Saka got his scoring boots on in a 3-0 win for Arsenal over Lille, just like we told you he would, and Barcelona once again ran up the score, so we were 2-2 on that front. Though the real drama was in Manchester United entering yet another crisis with a 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich drawing 3-3 with the Norwegian underdogs, Viking. As for Wednesday's game, well there's only one place to start.
Almost the last aspect of Manchester City to find itself under the microscope over recent weeks has been the team here and now under Enzo Maresca's leadership and their ability to win games in the weeks ahead. One might argue that that is a fitting aspect of the suite of punishments that will be meted out unless they are successful in their appeal. City's 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules have warped both the English and European game for so long that the temptation for some might be just not to look.
That might work in the Premier League, where the prospect of points deductions or expulsion means that games like Sunday's 3-0 win at Liverpool might actually prove to have been irrelevant. The Champions League is rather different. UEFA struck out in their probe in 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturning a two-year Champions League ban as the alleged breaches were mostly either time-barred or not established.
Whatever City achieve in Europe this season is much more likely to count. The idea of this team playing in the EFL and UCL as holders next season ought not to be entirely discounted. Most bookmakers have them as fifth or sixth favorites, at worst somewhere just outside the inner circle of contenders.
Opta gives only Arsenal a better chance of winning the competition. The current Premier League table tells you they could achieve a great deal given they have won six of six to go with their win in Porto to start off the competition. It might not be entirely truthful at this early juncture.
Pep Guardiola is due to return to the Etihad on Wednesday night to offer his support to the embattled club (and, based on his public statements, the ownership too). What he will see is a team that is so far yet to kick some of the bad habits that cost them titles in his final years. In particular, this team looks vulnerable to being cut through on the counter for reasons that will be relatively obvious if you check their pass network in last month's 5-3 win over Sunderland.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
