The Champions League matchday two failed to disappoint with several upsets, high scoring games and plenty of drama. Here are five talking points from Tuesday and Wednesday’s fixtures.
Champions League Matchday Two – Five Takeaways
Messi Magic Against Manchester City
Paris Saint-Germain against Manchester City was the pick of Tuesday night’s matches, and it lived up to the billing.
Senegalese midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye gave the hosts an eighth-minute lead in an electric first half but it was Lionel Messi’s first PSG goal 15 minutes from time that was the highlight.
Not only was it his first goal for Les Parisiens, but it was also a typical Messi strike. The Argentine picked the ball up on the right, played a quick one-two with Kylian Mbappe before firing the ball past Ederson.
Liverpool Comfortable in Portugal
While City lost in Paris, Liverpool were comfortable in Portugal. The Reds’ front three all had a share of the action with braces from Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, while Sadio Mane also found the net.
It was a disciplined performance from Jurgen Klopp’s side, who stay top of Group B now on six points from two games.
Real Madrid Shot by the Sheriff
Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol caused the shock of matchday one with a 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, but they topped that in style with victory in the Bernabeu against Real Madrid.
Sheriff took a surprise lead in Spain but Los Blancos levelled from the penalty spot through Karim Benzema.
However, the goal in the 89th minute was worthy of winning any match and midfielder Sebastian Thill will certainly be remembered for that strike for some time.
Further Woes for Barcelona
Real Madrid weren’t the only Spanish side to suffer a disappointing loss after Barcelona went down 3-0 against Benfica.
Ronald Koeman’s side fell behind after just three minutes through Darwin Nuñoz. Rafa Silva added a second after the break before Nuñoz converted a third from the penalty spot. Defender Eric Garcia was also dismissed late on for Barca, who sit bottom of Group E with zero points.
Back to Back Wins for Juventus in Europe
While Max Allegri’s Juventus may be struggling in Serie A, they have hit the ground running in the Champions League with two wins from two.
Juve won at Malmo on matchday one before a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Champions League matchday two. The Blues dominated the first half but struggled to break down a resilient Juventus defence.
However, the Old Lady netted 11 seconds into the second half through Federico Chiesa and the game was beyond doubt, which left Chelsea without an answer.
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