With matchweek 3 in the books, the Champions League group stage is halfway over. Each team has played every team in their group once, and now they will turn their attention to the reserve fixtures. The groups are taking shape now, and teams can begin to clinch advancement and be eliminated as soon as matchday 4.
Different teams have different expectations going once they learn what their groups look like in the Champions League. I will offer each team a grade based on their performances thus far.
Mid-group stage grades
Group A
Borussia Dortmund: A+
It must be said that Dortmund are one of the form teams in the competition. Nine points from three games is perfect, headlined by the massive win against stingy Atletico Madrid. A +8 goal different isn't bad either.
Atletico Madrid: B-
Not terrible from Atletico. They will look back on the 4-0 trashing against BVB and question how they allowed that to happen. As long as they advance, they will be alright.
AS Monaco: D-
It's been a brutal start to the Champions League for Monaco. After a successful few seasons, they are struggling after selling much of their young talent. Despite being above Brugge, they receive a worse grade because they had much higher expectations going into the campaign.
Club Brugge: C-
There is not much to be said here. If they can overtake Monaco for the Europa League spot, the campaign will likely be deemed a success. Furthermore, Brugge has shown well for themselves, only falling to BVB via a heartbreaking late, nasty deflection.
Group B
FC Barcelona: A
Things are going according to plan for Barca. A perfect first half on paper, there are just a couple small things that could have gone better; namely a red card against PSV and conceding two goals against Spurs. Most vital to Barca's future success in the tournament will be Lionel Messi's health, after he went down with an arm injury recently.
FC Internazionale: B+
Its hard to see how Inter could be in a better position aside from if they could have taken a point off Barca. A two-goal late comeback against Spurs in matchweek 1 headline's Inter's success and has them in prime position to advance. Knowing this was one of the groups of death, Inter will be happy with where they stand.
Tottenham Hotspur: F
Brutal. Spurs are helping to continue the tradition of English clubs lacking respect and underperforming in the Champions League. After leading after 85' minutes to Inter and losing the game, they fell to Barca. Then they had a chance to "save" their CL campaign by going to Eindhoven and getting 3 points. Up 2-1 late in the match, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris proceeded to race out of his penalty area and get sent off. Then PSV scored late on to equalize. Its a disaster for Spurs, who are all but eliminated already.
PSV Eindhoven: D+
It was always going to be tough for Eindhoven in this group. Getting a result against Spurs was massive for their hopes to claim that Europa League spot. For a young team, this experience is invaluable.
Group C
Liverpool FC: B+
This group is absolutely up for grabs. Its hard to give Liverpool a bad grade being that they are top of the group. After a massively entertaining 3-2 win over PSG on matchday 1, they lost disappointingly 1-0 to Napoli, before taking care of business against Red Star. Still all to play for here.
SSC Napoli: B
Its been an up-and-down campaign for Napoli thus far. Starting out with a nil-nil draw at Red Star was a disappointment; however, they responded brilliantly, blanking Liverpool at home 1-0. Then, they had PSG right where they wanted them, but conceded a stoppage time equalizer to split the points with Paris. Although they sit in a decent position in 2nd in the group, if they would have held on to get 3 points against PSG, they group would look very different.
Paris St. Germain: C
Its been underwhelming from Paris thus far. After a spirited second half comeback in matchweek one, they fell asleep in stoppage time and got no points from the encounter. Against Napoli at home, it took a stoppage time moment of magic from Angel Di Maria to salvage a point. It was only a thrashing of Red Star that has kept them within reach of the top two and padded their goal different.
FK Crvena Zvezda: D
Again, we didn't expect much from the club that goes by Red Star Belgrade. They surprised everyone when they made their home stadium a fortress against Napoli, holding onto a clean sheet and a point. Its a lack of attacking fire power, though, that has proven to be their main issue.
Group D
FC Porto: A-
Its hard to find much wrong with what Porto are doing. Two wins and a draw in a very even group is good enough for first place and puts them in control of their own destiny. They won and shutout Galatasaray in their home fixture, while easily dispatching Lokomotiv away and earning a come-from-behind point away at Schalke. Solid from the Portuguese side thus far.
