UCL Fantasy Football: Wednesday lessons

UEFA.com assesses Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League action and weighs up the current state of play for #UCLfantasy managers.

Matchday 3 began with a shock in Turkey as Group H leaders Manchester United were beaten 2-1 by İstanbul Başakşehir, putting the Turkish side right back in the mix for knockout qualification. Bosnian winger Edin Višća shone for the hosts, registering a goal and an assist to pick up 11 #UCLfantasy points. Owned by less than 1% of Fantasy managers at the time of writing, Višća could prove a shrewd differential going forward.

Also in Group H, Leipzig bounced back from their 5-0 loss at Manchester United on Matchday 2 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over injury-hit Paris Saint-Germain. Defender Angeliño may not have recorded a clean sheet, but his assist for Christopher Nkunku’s goal will have pleased the 17% of fantasy managers who have the Spaniard in their team.

On Wednesday night a number of premium forwards come to the fore, justifying their hefty #UCLfantasy price tags. None more so than Erling Braut Haaland, who made it four goals in this season’s UEFA Champions League so far with two in Dortmund’s 3-0 win away at Club Brugge.

Another expensive forward who shone on Matchday 3 was Chelsea’s Timo Werner, with two converted penalties helping the German rack up 12 #UCLfantasy points as the Blues defeated French side Rennes 3-0. That result made it three clean sheets from three for goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, with the Senegalese stopper still yet to concede for his new side in both the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League.

Elsewhere, Juventus got back to winning ways with a 4-1 triumph at Ferencváros in Hungary in a match which marked Cristiano Ronaldo's first appearance in this season’s UEFA Champions League, the Portuguese superstar assisting Álvaro Morata’s second goal. Morata now has four goals in this season’s group stage, racking up 22 #UCLfantasy points over the past three matchdays.

A Lionel Messi penalty meant he joined Haaland and Manchester City’s Ferran Torres in scoring for a third successive matchday but it could have been more if not for the incredible performance of Dynamo keeper Ruslan Neshcheret. The 18-year-old put in a stunning display, his 12 saved shots helping to keep his team in the contest right until the final whistle and bringing him five #UCLfantasy points despite conceding twice.