City's Shock Loss and Frank Eases the Pressure: Tuesday's Round 7 Champions League Matches Review

Shock Loss for City and Big Win for Frank : Tuesday's Champions League Review

The Champions League returned on Tuesday after 5 weeks without the most sought-after competition in club football. We saw the likes of Arsenal winning the floor with top of Serie A, Inter Milan, while Pep Guardiola’s City side fell to a shock defeat over in Norway.

There was chaos over all 9 of the fixtures, we saw 3 red cards and an astonishing 32 goals, the pick of the bunch coming from Dominic Solanke, who scored the best goal we’ve seen in weeks… it was so lucky.

Anyway, enough with the bad jokes, let’s take a deeper look at all the results. Hope you enjoy.

Kairat Almaty 1-4 Club Brugge

Neither team has really made their stamp on the Champions League this season, with the home side sitting at rock bottom of the table on just a single point. Meanwhile, Brugge sits just outside those top 24 spots, hoping that a win at home to Marseille can drag them into those spots. A win in that game would almost guarantee that, as they would leapfrog their French counterparts.

This victory marked Brugge’s second in the competition this season, their other also a 4-1 demolition but over Monaco. Tuesday night's game was rather straightforward for the visitors, and scoring two goals in six minutes just after the half-hour mark really sucked the soul out of Kairat, who could not recover from the situation. Late in the second half, Brugge added a third and fourth goal, before a mere consolation from Sadybekov, in which he took his shirt off in bizarre fashion at 4-1 down.

Bodo/Glimt 3-1 Manchester City

The biggest shock of the night and perhaps the biggest in the competition this season. City were second best all night, getting caught out time after time on the break. Kasper Waarts Hogh couldn’t believe his night as he scored two goals in two minutes to give the hosts a nice early lead. Before you knew, they went into the break 2-0 up, with City scrambling to get back in the game.

With the second half underway, many would’ve expected City to come back like they have numerous times in the last few years. But it was Bodo/Glimt who got the third goal, taking a 3-0 lead. There was no coming back from this position for Pep’s men, and even with Rayan Cherki pulling one back, the game was already too far out of reach, as just two minutes later, Rodri received back-to-back yellow cards, leaving City with 10. The performance of the home side was nothing but outstanding, they executed their game plan to perfection and were unlucky not to have a few more on the scoresheet. City will need a win in the last game to guarantee a top eight spot, whereas Bodo need a win and results to go their way, just to scrape into the top 24.

Pep Guardiola in Sheikh Mansour’s office tomorrow morning trying to justify why he needs another £250m for new players#UCL | #ManCity pic.twitter.com/1cAFWMUCV2

— Football Park (@FP_CentreCircle) January 20, 2026

FC Copenhagen 1-1 Napoli

Another unexpected result saw Danish side Copenhagen pick up an all-important point that keeps them just in the top 24 and needing a win on the final matchday. The game started very slowly for the hosts as they did not register a single shot in the first half. However, a red card issued by VAR in the 35th minute made matters worse and gave Napoli the chance to go and win it. Just four minutes after the red, who else but Scott McTominay to give the Italians the lead, going into the break at 0-1.

The second half was much improved for Copenhagen, as they arguably had chances to win the game, creating three big chances and an expected goals of 1.38. Unfortunately for the hosts, they could not capitalize and managed only an equaliser in the 72nd minute to grab a point. Napoli will be extremely disappointed in that second-half performance, dominating the ball but unable to do anything with it.

We seem to have a familiar story here as both teams have to win on the final gameweek if they are to progress. They sit 23rd and 24th on just eight points each.

Inter Milan 1-3 Arsenal

The biggest match-up of matchday seven, as the top of Serie A welcomed the top of the Premier League to the San Siro. The game was a much-anticipated one between two heavyweights, but the biggest question was whether Arsenal could go over there and get a result. This answer, plain and simple, was yes. They outperformed Inter Milan in every aspect and continued this impressive run that could see them win the Quadruple.

