Another week of quality European football has come and gone, and with it many new talking points, discussion topics and headline grabbing moments. Some sides are already preparing themselves for the knockout rounds, while others are starting to prepare themselves for the drop into the Europa League. Either way, with 4 more rounds of fixtures, these developing stories are bound to keep growing and continuing in the coming weeks/months.

This seasons’ edition is possibly the most intriguing for some time, as superstar players have made shocking transfer moves, while it truly could be anyone trophy this year, with some major players at a crossroads, while others are steamrolling domestically and are a force to be reckoned with in the Champions League.

After just 2 gameweek’s, already we have an insight into the tournament, and what is to come in the coming weeks and months. In this post, we have picked out a few headline talking points from the second round of group games to digest and take forward. We will be producing these posts every Champions League week, so if something catches your eye, let us know about it on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and we might just include it.

Enjoy.

He Just Can’t Get Enough…

Cristiano Ronaldo, Mr Champions League, he’s done it again. Manchester United were not at the races in Gameweek 1, and coming up against Europa League final victors Villarreal, things didn’t really get much better. For the most part, the Manchester side were outplayed, outclassed and dominated for the majority, with the Spanish side being the most threatening in front of goal. Going 1-0 down midway through the second half, a terrific equaliser from substitute Telles levelled things shortly after, and the game appeared to be ending on level terms, until… that man again popped up and nabbed the winner in the 95th minute and last kick of the game. It’s a fixture that won’t fill United fans with much optimism, but as seen so often with this historic club in Europe, the late winners are often the difference and can kickstart a team to great things. I am not predicting great things just yet based on their first 2 performances, however I wouldn’t be writing them off either, as this game proves.

Sheriff’s In Town…

Moldovan side Sheriff were founded in 1997, and became the first Moldovan club to qualify for the Champions League group stages this season, and are making the most of this opportunity, by not only shocking the football world with their opening victory against Shakhtar 2-0 in Gameweek 1, but they’ve upped it from here, and stunned pretty much everyone as they held on to a 2-1 win in Madrid against group favourites Real. In such a tough group, Sheriff are 6 points from 6 and unbeaten, as they head into the games against Italian champions Inter. While nobody in or out of the club expects a huge run in the tournament for Sheriff, nights like these are historic for a relatively young club side.

Ain’t No Stopping Me…

Bayern Munich are now 6 points from 6 in the Champions League, with 8 scored and 0 conceded, as they went 2 better than their win over Barcelona, with a 5-0 drubbing of Zenit at home. This steamrolling is only set to continue, as their next 2 fixtures comes against Benfica, who despite starting well and having a great victory over Barcelona, will be fearful of the sheer dominance being shown by the German side.

Meanwhile, Liverpool, Ajax Dortmund and Juventus continued their winning ways from Gameweek 1, with impressive victories throughout. These sides are certainly expected to pick up wins, however having such a strong start early in the competition, will give them the breathing space through December when domestic fixtures pile up and things get even more challenging. So, with a solid start, these are our teams to watch towards the latter stages for sure.