#club-form

#club-form

How do I know this? Because there were four Premier League games being played at the same time, and they were all terrible. Crystal Palace and Fulham tied 1-1, and then Liverpool, Leeds United, Sunderland, Manchester City, Tottenham and Brentford combined to score ... just kidding. They didn't score a single goal. Across the 360 minutes played in the Premier League on New Year's Day by eight different teams, just two balls ended up in the back of the net.

We're starting to figure out the rhythm for the new, 36-team Champions League and its league phase. The early matchdays aren't particularly do-or-die and the stakes are low, but the less work you get done early, the more you leave yourself later on. Paris Saint-Germain took only four points from their first five matchdays last year, had to rally late to qualify for the knockout rounds, then had to face Liverpool in the round of 16.