Take a deep breath. After Tuesday's frantic Champions League window, it's safe to say everyone could use a minute to relax. The drama was flying all over the place, from record-setting stompings to late winners, Tuesday had it all. Five more teams punched their tickets to the next stage of the Champions League. Here are the best storylines you might have missed from the busy slate.
Say "goodbye" to Spurs
Tottenham’s Champions League dream is dead. Their loss to Monaco on Tuesday has ended any chance they have of advancing to the knockout stages, a massive disappointment for a team that had been building toward this appearance in Europe’s biggest competition and thought they were ready to compete with the best. Clearly, they are not, as evidenced by their shambolic defending in their loss at Monaco. They’d have lost by more if Hugo Lloris wasn’t otherworldly as they were routinely broken apart and, to make things worse, they conceded the winning goal moments after equalizing. It was a disaster all around and now they’re left to look back on their missed opportunity, having squandered the Champions League chance they worked so hard to get.
Real Madrid do just enough
Sporting Lisbon put forth a valiant effort, but Real Madrid eventually got themselves a hard-fought victory. Los Blancos could have advanced with a draw, but a win still gives them a shot at winning Group F. The match looked destined for a draw after 10-man Sporting equalized in the second half, but Karim Benzema rescued Real Madrid's blushes late. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund did a number on Legia Warsaw to the tune of 8-4 to keep their two-point advantage over Real Madrid in the group. It all sets up for a must-watch match at the Santiago Bernabeu on Dec. 7, where Real will host Dortmund in a winner-take-all tilt.
Leicester roll along as group winners
Leicester City finally gave up a goal in the Champions League. It took until their fifth match, but they finally conceded. Another thing that happened in their fifth match: they clinched first place in their group and a spot in the Champions League knockout stages. Yeah, that same Leicester who were picked to get relegated from the Premier League a year ago. Becoming champions of England was incredible, but now they’re carrying it over to another season in a different competition. And, just a hunch, they’ll get over conceding a goal.
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Juventus lean on old reliable for victory
Leonardo Bonucci has made himself Juventus’ most important player. He’s the leader of their backline, the originator of every attack, and now the center back is scoring goals, too. He can’t do it all, but he damn sure is trying his best. Juventus still haven’t come close to figuring it out, but he has, and as long as he’s on, Juve have a shot.
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Dortmund open a can against Legia Warsaw
Dortmund are FUN. They’re scoring goals like they’ll be discontinued in 2017, and there’s not much many teams can do to stop them. The scary part? They’re getting them from everywhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s from kids like Ousmane Dembele or Felix Passlack, or from “old” heads like Marco Reus or Nuri Sahin, they’re getting them. And that’s scary for the rest of Europe. That whole keeping goals out thing? We’ll worry about that later.
