Man United's Anthony Martial and Bayern's Thomas Muller headline our Champions League three good, three bad

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Big guns Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Barcelona and Chelsea all registered wins in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

    The fixtures produced some quality performances as well along with a few disappointing ones.

    Here’s a look at three good and three bad performers from the night.

    THREE GOOD

    ANTHONY MARTIAL | MANCHESTER UNITED

    Manchester United strolled to a 4-0 win away to CSKA Moscow and the man at the centre of it all was Anthony Martial. The Frenchman was given a start ahead of Marcus Rashford on the night and took full advantage.

    He was involved in all four goals for the visitors, setting up Romelu Lukaku with crosses for the first and third goals. The 21-year-old clearly slotted away the second from the spot after Henrikh Mkhitaryan won the penalty before the Armenian turned in the rebound from his effort in the second half.

    The Frenchman created five chances, registered two assists, a goal and six assists, all neatly wrapped up in a one scintillating performance before he limped off in the 72nd minute.

    Anthony Martial (L)

    Anthony Martial (L)

    KYLIAN MBAPPE | PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN

    The score sheet features Dani Alves, Edinson Cavani and Neymar for PSG in their 3-1 win against Bayern Munich but make no mistake about it, Kylian Mbappe was arguably the most threatening player on the pitch.

    He’s 18, new to the club and playing in a star-studded line-up but that hasn’t seen him shine any less bright than he did as the main man at AS Monaco. Mbappe terrorised the Bayern defenders and set up Cavani for a superb goal to make it 2-0.

    Having created three glorious chances, he should’ve had a couple of more assists as well had his teammates been a bit more clinical. He went off to a well deserved standing ovation in the 79th minute.

    Kylian Mbappe (L)

    Kylian Mbappe (L)

    EDEN HAZARD | CHELSEA

    Eden Hazard is just returning to full match fitness after missing the start of the season but you wouldn’t have guessed it from his performance away to Atletico Madrid.

    The Belgian star was a constant threat to the hosts, wriggling free of challenges, leaving defenders for dead and setting up Alvaro Morata for the equaliser after Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring from the spot.

    He created a total of seven chances and completed six take-ons before being replaced in the 81st minute after which Michy Batshuayi went on to snatch the winner in stoppage time.

    Eden Hazard

    Eden Hazard

    THREE BAD

    THOMAS MULLER | BAYERN MUNICH

    The German was a disappointment on the night as Bayern lost 3-1 in Paris. He should’ve hit the target when PSG went to sleep from a corner and Kimmich drilled a ball into him at the near post but he could only steer it wide.

    David Alaba put in a delightful cross for him in the 21st minute but the Bavarian skipper’s header was off target from a promising position.

    Apart from a few flicks and throughballs that didn’t really come off, Muller was anonymous for the rest of the game.

    Thomas Muller

    Thomas Muller

    VASILI BEREZUTSKI | CSKA MOSCOW

    CSKA were humbled in their own backyard as United strolled to 4-1 win. Lukaku bagged a brace on the night but the victory for the away side also had plenty to do with a poor defensive display from the hosts.

    Vasili Berezutski was at the heart of that defence and was largely to blame. The centre back won just one aerial battle all night as Lukaku dominated the back-line.

    The Russian defender is the most experienced in that defence but did little to marshal the back three and instead committed a schoolboy error as he completely missed his clearance, allowing Lukaku to steal in at the back post and tap into an empty net for United’s third goal, which killed off the tie.

    Vasili Berezutski

    Vasili Berezutski

    SEBASTIAN COATES | SPORTING CP

    Partnering Jeremy Mathieu in central defence, Sebastian Coates struggled to match his teammate’s solid display. He made no clearances in the game while the former Barcelona man made five.

    The Uruguayan was poor on the ball, being dispossessed on four occasions. There isn’t much he could’ve done about the own goal he conceded as it bounced off him and into the net but he wasn’t tight enough to his man when the set-piece was delivered.

    He picked up a booking just before the hour mark as well which didn’t do him any favours as Barcelona secured a 1-0 win.

    Sebastien Coates (3rdL) scores an own goal

    Sebastien Coates (3rdL) scores an own goal

    Recommended