC Midtjylland would have allowed them to pass safely to the round of 16. The 1-1 draw now means they have to avoid defeat to Ajax to secure their qualification. Silly Atalanta.

Bayern Munich
A draw for Bayern’s second streak against a full-fledged Atlético who is second in La Liga after six wins in a row should probably make Hansi Flick’s team the winner. again. But this may be the last chance we get to put the losers tag on this incredible side. Loooossseeerrs.

Will ford is on twitter

Life begins at 30. So did this group’s time in the Premier League. Have we missed some gold classics?



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