Champions League review: Amorim's perfect Man United audition as Kounde provides the assists
The moral of this week's Champions League story is that the very best teams go through rough patches. Having said that, their ability to bounce back quickly is what separates them from the rest. Real Madrid and Manchester City might both be in unknown territory as they experience a drop in form on all fronts, but unlike less successful sides, don't expect them to fold - they will be back with a vengeance.
Real Madrid suffered their second defeat of the Champions League campaign as AC Milan ripped them apart in a 3-1 humbling at the Bernabeu. Meanwhile, City were also handed a thrashing as they lost 4-1 to Sporting CP in Ruben Amorim's final home game as their head coach. There is plenty of time left in the season for both giants to turn the slump around but their uncharacteristic struggles will provide some optimism to their European and domestic rivals.
Star player - Jules Kounde
Barcelona are making a habit out of winning games by big margins and they swept aside Crvena zvezda 5-2 last night as they inflicted their latest humbling. Hansi Flick is working wonders with a side who have underperformed on the European stage for too long and they are starting to look like a side to fear.
All the talk in recent weeks has centred around star attacking players like Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski but it was Kounde who was the architect of Barcelona's win yesterday and he deserves his flowers as an ever-consistent performer.
The French international was a constant threat down the right-hand side as an overlapping full-back and his precise crosses provided three assists in an exceptional attacking performance from a once centre-back.
Two of his assists were simple and effective cutbacks but his first was a perfectly low-driven ball across the face of goal which left Robert Lewandowski with a tap-in.
Kounde was also solid defensively as he produced an almost faultless display in a Barcelona team full of confident players. He had eight touches in the opposition box, created four chances, won possession four times and completed 53 out of 57 attempted passes.
Kounde might not be on the back of supporters' shirts or a flashy player but he is crucial in Flick's system and if he can continue to add attacking output, Barcelona will possess one of the world's best right-backs.
Surprise package - Sporting CP
As previously touched upon, Sporting outclassed and outfought a struggling Manchester City side on Tuesday night to give departing manager Amorim the dream send-off.
As Amorim was keen to remind reporters after the game, the last time Sporting faced City in the Champions League they were humiliated in a 5-1 drumming. But that makes what happened on Tuesday night all the more impressive as the growth of this Sporting side from potential to the real deal was there for all to see.
This time around it was Amorim who inflicted a 4-1 thrashing on Guardiola and in doing so Sporting became the only remaining unbeaten side in all competitions in Europe.
For most of the first half, Manchester United fans might have been somewhat underwhelmed with their performance but Viktor Gyokeres' dinked finish over Ederson on the brink of the break was the turning point. There could be no preparing for what came next though. The Lisbon giants scored two quickfire goals at the start of the second half to turn the game on its head and stun the away side.
Gyokeres added his second of the game and Sporting's third to put the game beyond doubt but it was their second goal which showcased what Amorim's football is all about.
The Portuguese side produced a perfect passing sequence from back to front before Maximiliano Araujo slotted an effort under the helpless Ederson. It was sensational yet so simple - a move that Manchester United could only dream of in recent years.
Gyokeres added gloss to the win and completed his hat-trick from the spot again after Erling Haaland uncharacteristically smashed the bar with another penalty.
The Swedish striker is having a remarkable season with 16 goals already and he is the joint-top scorer in the Champions League.
Questions are already being asked about whether Gyokeres will be joining Amorim at Old Trafford before long after a sensational rise to the top from the football league to Sporting's talisman.
Meanwhile, it was a disastrous day for City who need to get their confidence back quickly if they are going to have the season Guardiola and the club demand. For Sporting though, this was a magical Champions League night in front of buoyant supporters who were treated to the perfect ending to Amorim's reign.
The former Benfica player may have joined with some animosity but he leaves with legend status from supporters who adore one of the club's greatest coaches.
Team of the week - Liverpool
Whilst Sporting and Barcelona are worthy mentions for this category, Liverpool's 4-0 dismantling of a Bayer Leverkusen side who went unbeaten for all but one game last season, deserves recognition. Arne Slot has transitioned to life in Merseyside better than anyone could have imagined and it has taken him seemingly no time to get a tune out his new team.
Liverpool are beginning to look like the real deal on all fronts and they will take some stopping in this season's Champions League. On Tuesday evening, Slot's side produced a dominant second-half display and were clinical when the big chances came as Luis Diaz scored a brilliant hat-trick to stun Xavi Alonso's men.
All four goals came in the second half and the best of the lot was their first through Diaz just after the hour mark. Curtis Jones slotted a perfectly weighted through ball into the path of the Colombian international who timed his run before dinking the ball over the keeper with beautiful subtlety - an artistic touch.
It might have taken the hosts some time to click into attacking gear but when they did, Liverpool produced their best football of the Slot era so far. There will inevitably be a bump in the road at some point this season but for now, Liverpool are going from strength to strength.
Moment of the week - Tyrone Mings' bizarre penalty incident
This was one of the more unusual Champions League moments in a long time and as a result, it is an Aston Villa player who wins the moment of the week for the second consecutive time. Picture it - an even contest is 0-0 after 50 minutes and the game is there to be won from an Aston Villa perspective and as long as they don't do anything silly, there isn't much threat of defeat.
Up steps Tyrone Mings.
What should have been a simple goal kick to begin an attack turned into a penalty to Brugge who were awarded a gift-wrapped present. Emi Martinez initially took a short goal kick to Mings who despite not being under any immediate pressure, had a moment of complete headloss as he picked up the ball and retook the goal kick.
Now is the penalty soft? Yes. But by the letter of the law, it is a penalty and it was an idiotic thing to do from one of Villa's more experienced players. That moment of madness cost Villa the game as Brugge dispatched the resulting penalty and held on to claim a fortuitous 1-0 win.
Whatever was going through Mings' mind during his nightmare Champions League debut, he and Villa must pick themselves up with a huge game against red-hot Liverpool this weekend.