World Football's Thursday Morning Hangover: German Precision Engineering

Welcome to world football's Thursday Morning Hangover, an homage to the NFL section's own Monday Morning Hangover, in which we round up the key stories and important points from the latest Champions League matchday.

Vorsprung Durch Technik

There were bigger victories elsewhere for other sides this week, but there was no result more impressive. On Tuesday, Bayern Munich travelled to Italy and demolished AS Roma 7-1, meaning last season's semi-finalists are within easy reach of the last 16 of the Champions League with three group games still to play.

It was a breathtaking attacking display, with Arjen Robben in particularly scintillating form as Bayern took a 5-0 half-time lead. Roma came back stronger in the second half—Manuel Neuer made a couple of amazing saves—but they were ultimately powerless to resist the energy and ambition of the side they faced.

Bayern head coach Pep Guardiola is implementing some very interesting and almost unprecedented tactical ideas—ones that have not always been effective during his tenure in Bavaria. On this night, however, everything seem to click, offering an alarming taste of what might be possible further down the line.

The Spaniard, as is his wont, still thought there was room for improvement, even after such a brilliant display. He told Sky Sport Italia (per Reuters):

"

We have a few things to improve and one of them is that we gave Roma too many chances at the start of the second half.

This game is an exception, an incident. It's not the difference between the two teams, we will see that in two weeks.

We got a quick goal and that relaxed us, then we got another.

Rome are a team who always play well, but we were very aggressive, made the right decisions and found space.

"

Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press

Guardiola’s opposite number, Rudi Garcia, blamed tactical issues rather than technical ones for the defeat. On most occasions, this would be written off as another case of a manager covering for his players, but this time it felt accurate—Garcia was bamboozled by Guardiola’s tactical setup and his players couldn't cope.

"It was a technical collapse, not a mental one," Garcia said, again per Reuters. "The first person to make a mistake was myself. I got the strategy wrong. In the second half, we showed some pride and would have scored more goals if it hadn't been for their goalkeeper."

Bayern’s brilliant victory was the start of a successful couple of days for German clubs, with all four in the competition picking up three points. Borussia Dortmund routed an abject Galatasaray and are now just one win away from the last 16, while both Schalke (against Sporting Lisbon) and Bayer Leverkusen (over Zenit St. Petersburg) grabbed victories that mean their respective chances of qualification are firmly in their own hands.

What is interesting is that both Borussia Dortmund and Schalke have not started the domestic season in the strongest fashion, in a way making their improvement on the continent all the more impressive. Spain and England also have four teams in the group stages of the competition this season; at this point, however, it is perhaps Germany that retains the best hope of seeing all four of its participants reach the knockout rounds.

Group-Stage Prognosis

At the halfway point in the group stage, here is how the teams are currently looking, according to our own (subjective) judgment. You can see the full group standings here.

Virtually certain	On course	In the balance	Much work to do	Almost hopeless
Real Madrid	Atletico Madrid	Juventus	Ludogorets	Malmo
B. Dortmund	B. Leverkusen	Olympiakos	Benfica	Galatasaray
B. Munich	Arsenal	Liverpool	Manchester City	Anderlecht
Chelsea	PSG	Basel	CSKA Moscow	Ajax
	Barcelona	Zenit	Sporting Lisbon	APOEL
	Schalke	Monaco	BATE Borisov	Maribor
	Porto	Roma		Athletic Bilbao
	Shakhtar

Balotelli Swaps Shirt, Gets Blame in Return

It seems forlorn to hope that we can go a week without mentioning Mario Balotelli. After Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid, the Italian was once again at the heart of the post-match discussion, having swapped his shirt with defender Pepe at half-time and being substituted soon after. Some thought Balotelli’s actions were scandalous—his manager, Brendan Rodgers, did not defend him—but others felt that he was singled out as a scapegoat on a night when Liverpool were clearly outclassed.

What is being lost in the mix, of course, is that Rodgers is mismanaging not one but two strikers, especially after Rickie Lambert did not come off the bench at all at Anfield. Instead, Adam Lallana replaced Balotelli for the second half, with Raheem Sterling seeming to play as the de facto striker. Lambert must wonder what his future really holds if he cannot get a game when Daniel Sturridge is injured and Balotelli is struggling for form.

Balotelli was not great once again, struggling with his movement and showing a lack of awareness and vision at key moments during the game. But it is ludicrous to blame him for a defeat that was predicated primarily on Real’s attacking brilliance (and Liverpool’s defensive issues—they have only kept one clean sheet since March despite extensive spending on that area). It is almost as if he has become a pawn as other people continue pushing their own agendas.

The shirt swap is a case in point; ultimately, it means little (many players change into a fresh shirt for the second half anyway, and who is to say Pepe was not the one who asked for it first?), even if Brendan Rodgers seemed to suggest that it went against club rules. Regardless, focusing on that over and above the performance of all the players on the pitch will not help the real issues be addressed in the long term.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Goal of Matchday 3

Marco Reus has only just returned to first-team action, but this was a beautiful strike. 

