Champions League competitions keep growing, with more teams, more matches and a lower average stakes-per-game reading. Writer Bill Connelly argues that this bloat is largely worth it, because it creates room for storytelling. Larger knockout rounds have allowed clubs like Bodø/Glimt to rise from underdog status, taking down Manchester City, Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan along the way, while also giving struggling powers time to recover.
Matchday 1 raised concerns, as the giants beat their weaker opponents by a combined 16-2 and debutants LASK, Sabah and Viking all lost. Still, there were highlights: Como ran away from RB Leipzig in their first European group stage game, and Real Madrid outlasted Inter Milan in a clash of European royalty.
Matchday 2 delivered the plot twists the early rounds lacked. The main story was Viking FK, a Stavanger club with a long history of regional and national success, European nights against names like Barcelona, Chelsea and Monaco, and a famous 4-2 win over Chelsea at the old Stavanger Stadion in the 2002-03 UEFA Cup. On Tuesday, Viking's home ground saw them score three goals against Bayern Munich and frustrate the German giants.
Early in an eight-game league phase, results carry limited consequences and surprises are rare, which makes Viking's performance especially memorable. The night was, in the writer's words, an absolute blast.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing