The Champions League began with a first day in which the news multiplied. Failed, has no other consideration, the PSG in Belgium, slowed down by a spirited Witches who turned into a torture the alleged ride of the theoretical favorite. The magical trident Messi-Neymar-Mbappé was little less than invisible and those of Pochettino received a treatment of humility as unexpected as pride.
It is clear that if PSG was news, it was no less Barcelona on Tuesday, crushed with compassion by a Bayern who thrashed him without having to humiliate-as in Lisbon. Barça, God forbid, didn’t shoot a single shot between the posts … And Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo, the tireless, had enough of a shot to score, although if the Norwegian opened the scoring Dortmund’s victory in Istanbul, the Portuguese’s ended up being useless for a defeated Manchester United against all odds in Switzerland.
The goals came in Manchester, where City started and ended up winning comfortably … After suffering the rebellion of a Leipzig who never gave up and came to embrace the tie, a draw with which closed the Atlético-Porto, which was canceled a goal (to Mehdi Taremi) in the last moments.
A name? Sebastien Haller, author of a goal poker at the Ajax exhibition in Lisbon. A battle? the one they delivered to Anfield Liverpool and Milan, with a network victory after lifting the 1-2 with which the Italians advanced.
The Champions League started big. With news in all scenarios. And a famous debut: that of the Moldovan Sheriff, ready to continue making history.
GROUP A. The fiasco. Leo Messi’s continental debut with PSG ended in a monumental fiasco. No sign of the big favorite for the title, Bruges came under infernal pressure, overcoming Ander Herrera’s initial goal and making it clear that Pochettino has a constellation of stars but a team, col School, still far from what is expected. Messi crashed into the woodwork but PSG did not see the football, which put him in a Bruges that even deserved to take a victory that would have been as amazing as it deserved. And if the French team failed badly in Belgium, he suffered and ended up thrashing Manchester City in Leipzig, which overcame the 2-0 to come to threaten to tie a game that Guardiola knew finally solve spectacularly.
GROUP B. Equality. Griezmann’s presentation, received with divided opinions by the inflated Metropolitan, ended up being background news in a match that was hampered by Atletico Madrid, slowed by the solvency of the Port of Madrid the Tecatito Corona. The Portuguese team understood the need to cede the initiative to the mattresses but never suffered anguish … And came to embrace the victory that was denied by canceling the goal, goal, Mehdi Taremi . Meanwhile, at Anfield, Milan overcame Liverpool’s initial 1-0 but ended up giving way to the Reds’ comeback in the second half, sentenced by Jordan Henderson in a superb match.
GROUP C. Matadors. Erling Haaland, of course. He opened Borussia Dortmund’s victory in Turkey and has already scored 21 goals in 17 Champions League games to make it clear that he is the top key for his team to aspire to something in Europe. The German team enjoyed a comfortable match … Until Montero, assisted by Pjanic, cut his lead at the discount, suffering a last four minutes that did not deserve to exist. All this before in Lisbon Ajax dressed in their best finery to destroy a Sporting that was swept away with a goal poker by Sebastien Haller, who arrived from West Ham to become the club’s goal man. Dutch, the continental presentation was magnificent.
D. Salvador GRUP. Real Madrid was saved by an exceptional Courtois before Rodrygo, finishing first a cross from Camavinga, gave him the victory in the last sigh. The meringue team survived thanks to the Belgian goal and riveted the job with two refreshment players when no one could expect it. Meanwhile, the euphoria was unleashed in Moldova, where the debutant Sheriff, who reached the group stage after overcoming up to three previous rounds, debuted with a heroic victory over the disappointing Shakhtar, collapsed by goals from Adama Traore and Momo Yansane.
GROUP E. Barça’s illness. The reunion could not have been more discouraging for a Barcelona that did not even test Neuer while being devastated by a Bayern Munich at half throttle, which did not need to press the accelerator to the maximum to make clear the difference that is between the two teams. Bayern, with bigoted Lewandowski at the helm, proved to be a contender for the title while Barça, with Koeman already in doubt, left signs worrying enough to even doubt their qualification for the round of 16 of end. Luckily, Benfica did not transfer their dominance to Kiev on the scoreboard and did not go from 0-0 to Dynamo.
GROUP F. Swiss ecstasy. Cristiano Ronaldo did not miss the appointment and became the first goal scorer in the Champions League this season … Before Manchester United suffered the expulsion of Wan-Bissaka in the half hour of the match and mutated his powerful image in a diminutive, barely busy defending his short income and punished by the spirit of a Young Boys who after equalizing means of the second half was given the pleasure of going back in the last sigh of match. Meanwhile, in Villarreal, Atalanta were also able to overcome the comeback of the yellow submarine to end up getting a draw that may have no small significance in the final luck of the group.
GROUP G. Unexplained apologies. No sign of the great Sevilla that was expected, fortune allied with the Spanish team seeing how Salzburg had, never seen before, 3 penalties in 37 minutes … And two of them failed. How could it be otherwise the 1-1 also came from the penalty spot, still in the first half, and already in the second, the expulsion of En-Nesyri just decentralized a Sevilla that deserved to win but he never knew how to do it in the face of a rival who survived with more solvency than the suspect. The group exploits an absolute equality as in France Wolfsburg was not able to take advantage of the crisis in Lille, settling for a disappointing goalless draw.
GROUP H. Suffering and walking. Juventus abandoned the depression in Sweden. He didn’t show up in the game but he walked the scoreboard thanks to goals from Alex Sandro, Dybala, from the penalty spot, and Morata to start the Champions League with a convincing victory that should give him some peace of mind. waiting to receive in two weeks at Chelsea, a champion who took 70 minutes to end the resistance of a defensive Zenith but who only gave in to the goal of Lukaku, the new star of the champion.