Goal of the Matchday:  Runner-Up edition

"

Just looked up ridiculous in the dictionary, it had this Ronaldo goal https://t.co/n3ETaQKks5

— 7amkickoff (@7amkickoff) October 23, 2014"

"

GOLAZO!! Robben scores a beauty. Roma 0-1 Bayern Munich https://t.co/FBGYbtpOvB

— Footy Vines (@FutbollVines) October 21, 2014"

Random Asides

• Didier Drogba got his first goal for Chelsea since the 2012 Champions League final on Tuesday, scoring from the penalty spot in the 6-0 win over Maribor. But it was Eden Hazard who stole the show with a wonderful virtuoso display, and he grabbed two goals of his own.

• Congratulations to Ludogorets, who defended well and scored a fine goal to beat Basel in Sofia. They are now level on points with the Swiss side and Liverpool in Group B—they have as good a chance as anyone of reaching the last 16.

• Athletic Bilbao’s disastrous Champions League campaign continued when they lost 2-1 to Porto in Portugal. Bottom of their group, Ernesto Valverde’s side must win their final three games (two of which are at home) to progress. The damage may have already been done, however—just as in the league, their poor start might have made qualification for next season’s competition almost impossible.

• Roberto Di Matteo won his first Champions League game in charge of Schalke, his first game in the competition since Chelsea sacked him in 2012. The German side now have a clear route to the last 16—a positive result against the Italian’s former club would really help in that bid.

• Manchester City and especially their captain, Vincent Kompany, had plenty of excuses for their 2-2 draw with CSKA Moscow, but Ronald Koeman had the best response. The Southampton manager told Sky Sports (via the Manchester Evening News): "After [leading] 2-0 you can't make a discussion about UEFA or the sponsors, you always have to look for yourself and to your team, and they were the problem. At half time, you are winning 2-0, and you are Manchester City. You can't blame that on a sloppy second half, you have to kill the game!”

• A fine first-time finish against Liverpool (his first goal at Anfield) means Cristiano Ronaldo is now just one goal away from equalling Raul’s all-time Champions League goalscoring record. Lionel Messi is one goal behind Ronaldo after his strike against Ajax, but the Portuguese will get first crack at the record; Real face Liverpool on Tuesday in two weeks’ time, while Barcelona play 24 hours later.

Other Points of Note

Sergei Grits/Associated Press

Seventh Heaven for Shakhtar and Luiz Adriano

It should not be forgotten the state in which Shakhtar Donetsk started this Champions League campaign; their city is under regular attack due to the ongoing skirmishes with pro-Russian forces, and their stadium has even been bombed during the hostilities. Before the group stage kicked off, it appeared many of their players—particularly the Brazilian contingent—wanted to leave the club, with morale horribly low.

Now, however, the Ukrainian side sit second in Group H, knowing that anything close to a repeat of Tuesday’s 7-0 win over BATE on Matchday 4 will put them near qualification for the knockout stages. Tuesday’s win was a rampant one against admittedly limited opposition, with Brazilian forward Luiz Adriano scoring four goals in the span of just 17 minutes before becoming only the second player—after Lionel Messi—to score five in a Champions League game.

There is still work to be done, but qualification is a very realistic prospect, with Adriano leading the cause. A remarkable turnaround.

Olympiacos Making a Habit of Home Wins

With a 1-0 victory over Juventus on Wednesday, Olympiacos added another top side to an impressive list of those they have beaten at home in the Champions League in recent seasons. Athens is quickly becoming one of the least enjoyable destinations for Europe's elite, a testament both to the atmosphere inside the ground and the quality of the team.

More immediately, the win over Juve—following their previous home triumph over Atletico Madrid—puts the Greek side in a strong position in Group A, even if they would be even better placed had they not lost to Malmo on Matchday 2. 

Nevertheless, revenge over the Swedish side in the home return would give them nine points, meaning anything from their trips to the two giants of the group would almost certainly leave those two sides scrapping over the one remaining qualification spot—something few would have predicted beforehand.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Great Escapes and Missed Opportunities

Arsenal came from behind to beat Anderlecht in the most dramatic finish of Matchday 3, although the comeback ultimately did little to change their situation in Group D (although they now have a better chance of topping the group, which might have a big impact further down the line). Elsewhere, however, a number of teams squandered great opportunities to enhance their own chances of qualification.

Basel's defeat to Ludogorets effectively undid their victory over Liverpool on Matchday 2, meaning Liverpool actually had a reasonably good night on Wednesday (something completely lost amid the Balotelli furore) in the context of the group.

That was also the case for Roma. The Italians could have capitalised on Manchester City's draw with CSKA Moscow by getting something from the game against Bayern. As it was, they were blown away, meaning City's own visit to the Italian capital will likely define who finishes second in that group.