3 takeaways from Wednesday's Champions League action

The good, the good, and the ugly.

Three Premier League clubs took the pitch as part of Wednesday’s Champions League agenda, and, while two of them manufactured strong performances, it was the same old story for the other.

Liverpool rues missed chances once again

Liverpool entered the interval with a 2-1 lead over Sevilla, but, as if something was in the air at Anfield, it just felt like one of those games where the Reds would succumb to an equaliser and regret squandering first-half opportunities.

Sure enough, Sevilla found an equaliser out of nothing. After nobody bothered to challenge Luis Muriel in the 72nd minute, the Colombian forward flicked the ball towards Joaquin Correa, who, unmarked, slotted it past Simon Mignolet. It was deja vu for Reds supporters, whose minds instantly hit rewind in order to reminisce over Roberto Firmino’s failure to convert a penalty kick.

But it would unfair to single out Firmino’s miss. Liverpool was lively in attack throughout the majority of the game and outshot Sevilla 11-2 in shots off target and 7-3 in shots on target. When your defence is about as stable as four drunk giraffes standing atop of one another, you can’t afford to be wasteful.

Just like the first matchday of the Premier League, when Liverpool conceded a 93rd-minute equaliser at Watford, a combination of missed chances and awful defending cost the Reds two points. This time, however, it happened on home soil.

Manchester City can absolutely dream of European success

Don’t listen to Pep Guardiola. Before Manchester City’s invasion of Feyenoord Rotterdam, the Catalan manager said: “I don’t know now if we’re able to compete for the titles because we’re in the process of growing. We are not dreaming.” Perhaps he was being humble. Perhaps he was setting himself up for the possibility of failure. Either way, the Citizens can dream of conquering Europe.

City was nothing short of excellent at Feyenoord. The Citizens, who reportedly spent £220.5 million during the summer transfer window, showed what money can buy with a 4-0 victory. They required all of two minutes to open the scoring, as John Stones tallied his first of two goals, and, by the final whistle, they had equalled their biggest-ever win in the Champions League.

The result will also do wonders for City’s confidence on the road. The Citizens had won none of their last six away games in the Champions League, allowing 14 goals in the process.

City will inevitably come across tougher obstacles, but, until that happens, its supporters can set the bar as high as they want.

Tottenham should feel good about playing at Wembley Stadium

Entering Tottenham Hotspur’s match versus Borussia Dortmund, Spurs had yet to tally three points at Wembley Stadium, falling to Chelsea and earning a draw against Burnley after a season in which they struggled to adjust to playing at the iconic ground. But any suggestions of a prolonged curse can be confined to the Premier League.

Tottenham was worth three points in its 3-1 triumph over Dortmund. Although Der BVB outplayed Spurs at certain times in the first half, the English club was ultimately the better team at Wembley and even had luck going in its favour, as the visitor had two goals disallowed – one by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and another by Christian Pulisic.

Harry Kane was as efficient as ever, scoring two goals with his left foot. In a group that also boasts Real Madrid, the English striker will be relied upon for advancing to the knockout phase.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)