UEFA Champions League matchday 1: Haaland and Mbappe shone to bring perfect starts to their own sides, Chelsea suffered a bitter defeat in Croatia

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Group E: This group stage brought interesting results when both the two round of 16’ contenders did not get their 3 points.

Chelsea was absolutely much more appreciated than the home team, Dinamo Zagreb before entering the game. Thomas Tuchel was also determined to thrash the rival, launching a very strong line-up that included the debut of Aubameyang, in-form striker Raheem Sterling, and Kai Havert.  However, contrary to popular belief that Chelsea would easily control the game and beat the rival effortlessly, The Croatian’s side played a very confident and disciplined game, making the Blues fail to find Livakovic’s net. And the earlier goal from Mislav Orsic was enough to seal the first valuable three points for Dinamo Zagrab in their journey of making magic in group E.

Similar to Chelsea, AC Milan also had an underperformance in their opening Champions League match. The Italian side entered the battle with full of excitement and energy due to their impressive win in Milan Derby last weekend. They controlled the game dominantly and produced a series of dangerous attacks. However, AC Milan suddenly conceded a goal when the home team showed effectiveness in finishing. In the 28^th minute, Noah Okafor dribbled past Tomori’s legs and shot through keeper Maignan’s leg to give Austria’s side a lead. Milan equalized five minutes before the break thanks to Leao. The second half ended goalless, so 1-1 was the final result of the game.

                                                                                                Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Chelsea

Group F:

The Champions League Holders Real Madrid started their title defense with a trip to Scotland to play against Celtic, who have been first back to the League since the 2017/2018 season. The atmosphere at the stadium was incredible with the home fans rooting for their sides to push them forward, making the players play with full of strength and energy in the first half, with a couple of big chances to score, but they did not manage to do it. Surviving in the challenging first half made Real Madrid stronger, and the second half belonged to them. Vinicius, Luka Modric, and Eden Hazard each scored to seal a 3-0 victory for Los Blancos.

Being more appreciated than Shakhtar Donetsk, but RB Leipzig were crushed by the rival in Red Bull Arena. It was Marian Shved, who joined Shakhtar Donetsk 5 days ago, scored a brace in their resounding 4-1 victory despite being guests.

                                                                                     Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid

Group G:

If Sevilla’s fans had been asked before the match who they feared the most in Manchester City’s squad, the answer would definitely have been Erling Haland, who had been their nightmare 2 years ago. And in the battle yesterday, the 22-year-old once again made them fightened. In spite of being a visitor, Manchester City dominated the whole game and constantly bombarded keeper Bono’s goal. And whatever came would come. The perfect De Bruyne-Haaland formula once again worked. In the 20^th minute, after receiving a beautiful cross from Kevin De Bryne, Haaland slid in to give the Citizens a lead. The game did not change after that, as Manchester City, with their unbelievable ball procession, still controled the game. They also put the ball into the home team’s net three times thank to Foden, Halaand, and Dias. As for Haaland, the brace from this match helped the Norwegian forward become the fastest player to score 25 goals in UEFA Champions League. More impressively, it just took 20 games for him to reach this incredibly unbelievable achievement.

Haland’s former club, Dortmund, also had a good start in their Champion League campaign this season. They comfortably thrashed Copenhagen 3-0 thanks to two goals at the end of the first half from Marco Reus and Raphael Guerreiro, and Jude Bellingham’s late goal. With this victory, the German side are now standing 2^nd in group G, and their next rival will be the current top team, Manchester City.

                                                                    Sevilla 0-4 Manchester City

Group H:

The most expected clash yesterday was definitely the match between the 2 European giants, PSG vs Juventus. In the first half of the battle, Juventus was very poor in defense when they had to face the best attacking trio in the world at the moment: Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe. The French superstar scored a brace to give PSG a 2-0 lead in the first half. However, the appearance of Weston McKennie after the break changed the match in the home team’s favor. It was the American who headed in to score the first goal for Juventus, but it was not enough for them to find a draw.

Benfica just had to face underdogs Maccabi Haifa in their home stadium, so it was comfortable for them to get off to a good start by beating their opponent 2-0 thanks to goals from Rafa Silva and Grimaldo.

                                                                                                PSG 2-1 Juventus

Results:

Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Chelsea

Salzburg 1-1 AC Milan

Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid

Leipzig 1-4 Shakhtar

Leipzig 1-4 Shakhtar

Dortmund 3-0 Copenhagen

Paris 2-1 Juventus

Benfica 2-0 Maccabi Haifa