UCL round up: Madrid, Dortmund, City make strong starts

The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League campaign got underway with the most of excitement and entertainment all across Europe. The first set of 16 teams competing in this year’s competition battled it out in various group matches.

The highlight of the day was the master class performances of young stars Kylian Mbappe and Erling Braut Haaland. Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk all started their campaigns with big wins.

With the continuous rising profile of the duo, some are already of the opinion that the Messi-Ronaldo era is gradually being replaced by the Mbappe-Haaland rivalry.

REVIEW

Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Chelsea (Group E)

Dinamo Zagreb stunned Chelsea in their Group E encounter in Croatia after Mislav Orsic scored in the 13th minute. It was the first goal of the competition and also proved enough to be the match winner.

Chelsea had chances to level matters but were unlucky a few times, partly due to the heroics of Dominik Livakovic.

Coach Ante Cacic will be more than excited about the massive win. Zagreb’s delight and joy was even more evident in their jubilations after the final whistle.

Chelsea have continued their poor start to the season and have now conceded in six straight matches in all competitions. The last time the Blues kept a clean sheet was the 1-0 league victory over Everton at the Goodison Park.

This is despite spending over £250m on new signings during the summer transfer window.

Borussia Dortmund 3-0 FC Copenhagen (Group G)

At the Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund made light work of Dannish opponents FC Copenhagen.

The visitors were missing the services of sensational Nigerian midfielder Akinkunmi Amoo. The dimunitive player has been ruled out of action for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.

The hosts opened scoring through veteran Marco Reus in the 35th minute following good assist from fellow German Julian Brandt. Portuguese player Raphael Guerreiro doubled the advantage shortly before halftime after being setup by Giovanni Reyna.

The American also provided the goal for Jude Bellingham who sealed the comfortable victory with a cool finish.

Also Read: UCL returns: preview, stats and what to look out for

PSG 2-1 Juventus (Group H)

Paris Saint-Germain are still in search of their first title in the competition and have started their UEFA Champions League campaign on a positive note. The French side did a commendable job to beat Italian giants Juventus at the Parc des Princes.

Neymar and Mbappe were the brains behind the damage on the Old Lady as both were in their scintillating best. Mbappe scored inside five minutes following great team play culminating in a beautiful Neymar assist and an eventual jaw-dropping finish.

The home side continued to dominate proceedings in the opening exchanges and were duly rewarded with another goal. Mbappe scored a record-setting goal in the 22nd minute, this time, with an assist from Moroccan fullback Achraf Hakimi.

Weston McKennie indeed got a consolation for the away side in the second half with a header from a Filip Kostic cross. Dusan Vlahovic would have levelled matters later on but his effort was brilliantly saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid (Group F)

Defending champions Real Madrid got off to a fantastic victory in Scotland, beating Celtic 3-0 in front of their fans.

Karim Benzema had to leave the pitch after playing 30 minutes of the encounter. Madrid doctors will be doing everything possible to ensure the striker’s quick return to action.

Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard were the goal-getters for Los Blancos in the interesting affair. Hazard was the provider for Modric’s goal while Federico Valverde had earlier assisted Vinicius’ strike.

Meanwhile, Spanish right-back Dani Carvajal gave the assist for Hazard to convert.

Benfica 2-0 Maccabi Haifa (Group H)

Rafa Silva and Grimaldo netted second half goals four minutes apart to secure a well deserved victory in Portugal.

This is a huge boost for Benfica who will face Juventus next at the Alianz stadium. Meanwhile, the Israelis will welcome PSG.

Sevilla 0-4 Manchester City (Group G)

It was a five-star performance from the Cityzens on Tuesday night with Erling Haaland the star performer of the match.

Expectedly, the 22-year-old striker scored twice in the 4-0 demolition of their Spanish opponents. Goals from Phil Foden and Ruben Dias then completed the rout.

With the goals, it has now taken Haaland only 20 matches to score 25 Champions League goals. In Cristiano Ronaldo’s first 20 UEFA Champions League games, he didn’t score a single goal.

Haaland looks unstoppable and he is expected to even score more goals as the weeks roll by. The Norwegian has now scored 12 goals in seven appearances in all competitions this season.

City fans are hoping the forward’s speed, athleticism and finishing can help the team win their very first title this UEFA Champions League campaign.

RB Leipzig 1-4 Shakhtar Donestk (Group F)

The Ukranian outfit destroyed Leipzig in their opening Group F fixture of the UEFA Champions League campaign. A terrible start to life in Europe comes after a forgettable start to the Bundesliga also for the home side.

Domenico Tedesco watched from the sidelines as his boys were ripped apart by Donetsk. Mohamed Simakan had cancelled out Marian Shved’s opener in the 57th minute of the encounter.

Also Read: The winners and losers of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League draw

Donetsk went ahead again a minute after the equalizer through Shved before Mykhaylo Mudryk added another. Lassina Traore scored a late goal to make it four for the visitors and send Shakhtar top of the table.

Salzburg 1-1 AC Milan (Group E)

Both teams shared the points in an entertaining Group E encounter at the Red Bull Arena.

Salzburg took the lead through a Noah Arinzechukwu Okafor goal. The Swiss international beat former Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori before shooting under goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

However, Alexis Saelemaekers equalized before halftime in the interesting match. Rafael Leao had the chance to win it for Milan but his effort hit the post in added time.

STATS

• Shakhtar’s win is only their second in 11 attempts against German opposition in the Champions League and ends their run of seven games without a victory in the competition.
• AC Milan have lost only one of their 15 opening day fixtures, while Salzburg remain unbeaten in their five.
• This was Benfica’s first matchday 1 victory in the UEFA Champions League campaign group stage in their last six attempts
• Luka Modric (36 years & 362 days) is the oldest player to score for Real Madrid in the European Cup since a 38-year-old Ferenc Puskas did in September 1965.`