Champions League Update 10/24/2013

After the last round of games, the group standings are beginning to develop. We have Group A where Manchester United  have taken poll position with 7 points from 3 games. Bayer Leverkusen are in second with 6 while Shakhtar Donetsk are 2 points behind them with Real Sociedad having a terrible time of things with 0 from 3 games played. Group B is being dominated by Real Madrid who are perfect with 3 wins from 3 games. With 9 points, they are 5 points above closest competition Galatasaray with Juventus sitting third with 2 points to their name - just above Kobenhavn with 1 point. Group C is relatively tight despite PSG's perfect start - another 9 point leader - with Olympiacos and Benfica tied with 4 points though Anderlecht have scored no goals, and earned no points. Group D is being dominated by Bayern Munich with 9 points while Manchester City have 6 and CSKA Moskva have 3. Viktoria Plzen have scored, but have been unsuccessful in their efforts at accruing points. Group E is quite tight with Chelsea and Schalke level on 6 points a piece while Basel have 4 and Steaua Bucuresti have 1 to their name. Group F is arguably the closest group of all with three teams, that is right, THREE taking 6 points from their first three games. Whether this serves as a measure of inconsistency or just the difficulty of the group is up for debate but Dortmund, Arsenal, and Napoli each have 6. Marseille meanwhile, well they have 0. Though they have scored twice in the course of the past three matches, the 7 goals lined up against them do not bode well for the side moving forward in the group. As for Group G, not necessarily surprising is the fact that Atletico Madrid have made their presence felt with a perfect start to their campaign: 9 points in 3 matches. Equally unsurprising is the fact that Zenit and Porto have been left to fight over second place with Austria Wien seemingly down for the count with a point at this stage. The Russians have 4 while the Portuguese side have 3. Last but certainly not least, Group H. Barcelona have struggled to the top with 7 points, but they are in no way comfortable there with AC Milan 2 points behind them and Celtic within striking distance if things line up right. Even Ajax, in last place with a single point could potentially still qualify if all goes to perfection for the Dutch side. We'll have to see! All I know is that I hope the action keeps coming because it has been truly thrilling.