The EPL is heading for an inevitable and overdue Liverpool title. Meanwhile it has been a less than stellar start for the league in Champions League competition.
Liverpool returned to the scene of their 2019 triumph in Madrid but lost a fourth minute goal to Atletico Madrid and could not find a way back into the match in the remaining 86 minutes. Although the slender lead courtesy of Saul does not make their task insurmountable, they will need to be watchful of not leaking another early goal at Anfield leaving them three to score.
Whereas the Reds may start favourites despite the loss, the same cannot be said for Tottenham Hotspur who were comprehensively outplayed at White Hart Lane by an impressive Leipzig outfit.
The Saxony side were technically superior in every aspect of the game; tackling, passing, marking and use of space to name a few. It should have been no wonder that the first side to keep a clean sheet at Bayern Munich in months defied a makeshift Spurs forward line so comfortably.
Lukas Klostermann and Welsh international Ethan Ampadu, on loan from Chelsea, were outstanding with the Welshman showing a maturity far in excess of his years.
Despite Jose Mourinho’s post match confidence that Spurs could still progress, no-one who observed the 90 minutes last night dispassionately could share that confidence.
In the end, only a Timo Werner penalty separated the sides but without the heroics of Hugo LLoris in the Spurs goal, this could have finished 3-0, a scoreline which would not have flattered the Germans.
In the other ties, Borussia Dortmund beat PSG 2-1 to set up a mouthwatering second leg in Paris and Atalanta secured the result of the week, hammering Valencia 4-1 in Bergamo.