Haaland gets Champions League help, but Foden must lift Man City in Premier League | OneFootball

Manchester City and Newcastle United were convincing victors on Wednesday, joining Premier League rivals Arsenal, Liverpool, and Spurs in p*ssing it in the Champions League.

Premier League clubs in the Champions League this week

There was a mixture of p*ss-easy, potentially tricky, and genuinely testing fixtures for Premier League clubs in the Champions League this midweek. Chelsea’s match at Qarabag should have been a piece of cake, but some disastrous defending from Jorrel Hato turned it into an uncomfortable evening.

The Blues were the only one of six Premier League clubs to drop points in the league phase this week.

Liverpool smashed Real Madrid, Arsenal weren’t great against Slavia Prague but still won 3-0, Spurs earned a much-needed 4-0 win over Copenhagen, and on Wednesday, Newcastle beat Athletic Club 2-0 while Man City swept aside Borussia Dortmund 4-1.

Haaland needs Foden to carry Dortmund goals into Premier League

Man City are making light work of the league phase compared to last season, and it’s not only Erling Haaland scoring in the Champions League, which is a refreshing change.

We say that as if Haaland was the only player with more than one Champions League goal for City before facing Dortmund, but Phil Foden’s fantastic brace changed that, and it needs to spark a domestic change.

It might actually be sustainable to rely on Haaland continuing to score as City chase down Arsenal in the Premier League – he’s that good – but it’s still a concerning trend for Pep Guardiola.

Nonetheless, the fact that the Nordic robot was finally outscored by a teammate in a game this season will please Guardiola.

Foden netted two trademark goals with the inside of his left foot, calmly passing the first one into the bottom corner, and delivered the kind of performance we saw during his 2023/24 Player of the Year campaign.

It’s easier said than done, but Foden has to carry his Champions League form into the Premier League, especially before Haaland’s back pain becomes too much to bear.

Newcastle also win comfortably in Europe

Newcastle were convincing against Athletic Bilbao at St James’ Park, making it three consecutive wins and clean sheets in the Champions League – a competition that’s providing much-needed respite for Eddie Howe and his squad.

Bilbao travelled to the North East without several key players, including both Inaki and Nico Williams, which made this a game Newcastle simply couldn’t afford to lose.

Still, the ease with which the fifth-best team in England beat the fourth-best team in Spain underlined the strength of the Premier League.

Headers from Dan Burn and Joelinton were the difference on the night. Burn’s goal was sublime, curling in after the Bilbao defence somehow failed to spot the 6’7″ lad ghosting to the back post to meet Kieran Trippier’s set-piece.

Just as Foden must transfer his Champions League form to domestic duty, Newcastle can’t keep dropping silly points in the Premier League while looking flawless in Europe.

They sit sixth in the Champions League standings after a 2-0 win over Bilbao, a 3-0 win against Benfica, and a 4-0 victory away to Union Saint-Gilloise. Their latest triumph came just days after giving Nuno Espirito Santo his first win as West Ham boss, and the Irons’ first home Premier League victory since February.

Brentford away won’t be easy, but if Newcastle want to be in the Champions League again next season, that’s a game they need to win. There’s no point going from a midweek high to a weekend low right before the international break, folks.