Champions League Matchday 4 Talking Points: PSG Lead the Way, Como Hit Nine and Liverpool Stunned

Matchday 4 of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League is complete, and the league phase has now reached its halfway point. Eighteen matches were played across Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 November, and the picture at the top is starting to take shape: Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are the only two clubs with perfect records, both on 12 points from four games, with PSG leading the standings on goal difference. Here are the talking points that matter after a wild two nights of European football.

Floodlit football stadium at night

Photo by Siarhei Nester on Pexels. This is a stock illustration, not a photo from any Champions League match.

1. PSG lead the way, and they are doing it in style

Paris Saint-Germain are top of the standings after Matchday 4, and they have earned the position. On Tuesday night they travelled to Villarreal and won 6-0, the joint-biggest margin of the round alongside Como's win at Lens. It was their fourth win from four, and it followed a run that already included a 4-2 home win over Barcelona on Matchday 3 and a 4-2 win at Manchester City on Matchday 2. PSG are not just winning; they are beating the teams most people expected to challenge them, and their goal difference is now the best in the competition. At the halfway stage of the league phase, they look like the team to catch.

2. Como hit nine at Lens

The most extraordinary scoreline of the round came in France, where Como won 9-1 away at Lens on Wednesday night. It is the kind of result that stops you scrolling, and it was built around a hat-trick and an assist from Anastasios Douvikas, whose three goals took his tally to six in the competition. Como's run this season has been remarkable: they beat Leipzig 4-1 on Matchday 1, won 4-1 at home against Manchester United on Matchday 3, and have now added a nine-goal away win. With nine points from four games, a club many expected to struggle is sitting among the contenders, and Lens, who had beaten Slavia Prague and held their own so far, were simply overwhelmed.

3. Fenerbahce stun Liverpool in Istanbul

The shock of the round came on Wednesday night, when Fenerbahce beat Liverpool 3-2 in Istanbul. It is Liverpool's second defeat in four league-phase games, after their 6-3 loss at LASK on Matchday 2, and it leaves the English side with work to do despite their 4-3 home win over Villarreal on Matchday 3. Istanbul has humbled plenty of visiting teams over the years, and Fenerbahce's win, in front of a famously loud home crowd, is a reminder that the new league-phase format gives underdogs a genuine stage. For Liverpool, the defeat raises questions about a defence that has now conceded three or more goals in two of its four European games this season.

4. Real Madrid stay perfect, but only just

Real Madrid are the other team on 12 points, but their path to a perfect record has been far tighter than PSG's. On Wednesday they needed a late winner to beat AEK Athens 3-2 in Greece, and their earlier results tell the same story: a 2-1 win over Inter on Matchday 1, a 4-3 win at Roma on Matchday 2 and a 4-1 home win over Leipzig on Matchday 3. Madrid keep finding a way to win, which is a quality in itself, but the margins suggest they are not yet the finished article. The top two are level on points; the difference is that PSG are winning by four and six goals, while Madrid are winning by one.

5. Manchester United's much-needed comeback

Manchester United's 3-2 home win over Roma on Tuesday night mattered more than most results this round. United had lost their previous two European games, 2-0 at Atletico Madrid and 4-1 at Como, after opening with a 4-0 win over Sabah, and a third straight defeat would have left them in real trouble at the halfway stage. Instead, they came from behind to beat Roma and moved to six points. It was not a comfortable night, but after a difficult start to the campaign, the win steadies them and keeps their hopes of a top-eight finish alive.

6. Barcelona, Bayern and Arsenal keep pace

Behind the top two, the chasing pack is crowded. Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 on Tuesday, Bayern Munich won 2-0 away at Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal won 2-1 at Slavia Prague on Wednesday. Arsenal remain unbeaten, with 10 points from four games after wins over Napoli and Lille and a 2-2 draw at Bayern on Matchday 3. Manchester City also stayed in touch with a 3-2 win at Leipzig on Wednesday, moving to nine points. With four rounds still to play, the race for the top eight, the places that go straight through to the round of 16, is wide open, and the sides just below them, including Inter, who won 3-0 at Feyenoord, and Galatasaray, who beat Stuttgart 2-0, are all within striking distance.

What Matchday 4 changed

The biggest change is at the top, where PSG have pulled clear on goal difference and established themselves as the form team of the competition. The second change is at the bottom of the top eight, where the group of teams on nine and 10 points is now tightly bunched, meaning a single win or defeat on Matchday 5 could move a club several places. Liverpool's defeat is the clearest warning sign: a side with title ambitions cannot afford many more nights like Istanbul.

Matchday 5 arrives on 24 and 25 November, and the fixtures are mouth-watering. Arsenal host Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain host Roma, Sporting CP host Manchester United, Real Madrid host PSV Eindhoven, Manchester City host Napoli and Club Brugge host Liverpool. Como, meanwhile, host AEK Athens, and Inter host Stuttgart. After the drama of Matchday 4, the next round has a lot to live up to.

Sources:

UEFA.com - 2026/27 Champions League: All the league phase fixtures and results - https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/02a8-2174c9e9019d-f909a77bd77a-1000--2026-27-champions-league-all-the-league-phase-fixtures-a/

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