We are now officially halfway through the behemoth that is the Champions League group stage.
An apt time then to assess where we are and, following Wednesday night’s set of Champions League 2025 highlights, it’s fair to say 36-team table differs greatly from this time last year when some of the big names struggled (although with eight matches and 24 places up for grabs in the knockout stages, the chances are the elite will almost always qualify).
Basically, that means there are few surprises. For example, you won’t need me to tell you that the SBOTOP Champions League 2025 betting odds favour pretty much all sides currently in the top eight.
In fact, except for Barcelona – semi-finalists last season – there is not one other club positioned from ninth to 36th place who you would expect to be crowned champions of Europe come the end of the campaign.
My tip at the start of the season, Bayern Munich, are flying as one of three teams to have four wins from four so far, alongside Arsenal and last season’s beaten finalists, Inter Milan.
Of course, you can peak too soon, but the way the Bavarians were able to win at the home of the defending champions (albeit one missing some key players) on Tuesday evening showcased just how impressive they are.
Two of the teams in the top eight places, which guarantee automatic qualification to the last 16 next spring, were able to showcase their strength on Wednesday at the expense of opponents who simply cannot compete financially with their English counterparts.
When Phil Foden is on song, Manchester City have a playmaker who can fill the gap left by their former talisman Kevin De Bruyne. He was in the mood as they eased to a 4-1 home victory over Borussia Dortmund; the German side was a shadow of their former selves.
It is little wonder when you consider the players they have had to sell over the years, not least Erling Haaland, who helped himself to a customary goal – his 27th for club and country to date on the night manager Pep Guardiola named him captain against his former club.
The fact Dortmund had only lost once all season until this game fails to mask the chasm that is developing between Europe’s richest and the rest, and no amount of expanded tournament or UEFA contradiction will fool you otherwise.
To prove the point, the only threat to City once they went 3-0 up (Haaland’s strike was sandwiched between a Foden double) before the hour was their own slackness/boredom (delete as applicable) as they took their eye off the ball.
Nevertheless, Waldemar Anton’s 72nd-minute goal when he poked home from close range seemed no more than an irritation, and while they could have reduced the arrears even further, new signing Rayan Cherki added a fourth in stoppage time to give the scoreline a one-sided look.
If City are sitting pretty in fourth in the standings, Newcastle are doing pretty well too and are up to sixth after seeing off a tidy, albeit depleted, Athletic Bilbao.
Captain Nico Williams and Oihan Sanchet are two men who make the Basque boys tick, and they were both absent on Tyneside.
The rousing home crowd saw their heroes score two headers early in each half to take control of the game, and they never looked back. First, Dan Burn powered home from a Kieran Trippier free-kick, and then the unmarked Joelinton added a second four minutes after the restart. This was no capitulation from the injury-hit visitors who hit the post in the first half.
But Eddie Howe’s men seemed to be saving their best showings for Europe this season, and this was their third successive European victory, the first time they have achieved that since 2007. The only downside for the hosts was seeing Anthony Gordon leave the fray with a hip injury before the break.
Although I have made clear my views on the format of this competition and realise the chances of anyone bar the established big-hitters reaching the latter stages are now slimmer than ever, a word of congratulations goes to the champions of Cyprus.
Pafos are up to 20th in the standings after securing their first-ever victory in the competition group stages as they stunned Villarreal, 2022 semi-finalists. The hosts were only formed 11 years ago but have tasted defeat just once in 10 matches in the competition so far, including qualifiers.
This was another landmark moment when Dutch defender Derrick Luckassen scored the historic winner with an unmarked header following a 46th-minute corner.
Pafos is even playing its home games at the Alphamega Stadium in Limassol, which is about 40 miles away, as its own ground does not meet UEFA requirements.
The ability to prevail in this format is now more difficult for clubs of this size than ever before. However, this was a night they could savour and they deserved their moment in the sun.
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