FC Schalke 04: B
Despite their domestic struggles, Schalke continue to perform in Europe. The team of relative no-names continues to play with a chip on their shoulder in their first season in the CL since 2014-2015. They sit in 2nd in the table with 5 points and no losses thus far.
Galatasaray SK: C
Mediocrity earns you a mediocre grade. The Turkish side have won, lost, and drawn, which is currently only good enough for 3rd. They are only 1 point adrift, though, and they will feel their Champions League experience will serve them well in the upcoming matches.
Lokomotiv Moskva: F-
Yes, I am aware an 'F-' is not a real grade. However, the champions of Russia have done everything they could to earn it. They have been embarrassingly bad. Remember, Lokomotiv was the seeded team in this group. They started off the campaign by getting demolished 3-0 by Galatasaray, who were drawn out of Pot 4 nonetheless. Next, they were shutout at home by Schalke. Then, their misery continued as they were dismissed 3-1 by Porto at home yet again. In this match, Moscow earned a PK in the 9th minute, which was saved, and then missed two sitters in quick succession not long after. Moscow had not scored a goal in what was wildly recognized as the weakest group before their consolation goal in this match. With no statistics to back it up, I believe it is possible that Lokomotiv Moskva are on their way to the worst performance by a seeded team in Champions League history.
Group E
AFC Ajax: A+
Ajax is one of the positive surprises of the tournament to this point. Going into the tournament, many would have tipped Ajax to be competing with Benfica for the 2nd spot in the group. However, the Dutch side has exceeded expectation, headlined by an immense result away at German powerhouse Bayern Munich. They took a point of the Germans, and last time out they defeated Benfica 1-0 at home thanks to a 90+2' winner from Dutch-born Moroccan Noussair Mazraoui. The right-back has shown he is more than just a defender, scoring not only against Benfica but also against Bayern.
FC Bayern Munich: B+
Despite dropping points to Ajax, Bayern still sit in a fine position. They are "second" in the group, although Ajax and Bayern are even on points, head-to-head, overall record, goal difference, goals for, and goals against. Bayern will look to handle Benfica and Athens to ensure they advance, and then turn special focus to the reserve fixture against Ajax.
SL Benfica: D+
Benfica may feel a bit hard done by to only have 3 points and more importantly be four points adrift from advancement to the next round. However, it is that 92' goal they conceded against Ajax that just can't happen when every game means so much in the CL. It was not only 2 points dropped for the Portuguese side, it was 2 points gained for the Dutch side. A massive 6 point swing, when its all said and done.
AEK Athens: D-
Not really much to be said here. Nobody expected much from Athens coming into the tournament. They will feel disappointed that they fell 3-2 to Benfica.
Group F
Manchester City: B
City, the pre-tournament favorite, are in control of their group. However, its been all but easy for Pep Gaurdiola and his boys. After a shock home loss to Lyon on matchday 1, Gaurdiola undoubtedly laid into his men and expressed his discontent. If they can win out, they will be afforded the privilege of forgetting about that opening-day stumble.
Olympique Lyonnais: A-
All things considered, the first half of the group stage has to be deemed a success for Lyon. The campaign thus far has been full of drama for Lyon, as they defeated the favorite but only drew in their other two matches. And on top of that, it required a two-goal comeback at home against Shakhtar and a 3-3 thriller in what has to be one of the games of the tournament thus far away at Hoffenheim. For only having played one home game, Lyon must love their chances to advance and maybe even challenge City for the top spot in the group.
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: B-
Despite having only 2 points from 3 games, Hoffenheim have preformed well. While football is a results-driven business and moral victories count for little, it is Hoffenheim's first ever Champions League appearance and they have shown well for themselves. They scored in stoppage time to equalize in the epic 3-3 draw on matchday 3 to keep Lyon from going top of the table. They also held strong for 87' at home against City before David Silva broke their hearts. Being newcomers to the CL group stage, they sit in a respectable position after three matches.
