In the seventh matchweek of this year’s thrilling Champions League campaign, Liverpool rediscovered their rhythm (with Mohamed Salah back in the picture), Arsenal stayed spotless like a team playing on fresh bedsheets, Harry Kane kept climbing the all-time ladders with the calm menace of a man doing admin, Manchester City imploded in the Arctic and reached for the apology wallet, Real Madrid scored six like it was a training drill, and PSG found out that Lisbon can be an unfriendly place when Sporting smell blood.
What happened in Champions League Matchweek Seven?
Mo Salah is back, but Liverpool have already rewired the system
There was a time when Liverpool without Salah felt like a phone on 2% battery: you could still use it, but you spent the whole time watching the corner of the screen in dread. Now he returns and the surprising part is not that Liverpool look better, it’s that they look functional even when he isn’t the entire plot.
At Marseille, Liverpool won 3-0 and it never really became the kind of European night where you are clinging to your drink for emotional support. Dominik Szoboszlai’s set-piece craft got them moving, a forced own goal widened the gap, and a late Cody Gakpo finish turned it into a neat, clinical job. Salah started, logged the full shift, and the point was clear: he’s still the headliner, but the band have learned the songs too.
And it matters because the last time Liverpool tasted defeat in all competition swas back in late November, when PSV walked into Anfield and left with a 4-1 win. Since then, the results have stabilised, the chaos has been rationed, and the table suddenly looks like somewhere you could plausibly stay for a while rather than a place you crash through at speed.
Perfect Arsenal: seven Champions League wins, no smudges, and no mercy at San Siro
Arsenal’s league-phase run has become a weekly demonstration of how to turn big nights into routine. Seven matches, seven wins. At San Siro, Inter were supposed to be the kind of opponent who can tug you into a messy evening, drag your midfield into traffic, and force you into uncomfortable choices. Instead, Arsenal treated it like a routine inspection. Gabriel Jesus struck twice in the first half, and even when Inter hit back through Petar Sučić, Arsenal never looked like a team losing control of the temperature. They simply resumed the programme.
The most impressive bit was the emotional tone. Arsenal did not play like a side desperate to prove something, or haunted by old European narratives. They played like a side that expects to win these games and is mildly irritated when it becomes complicated. That is a different kind of confidence, and it travels well.
At this point, Arsenal are not just collecting points. They are sending a message about what a knockout tie against them will feel like: organised pressure, little oxygen, and a steady hand when the game asks difficult questions.
Our Champions League Team of the Week is in! Agree with the picks? pic.twitter.com/NpvuDnoHJQ
— 365Scores (@365Scores) January 22, 2026
Kane’s latest climb: two Champions League goals, more history, and the quiet inevitability of it all
Harry Kane is now at the stage of his career where he breaks records the way some people clear their email inbox. Efficiently, repeatedly, and with minimal fuss.
Against Union Saint-Gilloise, Kane scored twice in a 2-0 Bayern win that secured progression with a game to spare. The first was a header, the second a penalty, and the whole thing arrived in that familiar Kane way: the chance appears, he is already in the right place, and the scoreboard updates.
Those two goals pushed him up to 47 Champions League goals, moving him beyond both Eusebio and Filippo Inzaghi on the all-time list. The next markers are getting tasty: he is now three away from drawing level with the 50-goal club (a useful shorthand for the top-ten conversation), and four away from moving into that group outright. If you like long-term sporting narratives, this is one that comes with a built-in inevitability. Kane does not need a miracle season to get there. He just needs time and fixtures.
There was even a small human wobble in the middle, with a later penalty missed, which only made the broader point more ridiculous. Kane can have an off moment and still leave with two goals, a Bayern win, and another slice of football history folded into his back pocket.
Bayern Munich’s go-to guy! Harry Kane has scored 7 of Bayern’s 20 Champions League goals this season! pic.twitter.com/Y9DOTM7CoN
— 365Scores (@365Scores) January 22, 2026
City crumble at Bodø/Glimt, then do the right thing for the away end
Manchester City losing in Europe is not new. Manchester City losing 3-1 in Bodø, in Arctic conditions, in a match that felt like it was slipping away in real time, is the kind of new that makes you blink at the screen and check you have not opened a parody account.
Bodø/Glimt took the game and, crucially, kept taking it. Two goals for Kasper Høgh, a standout moment from Jens Petter Hauge, and a City performance that never found its footing. When Rodri was sent off, the evening tilted from bad to worse.
And it did. After the match, City’s players agreed to reimburse the travelling supporters who made the trip. It is a rare moment where the gesture is both symbolic and genuinely practical: a recognition that the fans did their part in a brutal setting, and the team emphatically did not.
Real Madrid score six, because of course they do
Real Madrid putting six past Monaco sounds like a scoreline from a pre-season tour where the opponent has forgotten how substitutions work. This one was very real: 6-1 at the Bernabéu, with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice against his former club, and Jude Bellingham adding a late goal to complete the rout.
The overwhelming feeling was not just that Madrid were good, but that they were expansive. When Madrid smell vulnerability, matches can become avalanches. A goal becomes two, then suddenly the game is being played at Madrid’s preferred speed: fast, sharp, slightly theatrical, and totally unforgiving.
Six-goal wins in the Champions League always land differently because the margins are supposed to be thinner. When Madrid do it, it feels less like an outlier and more like a reminder of their core advantage: they can turn a high-level opponent into a supporting character if the script catches fire.
PSG fall in Lisbon: Sporting land a statement, and Paris take a dent
PSG’s defeat at Sporting, 2-1 in Lisbon, is the sort of result that instantly becomes a reference point. Not because PSG are incapable of losing, but because the match had that improbable, anti-XG streak.
Sporting were brave enough to press, organised enough to sustain it, and opportunistic enough to take the moments. PSG, for all their quality, could not fully settle the game into their preferred rhythm. The loss does not knock them out, but it does change the mood. In a league phase where the table can turn quickly, dropping points here can mean the difference between a smoother route and a more complicated spring.
FAQs
Is the Champions League still using the league-phase format?
Yes. Teams play a set of league-phase matches, and the top finishers progress with varying routes depending on position.
Who is currently perfect in the Champions League league phase?
Arsenal are seven wins from seven after beating Inter 3-1.
What was Liverpool’s key Champions League result this week?
Liverpool won 3-0 away at Marseille, with Salah returning to the starting lineup.
How many Champions League goals does Harry Kane have now?
Kane is on 47 Champions League goals after scoring twice against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Why did Manchester City refund fans after their Champions League match?
City’s players agreed to reimburse travelling supporters after a shock 3-1 defeat at Bodø/Glimt.
What was the headline Champions League score involving Real Madrid?
Real Madrid beat Monaco 6-1 at the Bernabéu.
Who beat PSG in Lisbon?
Sporting CP beat PSG 2-1 at the Estádio José Alvalade.
By Nicky Helfgott / @NickyHelfgott1 on Twitter (X)
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