JUVE ELIMINATED; MADRID FINALLY LOSE; PSG HIT SEVEN; BVB HOLD CITY
The Champions League returned on Tuesday with drama across Europe as some clubs reached the knockouts and some were eliminated.
Here is what went down.
Benfica humiliate and eliminate Juve
Scorers: Silva 18′, Mario 28′ (P), Silva 35′, 50′; Vlahovic 21′, Milik 77′, McKennie 79′
Benfica ran rampant against Juventus and maintained their unbeaten record after a thumping 4-3 win.
Prior to kick-off, Uefa confirmed there would be no goal-line technology available after a system malfunction which caused some early drama in this fixture.
When everything began, the hosts showed they were ready to play and quickly made it an even bigger mountain to climb for Juventus as 18-year-old António Silva beat the back line and headed home for 1-0 within 20 minutes.
Drama then ensued as VAR allowed Dusan Vlahović’s equaliser to stand, only for Juan Cuadrado to concede a penalty seconds later which João Mario converted expertly to regain the lead.
Juventus continued to push for another equaliser with Vlahović and Moise Kean coming close only for Benfica to see an inspired Rafa Silva score on either side of the half.
The Serie A giants struggled to truly have an impact on the game until the dying moments as Arkadiusz Milik and Weston McKennie kept their hopes alive but they ultimately fell short.
The result means Benfica move on to the knockouts while Juventus are eliminated.
Dortmund hold Man City
Scorers: N/A
Another big headline this Tuesday saw Erling Haaland return to Dortmund with new club Manchester City but the sides were forced to split the points.
Nothing could separate the two clubs after 45 minutes with all the action coming at the hands of the hosts. Pep Guardiola’s side, meanwhile, did not put any of their four attempts on target.
Haaland would not get a chance to score against his former side having been taken off at half-time and neither side found the net in the second half either seeing things end 0-0.
Riyad Mahrez could have been the hero of the night for the visitors but missed a penalty.
The result means City have 11 points at the top of the group while Dortmund sit second with eight.
RB Leipzig snap Madrid’s unbeaten run
Scorers: Gvardiol 13′, Nkunku 18′, Werner 81′; Vinicius Jr. 44′, Rodrygo 90+4 (P)
Over in Germany reigning champions Real Madrid saw their unbeaten run finally snapped as RB Leipzig won 3-2.
Right from kick off the hosts were way more alert than the visitors and capitalised on lazy defending from Madrid as Joško Gvardiol headed the ball home despite Thibaut Courtois’ initial save.
Leipzig then added a second after Christopher Nkunku stayed composed in the box to beat Courtois again five minutes later.
After conceding twice, the title holders struggled to find their scoring touch until Marco Asensio’s driving run into the box set up Vinicius Junior whose header turned things 2-1 on the stroke of half-time.
However, even as Madrid pushed for an equaliser the hosts simply proved to be at the top of their game as Timo Wener wrapped up the win with a third despite Rodrygo’s late penalty.
Real Madrid sit top of the group with 10 points while RB Leipzig are second with nine.
PSG hammer Maccabi Haifa
Scorers: Messi 19′, 44′, Mbappé 32′, 64′, Neymar 35′, Soler 84′; Seck 38′, 50′, Goldberg 67′ (OG)
Last time out Maccabi Haifa pulled off a stunning result by beating European giants Juventus but they could not pull off another shock against Paris Saint-Germain.
Unfortunately for the visitors, the hosts have one of the best footballers in the world on their side and Lionel Messi opened the scoring as his magical left foot curled the ball into the far corner before eventually securing a brace.
The other members of PSG’s star attacking trio also joined in on the action, too. Kylian Mbappé netted a brace including a stunning curler of his own for six goals in five UCL games and Neymar found the net as well.
Maccabi Haifa did, however, erase any clean sheet hopes as Abdoulaye Seck beat Gianluigi Donnarumma twice on either side of half-time to make the game interesting.
Late on Sean Golderb scored an own-goal while Carlos Soler came off the bench and scored another to see PSG hit seven.
The result means PSG have 11 points at the top of the group (level with Benfica) while Maccabi Haifa remain at the bottom with three (level with Juve).
