Gradually, then suddenly.

That was the theme of the evening as slow burners came to life with a series of goals down the line.

An early kick-off saw four goals fall within ten minutes either side of half-time as Lille beat Sturm Graz 3-2, while a goalless first half between Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona as Ferran Torres scored five goals after the break secured the brace Hansi Flick’s team won.

Feyenoord scored some special long-range goals in a 4-2 win over Sparta Prague and Stuttgart ended an eight-match winless run at home in Europe with five goals against Young Boys – more than they managed in that winless run combined.

Arsenal took a big step towards automatic qualification with a 3-0 home win against Monaco and Tammy Abraham scored a late winner for Milan against Belgrade’s Crvena Zvezda, but there was more misery for Pep Guardiola…

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City lose again and face a play-off headache

Guardiola has been racking his brains a lot lately. On another disappointing evening in Turin he will have honed his skills even further.

Not only did his Manchester City side suffer a 2-0 defeat against Juventus, but it also meant they had just one win in their last ten games in all competitions and were in danger of reaching the knockout stages to miss.

Since being eliminated in the round of 16 in his first season, City have reached at least the quarter-finals in each of the last seven seasons.

They are five points behind Lille, who occupy the eighth and final automatic qualification spot. They face a crucial clash in January with Paris Saint-Germain, who are also fighting for survival as they sit outside the play-off places in 25th. It looks like it will be a crucial penultimate duel, but even if both make it, they will be most likely to progress via the play-offs as part of the ninth to 24th place cohort.

To reach the round of 16, these teams must complete a home-and-away play-off in February. It would be a headache for large, elite clubs competing on multiple fronts, as they have become accustomed to being relatively quiet in four-team group stages. Qualification ended with one or two games remaining.

Two additional games would place an even greater strain on Guardiola’s squad, which is already missing Rodri – a player who had been vocal about the calendar being too much before suffering a cruciate ligament injury.

It was difficult to get to grips with the dangers of the new 32-team league format. The fixture lists initially looked more appealing, but in the final days of the match it was difficult to tell what was a good or bad result as there was still so much football to be played.

However, with just two games to go, the table has taken some shape and almost all teams are still fighting to qualify for the play-offs or automatic places. It definitely messed things up.

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A good night for the USMNT

It didn’t look like a work-from-home day that would sound the Champions League alarm for American fans hoping to see their compatriots get ahead in Europe’s premier competition.

PSV’s Malik Tillman is at the top of the Champions League when it comes to creating chances, but on Tuesday he and Ricardo Pepi suffered a disappointing defeat against Brest. With Milan’s Christian Pulisic out for the rest of the month with a calf injury and Monaco’s Folarin Balogun undergoing shoulder surgery, the USMNT flag flew at half-mast on matchday six.

But things changed when Gio Reyna made a surprise start for Borussia Dortmund in their home game against Barcelona. The 22-year-old was injured for most of the season and played 63 minutes across all competitions. However, he managed 73 minutes in the 3-2 defeat to Barcelona and hopes this is the start of a longer period of availability.

For Juventus, Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah both started on the bench, but their nights ended in a massive 2-0 win over City.

Weah was released on the counter-attack down the right and after seeing his first cross blocked, he showed composure and waited for McKennie to burst into the box from deep.

His cross was slightly behind the midfielder, but McKennie showed great athleticism by acrobatically firing the ball into the goal to seal victory for Juventus.

Earlier this week in an interview with The athletic one, Pulisic had spoken about how he believed the selection of players in Europe helped change the perception of USMNT players.

“I think it’s in a better place now,” he said.

“I hope I had a say and other people look around and say, ‘This guy is an American and he’s doing it at the highest level, so we have to respect some of these guys.'” Look how many Americans in the final five came to Europe up to ten years ago. We have players in the Champions League and some of the top leagues in the world. Our greatest motivation is not to try to prove them wrong. It’s just something that’s out there.”

Tonight’s cameos will have helped push the boulder a little further up the hill.

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Lewis-Skelly & Duranville seize their opportunity

With Lamine Yamal only 17, the football world has to think about what is considered young, but two 18-year-olds were making their first starts in the competition – and both showed why it will be the first of many for both.

