2' min
First Liverpool, then all the rest. Arne Slot's side made quick work of Bayer Leverkusen, led by former Liverpool and Real Madrid player Xabi Alonso, demolishing them with a resounding 4-0 victory at Anfield. With four wins in as many Champions League matches, Liverpool sits comfortably atop the standings with 12 points, two points ahead of Sporting Lisbon, Brest, Monaco, and Inter, who each have 10. Among these, Sporting’s win over Manchester City in Portugal (4-1) and the two French teams’ performances mark them as the surprise teams of this first phase of the former European Cup. Brest, in particular, has impressed, considering this is its debut in Europe’s top-tier competition.
On the downside, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are tied in 17th place with two wins and two losses each, while PSG has only collected 4 points, falling to Atletico Madrid (1-2 at Parc des Princes) in their latest Champions League game.
In the Europa League, Lazio under Marco Baroni has so far dominated, the only team with a perfect record after four matchdays. Following victories over Dynamo Kyiv, Nice, and Twente, they secured a fourth with a win against Porto: Romagnoli’s goal was answered by Eustaquio, but Pedro delivered the decisive strike in the dying moments. Keeping pace with Lazio are Francesco Farioli's Ajax, who put five past an overwhelmed Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Galatasaray, who, thanks to an Osimhen brace, beat Tottenham 3-2 and overtook them in the standings. Strong performances also came from Eintracht Frankfurt (1-0 over Slavia Prague) and Athletic Bilbao (2-1 away to Ludogorets), while Roma disappointed again, taking the lead against Union Saint-Gilloise only to concede a late equalizer (1-1).
In the Conference League, Fiorentina suffered a shock defeat, tasting loss for the first time in over a month and a half. A heavily rotated lineup cost the Viola dearly as they fell 2-1 away to APOEL Nicosia, with Ikoné's goal not enough for the Italian side. Meanwhile, Chelsea, led by Enzo Maresca, sits atop the standings, thrashing Armenia’s Noah FC with an 8-0 rout. Other teams with perfect records after three games include Poland’s Legia Warsaw (4-0 against Dinamo Minsk) and Jagiellonia (3-0 against Molde), Rapid Vienna (3-0 over Petrocub), Vitoria Guimaraes (2-1 over Mlada Boleslav), and Heidenheim (2-0 over Hearts).