Milan dig deep to beat Dinamo Zagreb
Scorers: Gabbia 39′, Leão 50′, Giroud 59′ (P); Ljubičić 69′ (OG)
Milan moved to second in Group E behind Chelsea after digging deep for a 4-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
It remained goalless for most of the first half only for the visitors to eventually find the breakthrough when Sandro Tonali’s free-kick met the head of a diving Matteo Gabbia.
Coming out after the break Milan then took total control.
Rafael Leão doubled the lead within five minutes after beating Dominik Livaković at the near post, Olivier Giroud scored from the spot for 3-0 and an own-goal from Robert Ljubičić piled more misery on the hosts who sit bottom of the group.
Celtic out of Europe
Scorers: Giakoumakis 34′; Mudryk 58′
Celtic were aiming for their first win of the campaign but had to settle for one point after a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar.
It looked like things would go their way as the hosts were the first to find the back of the net when Giorgos Giakoumakis picked up a loose ball in the box and slammed it home for 1-0.
Shakhtar, however, then pulled themselves level in the second half as Mykhaylo Mudryk smashed the ball into the net from the top of the box.
In the end neither side found the net again and the result means Shakhtar sit third in Group F three points behind RB Leipzig while Celtic crash out of European competition.
Chelsea reach knockouts in style
Scorers: Adamu 48′; Kovačić 23′, Havertz 64′
Chelsea claimed the top spot in Group E after two stunning strikes saw the Premier League side beat Salzburg 2-1.
The visitors were in control of the match right from kick-off as they sent numbers forward however despite their dominance a bit of luck is what led to the breakthrough.
Salzburg failed to clear the ball out of the box only for it to fall to Mateo Kovačić whose one-time hit found the top corner of the net.
The Blues then found the target again on multiple occasions but struggled to add a second. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, in particular, was denied twice by goalkeeper Philipp Köhn from point-blank range.
And they would come to rue their missed opportunities minutes as the second half kicked off when Salzburg hit back immediately. A slick counter-attack caught the visitors off guard and 21-year-old Junior Adamu beat Kepa Arrizabalaga for 1-1.
It wouldn’t stay level for long though as Kai Havertz found himself in open space, looked up and made no mistake as his long-range curler hit under the crossbar and in. The goal is his first in the Champions League this season.
Salzburg were not down and out, however, and almost pulled the match level again but Thiago Silva cleared the ball off the line after Arrizabalaga was beaten to it.
The result means Chelsea have qualified for the knockout rounds while Salzburg are third with six points.
Sevilla alive after beating 10-man Copenhagen
Scorers: En-Nesyri 61′, Isco 86′, Montiel 90+2
Sevilla are still alive in the competition after a 3-0 victory over F.C. Copenhagen.
The hosts were the ones knocking at the door throughout the first half with more shots on target (four to one). Suso, Papu Gómez and Kasper Dolberg all kept goalkeeper Kamil Grabara on his toes but their final touch was lacking.
The visitors, however, had some of the best chances to break the deadlock first as Mohamed Daramy fell short and then they again came inches away immediately into the second half.
After earning a rare corner which led to goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović punching the ball away, it bounced awkwardly and fell to William Clem whose half-volley hit the woodwork.
Following the slight scare Sevilla ramped up the pressure again and finally found their scoring touch for the breakthrough.
Gómez’s cross curled into the box and connected with the head of substitute Youssef En-Nesyri for 1-0 to the cheers of home fans. Unfortunately for the hosts, the goalscorer was then forced off through injury.
Copenhagen however were not down and out just yet and hit the woodwork for a second time in the final 10 minutes as Kevin Diks’s header bounced off and out.
Eventually, the pressure was eased off the hosts when Isco curled the ball into the far corner for his first goal for the club and Gonzalo Montiel struck late to see things end 3-0.
To make matter worse for the visitors, they finished with 10 men after VAR sent Davit Khocholava off with a straight red.
Sevilla now sit third in Group G with five points behind Borussia Dortmund (eight) and Manchester City (11) while Copenhagen are eliminated.
The action continues on Wednesday.
