What we learned from Tuesday's Champions League matches

Football writer David Coverdale reports on how Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Liverpool fared in their second round of matches in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.

Defensive issues arise again for Liverpool

Galatasaray 1-0 Liverpool

Liverpool’s defensive frailties were exposed again as they slumped to their second successive defeat.

The Reds had been bidding to bounce back from their last-gasp defeat to Crystal Palace last Saturday, which ended their 100 per cent start to the season.

Instead, Arne Slot – who surprisingly benched Mohamed Salah – was left with plenty to ponder after an error-strewn performance saw them lose in Istanbul.

Liverpool have now kept just two clean sheets in their last 15 matches in all competitions and appear to have real problems with their defence.

Slot opted to start with Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back, with Jeremie Frimpong ahead of him on the right wing. "He is one of the players that can replace Mo [Salah] in that position," Slot said of Frimpong afterwards. "I don’t see many others that can play in that position which is favoured to them, and I think it is one of Jeremie’s favourite positions. He plays there for the national team always."

But it was Szoboszlai's flailing arm who brought down Baris Alper Yilmaz to gift Galatasaray a 16th-minute penalty, which star striker Victor Osimhen tucked away for the game’s only goal.

The hosts continued to exploit Liverpool in the full-back areas throughout the match, much like Palace did at Selhurst Park.

And just like they did against the Eagles, the Reds were grateful to Alisson for keeping them in the game as they gave the ball away at will from Galatasaray's press.

The Liverpool goalkeeper, though, injured himself making a save from Osimhen in the second half and had to be replaced by Giorgi Mamardashvili. Slot said Alisson will "99.9 per cent" miss the trip to Chelsea on Saturday.

Slot’s nightmare night was compounded when he was also forced to replace Hugo Ekitike – back in the starting XI in favour of Alexander Isak - after he appeared to hurt himself stretching for the ball.

Slot brought his big guns off the bench in the second half.

But while the introduction of Salah and Isak improved Liverpool, they could not find another late goal, with a penalty initially awarded to Ibrahima Konate overturned after a VAR review.

Liverpool will now have to quickly pick themselves up ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Spurs show their resilience once again

Bodo/Glimt 2-2 Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur required a late own goal to avoid a major upset against Champions League newcomers Bodo/Glimt.

Four months ago, Spurs beat the Norwegian minnows 2-0 in the Aspmyra Stadion to secure their passage to the Europa League final.

But they found the going much more difficult on their return trip, even if they showed their resilience to fight back for a draw.

Spurs were given an early let-off in the first half when Kasper Hogh blazed a penalty over the bar. Yet the hosts took a deserved lead in the 53rd minute through Jens Petter Hauge, who doubled his side’s advantage 13 minutes later.

Only then did Thomas Frank’s side wake up, with Micky van de Ven heading in a cross from Pedro Porro, who now has 18 assists since the start of the 2023/24 season, more than any other defender for a Premier League club across all competitions.

Spurs pushed for a leveller and they fortunately found it in the 89th minute when Jostein Gundersen turned a cross into his own net.

It gave the north London club their fourth point from two Champions League ties, following their win over Villarreal in the first match.

And while there will be some concerns about the performance, Frank will be thrilled with the fight his team showed, coming off the back of their last-gasp draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend and coming from two goals down to draw at Brighton & Hove Albion the previous weekend.

"I felt that we kept doing the right thing, we kept moving the ball, kept reducing the situation from the side and showed great character to come back into the game, which I'm very, very pleased with," Frank said.

Spurs must now quickly recover ahead of another tricky away match at Leeds United on Saturday.

Chelsea return to winning ways despite another red card

Chelsea 1-0 Benfica

Chelsea ensured there was to be no happy homecoming for Jose Mourinho as they secured their first win in this season’s Champions League.

Mourinho, who won three Premier League titles with the Blues, was making his return to Stamford Bridge in his new managerial role with Benfica.

The Portuguese coach was greeted to the sound of the stadium chanting his name in the early stages and responded in kind by blowing kisses to the crowd.

But Mourinho’s mood soured in the 18th minute when he saw his defender Richard Rios slam the ball into his own net.

The goal stemmed from Chelsea’s biggest attacking threat Pedro Neto, who whipped in a dangerous ball from the right with his left foot.

Alejandro Garnacho slid in at the back post to cut the ball back and Rios’ attempted clearance went into his own goal (below).

Chelsea’s starting XI was the youngest they have ever fielded in a Champions League match, with an average age of exactly 24 years.

This was by no means a perfect performance from Blues’ youthful side. But after losing their European opener to Bayern Munich and back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, a return to winning ways was all that mattered.

Enzo Maresca will also have been pleased to see his team keep just their third clean sheet in nine matches this term. 

"I think we have some players on the pitch that unfortunately are not 100 per cent, but they are playing because we have seven or eight players out," Maresca said. 

"But also I think it was good to win tonight, in any case, even if sometimes you need to learn to win in an ugly way, like the last minutes of the game."

Neto added: “We knew the difficulties we had in the first game and we tried to work hard to manage those difficulties and today was the resilience of the team that came through."

The only negative of the night was another red card, this time for second-half substitute Joao Pedro, who was shown a second yellow for a high boot.

Chelsea were also reduced to 10 men in their last two Premier League matches, so Maresca will want to ensure they keep their discipline when Liverpool visit on Saturday.

Wednesday's Champions League matches (ko times BST)

17:45: Royale Union Saint-Gilloise v Newcastle United
20:00: Arsenal v Olympiacos
20:00: Monaco v Manchester City