FC Shakhtar Donetsk: D
Shakhtar is not afforded the same respect as Hoffenheim for their 2 points. First of all, they have much more CL experience, including a trip to the R16 as recently as last season. Secondly, they had to come from behind at home against the Germans to earn a point and blew a two-goal league against Lyon. That should feel like a loss, especially in an ultra-competitive group like this one.
Group G
Real Madrid CF: B-
After a comprehensive 3-0 win over Roma on matchday 1, things have gone a bit sour for Real Madrid. On matchday 2, the unthinkable happened; a 1-0 loss to CSKA Moscow that shocked the footballing world. Most recently, Madrid narrowly defeated Czech opponents Viktoria Plzen by 2 goals to 1 at home. While they do sit tied for the top of the group on points, their struggles in the league seem to have had an impact on their effectiveness in the CL as well.
AS Roma: B
Despite the bad loss to Real Madrid, who they undoubtably thought would be their main competition coming into the tournament, they have been helped by other results. Obviously CSKA taking all 3 points off of Madrid has kept the Spaniards within reach for Roma, but Plzen and CSKA playing to a 2-2 draw on match week 1 has kept Roma above CSKA. This group is tight to say the least.
CSKA Moscow: B
The historic win against Real Madrid contributes to the high grade for a team that sits 3rd in their group. However, they only have 1 point from 2 more games. CSKA are a much more experienced team than Plzen, and would have been expected to beat them when they met in Plzen on matchweek 1. In the late moments of the massive win against Madrid, longtime starting goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was sent off for disrespecting the referee. Missing Akinfeev in their last match, CSKA were trashed 3-0 by their biggest competition for a R16 spot, Roma.
Viktoria Plzen FC: C-
It is rare to see a group with no teams rated lower than a C-. Group G is an outlier, though. Plzen has looked a decent side, aside from their 5-0 trashing by Roma. They were seconds away from 3 points against Moscow when the Russians were awarded a penalty which they converted in the 95'. Viktoria went into Madrid and gave the three-time defending Champions League winners a scare, eventually falling 2-1. Not all bad from the Czech side.
Group H
Juventus FC: A+
The Italian giants have not put a foot wrong in this tournament thus far. Having conceded no goals, they look like the team to beat moving forward. They handled Valencia 2-0 on the road and then dismissed Young Boys 3-0 thanks to a Paulo Dybala hattrick. In the "big" matchup in the group, they proved they are for real when they went into Old Trafford and shut out the Red Devils as well. Juve now possess the biggest cushion of any first place team; 5 points.
Manchester United: C
Mediocrity for Man U. One win, one draw, and one loss. Although this would be good enough for 2nd place in the group, I find it hard to believe that the players would be satisfied with the performances or the point total thus far. The goal against Juventus in matchweek 3 was the first goal they had conceded in the competition. However, they failed to score against struggling Valencia and were held to a draw. This has distanced them from the top of the group and have left them closer to not advancing than to winning the group.
Valencia CF: D+
Not really too good from the Spanish side. The point at home against Man U has to be the highlight, but it was a boring match which lacked offensive fire power. They fell to Juve without putting up much of a fight and in the worst result, they gave up a second-half penalty to Young Boys, which the Swiss side converted. If they could have gotten the three points out of this game, they would be even on point with United going into the second half of the group stage. A massive missed opportunity for them.
BSC Young Boys: C-
The Young Boys have some history in the Champions League, but no one really expected them to have any shot in this group. It's really going to come down to the two matches against Valencia to see who earns the Europa League spot in this group, unless Manchester United gets sucked down into this battle. They did what they needed to do in the first matchup, earning a draw. However, they were the home side.
So those are my mid-group stage grades for all 32 sides involved in this year's competition. In my next blog I will offer a power ranking of all 32 sides as well as revisit the matchweek 3 results and compare them to my predictions prior to the start of the week.
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