UCL Review: Liverpool crisis, Madrid's Mbappe questions and other stories

Liverpool’s defence questioned, Madrid rely on Mbappe, City stumble again, and Juventus falter as Champions League round 2 sparks major doubts.

Frustrated Florian! Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz rues a missed chance in their loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

Round 2 of the new Champions League format is done and dusted with questions across many games. Arsenal beat Olympiakos, and the big one at the Camp Nou ended in favour of PSG.

We start our questions from Liverpool, and it has only been two back-to-back losses, and it’s probably too early to question their title credentials; however, when they were winning late and giving fans goosebumps, were they really convincing?

From the Bournemouth game, to needing a late penalty to beat Burnley at Anfield, to the special free kick by Dominik Szoboszlai to beat Arsenal late on and the late show against Atletico Madrid, were they convincing? They even needed a late winner against Southampton in the League Cup; should they be worried?

The problem is more in the defence than anywhere else, and this makes you ask why they didn’t give everything to sign Marc Guehi. They will say they tried, but couldn’t they have done the deal earlier in the window instead of running after Alexander Isak all window?

The next question is for Real Madrid: are they over-reliant on Kylian Mbappe? The Frenchman is no doubt their most important player; however, is there anything left when he’s not playing? Mbappe netted a hat-trick against Kairat Almaty on Tuesday, adding to his rising numbers this season, but is there more to Real Madrid outside the Frenchman?

What happened to Vinicius Jr, who was a Ballon d’Or hopeful just last year? What happened to the versatility of the Los Blancos, which helps them to get goals from everywhere? Arda Güler is another player pulling his weight, but is that all for Xabi Alonso?

And then, there’s Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side huffed and puffed to another draw on Wednesday against Monaco; whichever way you choose to look at it, it was a bad result that could heap pressure on their top 8 finish chances.

Let’s face it, Manchester City have lots of loopholes in their squad that they haven’t attended to. The intensity they bring into games can’t see out games, so you ask, what is Pep Guardiola doing about it? Would they be contented with another playoff that could go either way?

Finally, Igor Tudor seems to be having an idea block at Juventus. They played well against Villarreal but failed to close the game out as they settled for a 2-2 draw; they must be really worried in Turin with the top 8 slipping out of their grasp.