As Bon Jovi famously sang, “Whoa, we’re halfway there, and Liverpool are top of the league!” He did sing that, right? Well, leaving aside 1980s pop-rock anthems – if we must – the league phase of the revamped UEFA Champions League has reached the halfway point and the Reds are sitting very pretty at the top of the 36-team pile.
They won their opening four games and are the only side of the 36 to have managed that. They have conceded just a single goal thus far and whilst we would never be so disrespectful as to say “Jürgen who?”, the transition from Jürgen Klopp to Arne Slot has gone more smoothly than anyone could have dared to dream.
The Reds are top of the Premier League with 25 points after 10 games, two points clear of Manchester City and fully six ahead of, unbelievably, Nottingham Forest. Arsenal, who were supposed to be the only side that could challenge Pep Guardiola’s team this term, are down in fifth, seven points back and level on 18 with Chelsea.
Returning to Europe’s elite competition, the Reds are already within touching distance of securing their place in the knockout phase by finishing in the top eight. At this stage, there are too many permutations to confidently predict how many points will be needed to do that, but there is a chance that one more win for Slot’s men would be enough.
Champions League Table Not What Anyone Expected
Whilst it is not such a surprise to see Liverpool flying high at the top of the Champions League table, it is safe to say that there have been plenty of surprises thus far, resulting in standings that nobody would have predicted.
Followed by Sporting Lisbon, Monaco & Brest
Sporting Lisbon are second following their midweek 4-1 win over Man City. Boss, Rúben Amorim, is headed for Manchester United though, so it would be a huge surprise were they to maintain their current position, whilst even a top-eight finish would be very impressive.
There are three teams level with Sporting in 10 points and whilst it is no surprise to see Italian powerhouses Inter doing so well, the other two will certainly be experiencing vertigo due to their current placing. Monaco are third, with fellow French outfit, Brest, in fourth. Brest is one of the stories in European football, with the minnows having been an amateur side just a couple of decades ago.
Due to off-pitch issues, they competed as an amateur side for an extended period, between 1991 and 2004, before slowly working their way up the French football ladder. They made it back to Ligue 1 in 2019 and maintaining their top-flight status since then has been a triumph, whilst qualifying for the Champions League must have been beyond their wildest dreams. And now they are fourth and in with a great chance of making the last 16 the easy way.
Aston Villa are also overperforming and currently sit eighth in the last automatic qualification position, with three wins and a loss from their four matches. The corollary of these surprise sides near the top of the UCL table is further surprises lower down.
Top Teams Have Work to Do
Man City, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Milan and Atletico Madrid all have a lot of work to do. Indeed, as things stand, PSG would be automatically eliminated, sitting in 25th, beyond the play-off places. City have won two, lost one and drawn one to sit 10th, with the Gunners 12th with the same number of points.
Both Real Madrid, who face Liverpool next, and Bayern Munich, have won two and lost two and have to get better if they are to make the top eight. As for lowly PSG, they were always set to struggle without Kylian Mbappé but have managed just four points from their opening games. Last time out they lost at home to Atleti, only managing a draw in Paris before that against PSV Eindhoven. They won their opener at home to Girona but then lost at Arsenal and their fans are restless, to say the least.
Liverpool Impressive
That’s more than enough about the lowly hoi polloi and the battle to make the top eight. Thanks to Liverpool’s imperious start they will be targeting finishing first and sending out a message that they are back – not that they ever really went away. They are very much in it to win it and the bookies make them fourth favourites in the outright betting at odds of 6/1.
Man City, a hugely impressive Barcelona, and serial winners of the Champions League, Real Madrid, are the three teams above them in the betting. On current form you would have to say that Liverpool look a more attractive proposition than Man City and Real, though that duo should never be written off. Barca are flying, with their mix of amazing young talent, the timeless finishing of Robert Lewandowski, and former Leeds man Raphinha, who is in the form of his life. It promises to be a thrilling tournament, especially once the knockout stages begin.
A Solid Start
The Reds are almost certain to make it to that stage and have been faultless thus far, despite some tricky fixtures. They opened with a fine 3-1 win in the San Siro against Milan before backing that up with a 2-0 home victory over Bologna. Next came another tricky away fixture, at RB Leipzig and again Slot’s men won without conceding (1-0).
Last time out was perhaps Liverpool’s best performance of the season as they beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 at Anfield. It was a real masterclass and although Xabi Alonso’s side have not hit the heights they reached last term, Liverpool cut them open at will. Their xG in that one was 3.79 and there are signs that their attack is beginning to really gel. Allied to a brilliant defence, that could make them very, very hard to stop.
Remaining Fixtures
As said, it is a big clash for the Reds next up, with Real Madrid coming to Anfield on the 27th of November. Win that and they would be nine points above Los Blancos with only nine left to play for. If they do beat Real then victory in their next clash, at Girona on the 10th of December, would surely see them secure a top-eight berth.
Their penultimate fixture sees them host Lille on the 21st of January before a trip to the Netherlands to play PSV last of all. There is a long way to go but thus far it’s 10/10 for Slot and the Reds and the future looks bright.