The Champions League returned on Tuesday with a plethora of action across Europe.
Here’s what happened.
Milan beats title holders in Spain
Scorer: Thiaw 12′, Morata 40′, Reijnders 75′; Vinicius 21′
The biggest clash saw Milan enter the home of defending champions Real Madrid and win 3-1.
It was a fiery match from the start, and the visitors took the lead when Malick Thiaw rose highest to meet a Christian Pulisic corner.
However, this lead did not last long as the referee pointed to the point, and Vinicius Junior’s penalty leveled things up.
The Santiago Bernabeu was finally silenced again when Alvaro Morata returned to haunt his former club after lunging at an initially saved shot.
Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo failed to impress, while an impressive and unified Milan constantly exploited Madrid’s poor defense to decide this one.
The visitors then pounced on the chance to strike against the giants, and a possible run from Rafael Leao sent the ball to Tijjani Reijnders, who put the game to bed.
Diaz delivers the goods for Liverpool
Scorer: Diaz 61′, 83′, 90+2′, Gakpo 63′
Xabi Alonso’s return to Anfield was unforgettable as Liverpool dug deep for a 4-0 win over Leverkusen.
There wasn’t much to report in the first half and the score remained goalless. The locals thought they had opened the scoring thanks to Jérémie Frimpong, but a handball prevented this attempt.
A lot more firepower would be needed after the break and everything said by manager Arne Slot clearly worked.
Responsibility for rocking Anfield was then assumed by Luis Diaz who brilliantly pushed away a ball from Curtis Jones.
And in quick succession, Leverkusen conceded a second when an in-form Cody Gakpo headed home a cross from Mohamed Salah.
Known for striking late, the German champions eventually saw the comeback opportunity fade when Diaz continued his fine form with two more goals and his first Liverpool hat-trick.
Sporting humble Man City
Scorer: Gyokeres 38′, 49′ (P), 80′ (P), Araujo 46′; Foden 4′
Manchester City’s unbeaten run was shaken by an impressive Sporting side who rallied for a 4-1 victory.
The visitors took an early lead after Phil Foden won the ball high and scored the opener. He now has 18 goals in the competition, as many as Ronaldinho.
However, Sporting then shifted gears and traffic was one way.
Ever-present striker Viktor Gyokeres did what he does best and split two central defenders before beating them for pace and allowing the equalizer.
Manchester City were then stunned in quick succession just 20 seconds after the break.
Maximiliano Araujo broke through the visiting defense and slotted the ball home to turn things 2-1 before Sporting added a third via Gyokeres’ penalty.
Erling Haaland had the chance to make things interesting but saw his penalty hit the crossbar. Minutes later, Gyokeres scored a hat-trick with another kick to pile on the humiliation.
This is the first time Manchester City have suffered three consecutive defeats in all competitions since 2018.
Lille and Juve share the spoils
Scorers:David 27′; Vlahovic 60′ (P)
Giant killers Lille were denied another remarkable feat as Juve rallied to a 1-1 draw in France.
As usual, the hosts relied on in-form striker Jonathan David to open the scoring. The Canadian split the defenders on the right and crashed into the opposite side of the net.
Coming out after the break, however, Juventus must have had a pep talk and also had a bit of luck.
Their improvement in attack saw Dusan Vlahovic score a penalty on the hour mark to ensure things remained 1-1 at full time.
BVB ends up winning
Scorer: Malen 85′
Borussia Dortmund had to hold their breath before winning 1-0 against Sturm Graz.
The hosts dominated the opening 45 minutes of action at Signal Iduna Park, with Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy both seeing attempts hit the woodwork.
The same could be said in the second half as BVB recorded 21 attempts at seven and 67% possession, but things remained goalless as the visitors remained a compact team.
Donyell Malen was ultimately the hero in front of the home fans when he headed home from the right side of the box almost at full time.
Celtic’s famous return
Scorers: Kuhn 35′, 45+1′, Hatate 72′; Baumgartner 23′
Celtic had a night to remember after rallying to complete a 3-1 comeback against RB Leipzig
The hosts took the lead, having been more decisive in front of goal as Christoph Baumgartner headed home the opener.
Celtic, however, finally found their touch when Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn cut in from the right and cut back into the left side of the net.
His luck then continued with a second just before halftime. Kuhn found himself in the right place at the right time to head home at point-blank range.
Unfortunately for RB Leipzig, they failed to regain some confidence after the break to suggest a comeback.
Meanwhile, a surging Celtic Park saw a third find the net via Reo Hatate to almost secure victory.
Monaco claims Bologna
Scorer: Kehrer 86′
In Italy, Bologna hosted a Monaco team which has the most different scorers in the competition.
However, their offensive firepower was largely contained thanks to the efforts of goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski.
It looked like things would remain goalless until Thilo Kehrer headed home 1-0 to hand Bologna their first European home defeat in 28 games.
Before…
PSV unleashes against Girona at 10
Scorers: Flamingo 16′, Tillman 33′, Bakayoko 83′, Krejčí (OG)
PSV Eindhoven recorded their first Champions League win this season with a 4-0 win over 10-man Girona.
Ryan Flamingo put them in control after corralling Malik Tillman’s long throw-in. It was his first competitive goal, with his first shot on target.
The American then put his name on the scoresheet after entering the box. Girona gave him the space to do so on a night where they failed to have a clear game plan, and he fired a right-footed shot from the left side.
The night became more miserable for Girona as defender Arnau Martinez was sent off with a second yellow for a harsh challenge on Noa Lang.
Johan Bakayoko ensured a comeback was impossible with a strike from outside the box, adding a third for the visitors, and a late own goal from Ladislav Krejčí added to the misery.
In the ranking, PSV is 19th and Girona 26th.
Dinamo Zagreb’s return is complete
Scorers: Strelec 5′; Spikić 10′, Sučić 30′, Kulenović 54′, 72′
In Slovakia, Dinamo Zagreb dug deep to come back 4-1 against Slovan Bratislava.
Despite no points to their name, the hosts got off to a good start when David Strelec pounced from close range after the visitors failed to clear a saved attempt.
Minutes later, however, Dario Špikić equalized at the near post and the visitors could not look back.
After narrowly conceding a penalty, Petar Sučić headed home a curling cross to turn the situation around, then the Dinamo Zagreb star found his touch.
In-form Sandro Kulenović had his say with a brace after the break to secure the victory. He was unmarked at the far post and scored his 13th goal in 18 games this season before scoring a brace.
Dinamo Zagreb is in 10th place in the table and Slovan Bratislava is at the bottom of the table.
Don’t you just love European football?
📸 FILIPE AMORIM – AFP or licensors
