Champions League, Matchday 7: Key takeaways, top players, and more

The supersized Champions League resumed this week, with all 36 teams back in action over 48 frenetic hours. Below, theScore's soccer editors reflect on Matchday 7, the penultimate set of games in the opening round of Europe's premier club competition.

Key takeaway from Matchday 7 📝

Daniel Rouse: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia might be wondering why Paris Saint-Germain bought him at all. The €70-million January signing watched from the stands as Bradley Barcola starred in Wednesday's 4-2 win over Manchester City. The 22-year-old stormed down the left flank before setting up Ousmane Dembele's goal, scored himself with a controlled finish into the bottom corner, and completed over 95% of his passes despite his attacking role. Kvaratskhelia and Barcola could give Luis Enrique a similar headache to the one that's troubled Carlo Ancelotti while he's dealt with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior at Real Madrid, and most PSG fans will be asking the same question: Why didn't the club invest that money on a striker instead?

Gordon Brunt: In classic Real Madrid fashion, they left it late to shine in the Champions League. They're finally playing like the powerhouse that everyone expected them to be before the season. Madrid continued the healing process after their recent loss to Barcelona by beating Red Bull Salzburg 5-1, jumping to 16th in the Champions League table. They've now outscored opponents 14-4 in three straight wins following the heavy defeat in the Super Cup final. But the turnaround started long before with an eight-game unbeaten run at the end of 2024. Even more encouraging now are the performances of Madrid's biggest stars. Kylian Mbappe has overcome an excruciatingly slow start, while Jude Bellingham is back to his best. Vinicius Junior scored a late brace to match Rodrygo, who stayed hot with two of his own in the first half Wednesday. It should go without saying, but all of the top Champions League teams will be desperate to avoid Carlo Ancelotti's "midtable" side in the next round.

Gianluca Nesci: The new tournament format is really starting to hit its stride, and it'll result in some spectacular matchups in the early knockout stages - including the inaugural playoff round - that wouldn't have arrived until the end of the tournament under the old system. That's an unequivocal win for UEFA. In a scheduling move akin to a major international competition, Matchday 8 will see all 36 teams play their final league phase games at the same time. That has the potential to be pure, unfiltered chaos. With several overachieving teams forcing perennial contenders like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City down the pecking order, this could end up working out even better than the governing body could've possibly expected. Once the dust settles, the bracket for the round of 16 (and beyond) will be fascinating. We don't say this very often - for good reason - but: Well done, UEFA. The Champions League feels alive again.

This week's crisis club 😬

Rouse: Manchester City. It'll take more than signing defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, as well as the anticipated arrival of attacker Omar Marmoush, to fix this mess. The cracks in Manchester City's midfield are still glaring and transfers aren't a natural antidote for the fear and indecision blighting the squad. City are playing more vertically than at any point of Pep Guardiola's reign because trust in the hallmarks of his approach - passing, patience, control - is gone. Even if 25th-placed City somehow emerge from the league phase and playoffs, on this form, it'd only delay an inevitable flop in one of the early knockout rounds.

Brunt: Benfica. Manager Bruno Lage's dramatic postgame tirade said it all. Instead of denying Barcelona an automatic last-16 berth, his Benfica squad damaged its own Champions League aspirations in one of the most painful ways imaginable. The team led by two goals at two different times Tuesday. But it still wasn't enough, as the visitors overcame Benfica's strong start and embarked on a memorable comeback after scoring three second-half goals to win 5-4 and qualify for the next round. It was a collapse worthy of the tongue-lashing that Lage delivered after his team failed to win for the fourth time in five games. The task doesn't get any easier for 21st-placed Benfica, who visit Juventus in their final game of the opening stage.

Nesci: Borussia Dortmund. A blown lead and loss to lowly Bologna on Tuesday - Dortmund's fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions - cost Nuri Sahin his job. Worse yet, Erik ten Hag is being touted as a potential replacement. BVB are tumbling down the Champions League table and sit 10th in the Bundesliga, a full 20 points adrift of the top spot. The club has been in steady decline since Jurgen Klopp departed in 2015, with seven different coaches since then. Only one in that time, Lucien Favre, stayed for longer than two years (Edin Terzic had two separate spells on the touchline). Dortmund, once adept at shrewdly restocking after selling superstar talent, have failed to do that in the wake of Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham departing and are now mired in mediocrity.

Player of the week 🌟

Rouse: Julian Alvarez. The forward is increasingly influential for Atletico Madrid. Alvarez's selflessness and persistence were best demonstrated by a prolonged battle he alone had with three Bayer Leverkusen players as he drove from his own defensive third to near the visitors' 18-yard box. He eventually lost the ball but, undeterred, immediately bit back and won a foul to relieve pressure on his team. That squabble occurred shortly after Atleti were reduced to 10 men, but Alvarez doggedly dragged his depleted side to a 2-1 victory with two clinical finishes. He's the perfect Diego Simeone attacker.

Brunt: Vangelis Pavlidis. It took less than an hour for the Greek forward to turn his season around. After a rough start at Benfica, Pavlidis scored a lightning-quick hat-trick in the opening 30 minutes before disaster struck in Tuesday’s defeat to Barcelona. He scored 106 seconds into the game and recorded the third-fastest hat-trick in Champions League history with a penalty less than 10 minutes after Wojciech Szczesny's horrendous blunder left the net wide-open for his second goal. It was by far the most productive game of the campaign for the 26-year-old, who'd failed to impress after scoring just seven goals in his previous 29 games following his arrival from AZ Alkmaar last summer.

Nesci: Justin Bijlow. Striker Santiago Gimenez made a strong case with a brace in Feyenoord's surprising 3-0 win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday, but it was the Dutch goalkeeper who shined brightest on a rainy evening inside De Kuip. Bayern unleashed 30 total shots, attacking in a variety of ways, but they couldn't get past the 27-year-old netminder, who made seven saves. His impressive outing included an outstanding stop on Harry Kane, and even when one of his own teammates threatened to score a late own goal, Bijlow's quick reflexes saved the day and maintained the clean sheet.

Highlight of the week 🎥

This deceptive backheel assist from Bellingham was a work of art. Rodrygo's pinpoint finish wasn't bad, either.

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Stat of the week 🔢

Just when you think it can't possibly get any worse for Manchester City right now, it does.