There were three La Liga clubs involved in Champions League action on Wednesday, as MD4 of the league phase continued. Barcelona played out a six-goal thriller in Belgium, with the other two matches being Villarreal’s trip to Pafos and Athletic Club’s clash against Premier League side Newcastle United.
Champions League woes go on for Villarreal with Pafos defeat
Pafos 1-0 Villarreal
Villarreal are still yet to win a match in the Champions League, and their woes reached a new low as they were beaten by Cypriot side Pafos. Georges Mikautadze missed a glorious opportunity early on, and he was made to pay for that as defender Derrick Luckassen sent a towering header into the back of the net less than 60 seconds in the second half. The Yellow Submarine pushed for an equaliser, but in the end, they were beaten.
The result means that Villarreal only have one point from four matches, and with their final four league phase fixtures being against Borussia Dortmund (away), FC Kobenhavn (home), Ajax (home) and Bayer Leverkusen (away), they will find it tough to secure a play-off place come January.
Injury-hit Athletic Club fall to defeat at Newcastle
Newcastle United 2-0 Athletic Club
Athletic Club also had a difficult evening, as they were soundly beaten by Newcastle. Dan Burn bulleted a header past Unai Simon after 11 minutes, before Joelinton doubled the lead soon into the second half. Ernesto Valverde was without the likes of Yuri Berchiche, Oihan Sancet, Nico Williams, Inaki Williams and Gorka Guruzeta, and those absences were certainly felt at St James’ Park.
Athletic Club are in a slightly better position in the league phase as they have three points (courtesy of their MD3 victory over Qarabag), although they will still find it tough to reach the play-offs. Los Leones face Slavia Prague (away), Paris Saint-Germain (home), Atalanta (away) and Sporting CP (home) in their remaining fixtures.
