A big week for…
Still without the recovering Vincent Kompany, Bayern Munich are among the favorites to win the Champions League, which would be their first European title since 2019-20.
asserted
which → recover → 2019
René Marić’s side produced a dominant display at the Metropolitano, playing Atlético Madrid off the field in a commanding 2-0 win.
asserted
side → produce → win
Lennart Karl and Konrad Laimer made the difference, with Harry Kane providing Laimer with a fine assist in his first continental appearance since winning the Ballon d’Or.
asserted
Kane → make → d’Or
Bayern remain just outside the top eight, which guarantees automatic passage to the last 16, having won two and drawn two of their opening four matches.
asserted
which → remain → matches
It was also a massive week for Michael Carrick’s claim to the Manchester United job, as his side overturned a 2-0 half-time deficit to beat Roma 3-2.
uncertain
side → overturn → Roma
United have now won two, drawn two and lost none, enough to enter the international break in the play-off places.
asserted
United → win → places
Villarreal manager Iñigo Pérez warned that if visiting Paris Saint-Germain “smell fear, they won’t forgive you”, and evidently his players must have reeked of it.
asserted
players → warn → it
The reigning European champions redefined “scoring for fun” with an early onslaught, putting four goals past the sinking Yellow Submarine inside 17 minutes.
asserted
champions → reign → minutes
PSG ultimately cruised to a remarkable 6-0 thrashing, with their five different scorers led by Fabián Ruiz, who scored a brace.
asserted
who → cruise → brace
Inter got their campaign back on track with a commanding 3-0 win away at Feyenoord, a strong response to their defeat in the Milan derby.
asserted
Inter → get → derby
An eighth-minute strike from Yann Bisseck put the 2025 runners-up in front and they never looked back.
asserted
they → put → front
“Football doesn’t always go to plan, but you have to respond, make the right changes and find a way to get back on track,” Inter coach Cristian Chivu said afterwards.
asserted
Chivu → go → track
One such change may be giving Djed Spence a greater role.
uncertain
change → give → role
Named player of the match on Tuesday after providing the assist for Bisseck’s opener, Spence has seldom featured in his first season, having made his first Serie A start only in Saturday’s defeat to Milan.
asserted
Spence → name → Milan
Como continue to win matches, as well as hearts and minds, and followed their 4-1 victory over Manchester United with an even more emphatic performance.
asserted
Como → continue → performance
Lens were the latest victims, with Como thrashing the French side 9-1.
asserted
Como → thrash → side
Cesc Fàbregas’s team continue to defy expectations in their first Champions League campaign.
asserted
team → continue → campaign
They sit fourth in Serie A and the Champions League tables.
asserted
They → sit → A
While far from a vintage Real Madrid side, or even a vintage José Mourinho version of one, Los Blancos headed to Athens brimming with confidence.
asserted
Blancos → head → confidence
Madrid had won all six of their matches since play resumed after the international break, including a statement victory at the Camp Nou in late October.
asserted
play → win → October
And yet, they seemed to have no answer for a player representing a nation ranked 110th in the world by Fifa.
asserted
they → seem → Fifa
Koita kept Madrid’s full-backs on their heels throughout a tireless 90-minute shift for AEK Athens.
asserted
Koita → keep → Athens
Having taken just two shots in his first 180 minutes of this season’s Champions League, the 28-year-old winger put Madrid on notice early on Wednesday.
asserted
winger → take → Wednesday
Koita collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area in the 12th minute and bore down on Marc Cucurella.
asserted
Koita → collect → Cucurella
He cut inside, twisting the left-back out of position, before driving a powerful effort between Thibaut Courtois and his near post.
asserted
He → cut → Courtois
It was the first Champions League goal scored by a player from Mauritania.
asserted
It → score → Mauritania
Madrid fought hard to equalize, with Jude Bellingham having one effort ruled out for a narrow offside before his clever left-footed finish caught Alberto Brignoli by surprise.
asserted
finish → fight → surprise
The hosts held firm until the 75th minute, when Koita drew defenders towards him as he drifted towards the left corner before spotting a run from his left-back, Stavros Pilios.
asserted
he → hold → back
Koita threaded the ball into the defender’s path and Pilios coolly slotted it past Courtois.
asserted
Pilios → thread → Courtois
Ultimately, Madrid had too much talent for AEK’s defence.
asserted
Madrid → have → defence
Kylian Mbappé made no mistake, scoring his team’s second equalizer three minutes after Pilios’s effort.
asserted
Mbappé → make → effort
Federico Valverde had no intention of giving the hosts a happy ending, powering a long-range effort across goal and beyond the diving Brignoli.
asserted
Valverde → have → Brignoli
Nonetheless, it was a hard-earned winner forced by Koita’s brilliance at the other end.
asserted
it → earn → end
Koita’s night ended on a sour note.
asserted
night → end → note
Furious after being brought down as the final whistle blew, he earned a red card for telling the referee to “fuck off”, then remained on the pitch to plead his case.
asserted
he → bring → case
Recent history has cast Fenerbahçe as the ultimate nearly team, finishing second in every Süper Lig campaign since 2021-22.
asserted
history → cast → 2021
A poor start to the season prompted İsmail Kartal’s resignation, leaving Dirk Kuyt, who had joined the club only in June as Kartal’s assistant, to become caretaker manager.
asserted
who → prompt → assistant
Kuyt’s first European match in charge carried even greater significance given the visitors: Liverpool, with whom he became a legend.
asserted
he → carry → whom
“As soon as the draw came up, as a technical member of the staff I was really excited because everyone knows how much Fenerbahçe and Liverpool mean to me,” Kuyt said on the eve of the match.
asserted
Kuyt → come → match
But at the stage we are in, I’m not the important person.
asserted
I → ’m → stage
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