Gabriel Jesus looked back to his best in the game, netting a brace. Jesus is the profile that Arsenal have been missing over the last few seasons. Yes, he has been there for years, but several injuries have put a cap on the number of games he’s been able to play. Inter Milan, of course, got an equaliser just eight minutes after Arsenal’s first, but the Gunners' quality just shone through, and we even saw Victor Gyokeres net his ninth goal in Arsenal colours. The Gunners are top of the table and have secured that spot unless they blow it against the bottom of the table, Kairat. We saw Declan Rice pick up an intentional yellow card, so he misses the next game, more sneaky tactics from Arteta…

Next week against Kairat pic.twitter.com/ziy7Z9EVtg

— Walid Arsenal (@1Walid1) January 20, 2026

Olympiacos 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen

What has happened to that Leverkusen team that went unbeaten just two seasons ago? They look unrecognisable, as they sit 19th in the Champions League and 6th in the Bundesliga. Their squad was raided after their historic season, and they’ve been unable to bring in players of the same quality.

The home side Olympiacos sit similarly in 22nd in the Champions League, and that win on Tuesday was massive for their chances of progressing. After the fixture, just a point now separates the two sides, and both are in danger of slipping out of the top 24 if they don’t get a win in their final game.

The game itself was not an easy win for the home side; they were completely dominated by the German side, who missed five big chances, whereas Olympiacos did not create a single big chance, but found the back of the net twice, giving them all three points.

Real Madrid 6-1 Monaco

There’s been a lot of talk surrounding Real Madrid in the last few weeks with the departure of Xabi Alonso. They have faced a lot of pressure from the media, who believe their counterparts, Barcelona, are dominating Spanish football. Of course, they lost in the Super Copa Final, are out of the Copa Del Rey and second in La Liga. But if there’s one thing to mention about Real Madrid, it’s their ability to consistently perform in the Champions League.

Madrid have won the title 15 times, the most of any team and this 6-1 win marked their intent to go and get that 16th title. The win pushed them up to second in the Champions League, and it’s near impossible not to list them as a favourite. We saw Bellingham back on the scoresheet for the first time this year, while Mbappe and Vinicius looked back to their best.

Don’t count out Real Madrid, they could go all the way…

Sporting CP 2-1 PSG

Well, no one saw this coming: the reigning champions PSG, losing to second place in Liga Portugal. The French giants had their strongest starting XI tonight, and this really was an upset. Of course, Sporting have been outstanding in the competition this year, sitting sixth, but no one expected this. You look at the difference in quality between the two sides, and it’s apparent that everyone would point to a PSG win.

The win is one of intent from Sporting; they’re not here to mess around and just make up the numbers. One final win in their last league stage game would secure a top 8 spot and see them into the last 16 of the competition. The game marked Sporting’s ability to produce strikers who perform on the biggest stage. They had Gyokeres, who, of course, got that remarkable hat-trick against City, and now Luis Suarez, and not the one who likes to bite.

The Colombian striker has really impressed with 22 goals in 30 games, the type of statistics that teams such as PSG will be keeping an eye on. Has Sporting found its next big paycheck?

Tottenham 2-0 Dortmund

Finally, a win for the Frank engine! There was a lot of pressure surrounding Frank and his time left at Spurs, but he shut out all the noise and dropped a tactical masterclass to push Spurs up to fourth. Skipper Romero gave his side the lead after just 14 minutes. showing he is useful when he’s not getting sent off the pitch. Just 10 minutes later, Dortmund’s Daniel Svensson did his best Romero impression, seeing red and arguably killing any chances Dortmund had of a result.

Just minutes before the break Spurs doubled their lead through one of the weirdest goals you’ll see this season. I think the ball touched Dom Solanke six times before finding the back of the net, somewhat impressive if you ask me. It looked like a game of Pinball, with himself.

Solanke doubles Tottenham's lead in unique fashion to get his first Champions League goal 💪@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/HnGVKz34GJ

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 20, 2026

The game was wrapped at half-time, and Frank even gave the crowd something to cheer for when he gave 17-year-old Jun’ai Byfield his debut, an impressive one too. So what does this mean for Frank? Is he back on track to keep his job, and how will Spurs kick on from this statement victory…

Villarreal 1-2 Ajax

We reach our final game of the day, as Ajax finally won a game, just their second of the campaign. Although it did come against a Villarreal side that has just one point in the competition. The myth still stands: Villarreal only likes the Europa League.

The game confirmed what we already knew, that Villarreal are out in the league stage. But for Ajax, it has given them a glimmer of hope. They now sit on six points, just two off the top 24, and if a miracle happens where all results go their way, and of course, they win. Then they could well find themselves in the playoffs, looking to progress further into the last 16!

Both these teams have been staples over the last few years. But with Villarreal out and Ajax on the verge (and 3rd in the Eredivisie), we will see them bounce back next season, or will they drop into the lower competitions?