Myles Lewis-Skelly was used as a midfielder at Arsenal, but was converted by Mikel Arteta into a left-back who can move into midfield.

In the 35th minute against Monaco he showed why he is perfect for the role as he was the catalyst for Arsenal’s opening goal in their 3-0 home win.

Martin Odegaard played a square pass and Lewis-Skelly lured the defender to him before using sharp footwork to feint and step inside. He then pushed the ball through to Gabriel Jesus, who fed Bukayo Saka for a pass at the back post.

For UK viewers:

Bukayo Saka with a simple finish after a brilliant pass from Gabriel Jesus 😮‍💨

An incredible game from Myles Lewis-Skelly in his first Champions League start 👏

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/GJHS03AXiD

– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 11, 2024

For US viewers:

Arsenal scores their first goal from play in 268 minutes 🚨

Myles Lewis-Skelly under construction though 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vLGRwlCMNw

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 11, 2024

The entire team ran to Lewis-Skelly – the youngest player to start for Arsenal in the Champions League since Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain in 2011 – in recognition of his part in the goal.

“I just told him that this is his level and he shouldn’t have any doubts,” Saka said after the game.

Another 18-year-old who showed no signs of stage fright was Dortmund’s Julien Duranville. As a left-footed winger playing on the right, his direct dribbling caused Alejandro Balde problems in the first half. After missing most of last season with a hamstring injury, Duranville has been unable to showcase his talent since joining from Anderlecht in January 2023. He has only appeared twice in the Bundesliga this season, both without a substitute, but in his 73 minutes against Barcelona he showed off his incredible agility when running at full speed.

It is 20-year-old English youngster Jamie Gittens who has been attracting all the attention on the other wing so far this season. As is often the case with the Dortmund pipeline, it shouldn’t be long before Duranville is a name making headlines.

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Raphinha’s remarkable turnaround

Raphinha didn’t score in any of his first ten Champions League games for Barcelona.

Following his goal against Dortmund, the Brazilian striker has scored nine goals in his last eight appearances in the competition.

The last Barcelona player to score eight goals in the Champions League Goals in a single year was…Lionel Messi in 2019.

It underlines the remarkable turnaround he has undergone since joining from Leeds in 2022. A player who showed early signs of talent but struggled to find a role in the system is quickly becoming a numbers machine.

He has scored more goals after six games than any other player in the competition (six goals and two assists) and has joined a select group of five players with 25 goal involvements in the top five European leagues and UEFA competitions this season.

Raphinha’s 28 goals and assists came in just 27 games, including a hat-trick against Bayern Munich, a goal and an assist away at Real Madrid and another at Dortmund.

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Wednesday’s results

• Atletico Madrid 3-1 Slovan Bratislava
• Lille – Sturm Graz 3:2
• Dortmund 2-3 Barcelona
• Juventus 2-0 Manchester City
• Benfica 0-0 Bologna
• Arsenal 3-0 Monaco
• Milan 2-1 Crvena Zvezda
• Feyenoord 4:2 Sparta Prague
• Stuttgart 5:1 Young Boys

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What’s next?

Matches for the seventh game week of the eight-round league phase will take place in January (kick-off 8:00 p.m. BST/3:00 p.m. ET unless otherwise stated).

Tuesday, January 21st

• Atalanta vs Sturm Graz (5:45 p.m. BST/12:45 p.m. ET)
• Monaco vs Aston Villa (5:45 p.m. BST/12:45 p.m. ET)
• Slovan Bratislava vs Stuttgart
• Club Brugge vs Juventus
• Atletico Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen
• Benfica vs Barcelona
• Liverpool vs Lille
• Bologna vs Borussia Dortmund
• Crvena Zvezda vs PSV

Wednesday, January 22nd

• RB Leipzig vs Sporting CP (5:45 p.m. BST/12:45 p.m. ET)
• Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Brest (5:45 p.m. BST/12:45 p.m. ET)
• Real Madrid vs Red Bull Salzburg
• Paris Saint Germain vs Manchester City
• Sparta Prague vs Inter
• Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb
• Celtic v Young Boys
• Feyenoord vs Bayern Munich
• Milan vs Girona

(Top photo: ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images)