The fall of City, Madrid and the rise of Amorim

Champions League Tuesday sees shock results: Real Madrid, Man City lose; Arsenal faces Inter and Liverpool thrashes Leverkusen with Diaz’s hattrick.

Sporting Lisbon players and officials celebrate their manager after they beat Manchester City 4-1 on Tuesday night. (Photo credit: BBC)

The Tuesday games of the Champions League group stage yielded a plethora of unexpected results; how did the powerful teams perform differently? We look at the buzzing headlines in the world of football as well as the games from the elite continental championship.

Is the gas burning low at Madrid?

Real Madrid suffered an unexpected loss at home to AC Milan on Tuesday night, putting their chances of qualifying automatically at risk as they have now lost two of their four games in the group stage.

The Kylian Mbappe project is failing, and it is time to address it. The club has now suffered back-to-back defeats after the embarrassing 4-0 Classico loss and the Ballon d’Or drama that followed. Is Carlo Ancelotti under duress too?

Amorim gives United fans something to celebrate.

Sporting Lisbon hammered Manchester City in Portugal on Tuesday night in another unexpected result in the Champions League group stage, leaving the former champions scrambling for automatic qualification.

The new manager of Manchester United guided Sporting Lisbon to a 4-1 victory, marking the Cityzens' third consecutive defeat following their 2-1 loss to Spurs in the League Cup, their 2-1 loss away at Bournemouth last weekend, and now in Lisbon, where Erling Haaland missed a penalty that could have brought them back into the game.

Is Arsenal prepared to make Arteta so powerful?

They’ve been there before; Arsene Wenger was the all-in-all at Arsenal before he was asked to leave in 2018 after 22 years in charge, but, with Edu Gaspar leaving the club this week, will Arteta be handed so much power like it was with Wenger?

The risk lies in divergent viewpoints. As a new sporting director prepares for appointment, can the Arsenal manager be willing to hear a different perspective without harboring animosity? It’s a question the Gunners’ hierarchy must answer before making big decisions.

What do we expect from Arsenal at Inter Milan?

Still on the Gunners, Mikel Arteta and his boys will file out against Inter Milan in their latest group stage game in the Champions League, with a win set to plant them firmly in the automatic qualification space.

Inter Milan is a formidable opponent, but the Gunners have welcomed back Martin Odegaard to training and he has travelled with the squad. Meanwhile, Declan Rice has been sidelined due to a knock, which club sources have described as a precaution.

Slot continues to impress at Anfield

On Tuesday night, Liverpool welcomed their former stars Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield, anticipating a cagey match. However, a second half hattrick from Luiz Diaz secured the victory for the Kop.

The first half ended goalless with the visitors threatening to break the deadlock, but a second half magic from the Colombian sent Liverpool on their way to a 4-0 win, as they retain top spot and are now firmly on course for automatic qualification into the round of 16.