18 games, over 50 goals and plenty to take note of: Gameweek three of the Champions League provided us all with another spectacle. Once again, it was the usual suspects who dominated as Paris Saint-Germain handed Bayer Leverkusen an evening to forget and Liverpool got back to winning ways in style against Eintracht Frankfurt.
That’s not to say there were no shocks entirely, however. Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur side stuttered again, this time against AS Monaco, whilst Antonio Conte will certainly be having words with his Napoli side following their humiliating 6-2 defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven.
But in a week centred around goals galore, who stands out as the biggest winners and losers on matchday three of the Champions League campaign?
Winners: Wirtz ends wait and PSG thrash Leverkusen
Winner: Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)
After four straight defeats in all competitions, Liverpool’s trip to face Frankfurt suddenly became of the upmost importance. Defeat would have seen Arne Slot become the first Liverpool manager in the Premier League era to lose five games on the bounce and such a stat would have sparked the most serious concerns of his Anfield tenure.
When Rasmus Kristensen found the bottom corner of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s goal in the 26th minute, it looked as though the Reds were in for another miserable evening. It was the type of goal that they’ve become all too familiar with as of late.
A quick-fire triple from Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate soon signalled a sigh of relief around the Liverpool dugout, however, before Florian Wirtz made his mark in the second-half.
Assisting goals for Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai, the German ended his 10-game wait for a goal contribution and could now finally be on his way to stardom in a Liverpool shirt.
Winner: PSG
They may have stuttered in Ligue 1 in recent weeks, sitting second behind Marseille, but when the world is watching PSG remain in ruthless form. This time, it was Bayer Leverkusen who suffered. The once-invincible Germans looked anything but against the European champions, who found themselves 4-1 up before Leverkusen could even take shelter at half-time.
The onslaught only continued in the second period. Following goals from Willian Pacho, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha all got in the act to secure a stunning 7-2 victory.
In full flow, PSG once again look unstoppable and that may well leave them on course to retain their European crown this season.
Winner: Fermin Lopez (Barcelona)
When heaping praise on a La Masia graduate, it’s usually Lamine Yamal who finds himself in the headlines. Alas, in recent weeks, Fermin Lopez has finally received his flowers.
The Spaniard, who attracted transfer interest from the Premier League in the summer, has proved his worth at Barcelona and enjoyed one of his best games yet against Olympiakos.
Netting a hat-trick as Barcelona thumped the Greek side 6-1, Lopez is staking a serious claim that he should be starting for Hansi Flick’s side every week.
Losers: Salah woes continue and Simeone loses at his own game
Loser: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Liverpool desperately needed a win in Frankfurt and Mohamed Salah desperately needed a goal. After 90 minutes in Germany, however, only one of those things happened and the Egyptian was left to rue yet another missed chance.
Having been dropped for Hugo Ekitike in Slot’s frontline, Salah needed to prove a point when he emerged from the bench. But after failing to square the ball to Wirtz in an attempt to end his own drought from open-play, his current confidence problem was laid bare for the onwatching Reds.
Some have been quick to criticise the winger and he has since taken Liverpool out of his Twitter header in what could be a worrying sign for those at Anfield. Liverpool may be back to winning ways, but they’ve still got a major Salah problem to solve.
Loser: Bayer Leverkusen
Life without Xabi Alonso, Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and others was never going to be easy for Leverkusen. But their 7-2 humiliation at the hands of PSG in front of their own fans remains unacceptable. They tried and failed their Erik ten Hag experiment earlier this season. Now, it’s the turn of Kasper Hjulmand to turn things around.
So far, however, his side have been incredibly vulnerable defensively and serious steps need to be taken before they can compete among Europe’s best once again.
What makes the PSG thrashing all the more frustrating is the fact that Leverkusen entered the game without a defeat in eight games in all competitions. Those games featured plenty of goals, but there was at least an expectation that the Germans would hand the French champions a competitive outing. That proved to be anything but the case, though.
Loser: Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
In one of the most highly-anticipated games in this season’s Champions League calendar, Arsenal played host to Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side in a clash between two sides who perfect the defensive side of their game before launching forward.
It was the experienced defensive mastermind vs the new kid on the block in many ways, but it was the latter who came out on top. Simeone could do nothing but watch on as he was beaten at his own game and then some.
Arsenal ran riot, becoming the first-ever side to score four goals in 13 minutes against Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side, as they wrapped things up in a ruthless second-half performance.
It was a statement display from the Gunners and an evening to forget for Simeone, whose powers are beginning to fade on Europe’s biggest stage.
