Once again the iconic anthem of the Champions League is heard, as all teams and their fans charge toward glory. This beautiful drama-filled spectacle has been going on for the past twenty-two years, this being the 23rd ever competition; which team shall be crowned champions of Europe? The defending champions Manchester City? Real Madrid? Bayern Munich? Or maybe an underdog finally gets a taste of the prestigious trophy? Nothing is set in stone, as Matchday 1 just ended two weeks ago.
Group A:
Bayern Munich vs Manchester United, 4-3
Despite United’s poor performance in the Premier League they managed to not be thrashed by the Bavarians. However, Onana said his poor performance in the first half “let the team down” during a post-match interview. Casemiro’s two late goals in the 88’ minute and 90+5’ minute saved United from another embarrassing defeat; we’ll have to see if Ten Hag can turn this team around.
Galatasaray vs Copenhagen, 2-2
Despite controlling over 60% of the ball; and having over 10% more pass accuracy than Copenhagen, Galatasaray was 2 goals down for over 80’ minutes. But Galatasaray defender Sacha Boey didn’t let that slide and struck it past Grabara in the 86’ minute; and in just two minutes, the Brazilian substitute Tetê equalized the game.
Group B:
Arsenal vs PSV, 4-0
After six long years; Arsenal fans are overjoyed once more as their team’s triumphant return to the Champions League marks a new beginning for Arteta’s side. Despite beating PSV last year 1-0 in the Emirates; no one thought Arsenal would dominate PSV without any major obstacle. The Gunner’s attack was unstoppable as Golden Boy Saka scored his first UCL goal in the 8’ minute and assisted Trossard in the 20’ minute, while Jesus struck a beauty of a goal in the 38’ minute, and Arsenal Captain Martin Odegaard blasted through PSV keeper W. Benítez in the 70’ minute.
Sevilla vs Lens, 1-1
An overall boring match as neither club could not find a way to penetrate their opponent’s defense to break the deadlock. Having scored only in the first 9’ minutes, Sevilla fans expected a victory; however, their French rivals not only equalized in the 24’ minute but had more shots on target than the home side (10|5).
Group C:
Braga vs Napoli, 1-2
An intense match between the two sides; Napoli had gone up after a successful shot by Giovanni in extra time. Braga had seen all the other late draws and wanted to join in the action, they scored in the 84’ minute sealing the draw…..until Sikou Niakate scored an own goal just four minutes later, sealing Napoli’s 2-1 victory. Hopefully, Sikou left the locker room safe and sound.
Real Madrid vs Union Berlin, 1-0
The newcomers had done a great job clearing away Madrid’s chances much to the displeasure of Los Blancos. They had tried over and over, but their lack of a real striker was a massive detriment to their attacking plays; however, their guardian angel that has saved this Real Madrid side over and over strikes in the 90+4’ minute. Jude Bellingham has scored 6 goals in just 6 appearances for Real Madrid, three of those goals were match winners such as this one!
Group D:
Benfica vs RB Salzburg, 0-2
Benfica had won against every Austrian they had faced in the past while RB Salzburg had lost against every Portuguese in the past. However, Benfica’s defenders felt bad for RB Salzburg and allowed them to not only get a penalty in the 2’ minute but another in the 15’ minute which not only resulted in RB Salzburg gaining the lead early, it awarded Benfica a red card. Whoops, guess 0-2 was to be expected.
Real Sociedad vs Inter, 1-1
Another draw! Surprisingly, Inter Milan was the one trailing behind Real Sociedad for the full 90’ minutes. The score line was 1-0 in favor of Real Sociedad due to their goal in the 4’ minute, but the usual happened once more and Inter Milan equalized in the 87’ minute thanks to none other than Argentine National Lautaro Martinez! Hopefully, the next game doesn’t end in a draw!
Group E:
Feyenoord vs Celtic, 2-0
Great! Arne’s side battered Celtic 2-0, as they controlled the play of the game with over 60% control of the ball and 5 shots on target; Calvin Stengs broke the deadlock in the 45+2’ minute and Alireza Jahanbakhsh sealed Celtic’s defeat in the 76’ minute.
Lazio vs Atlético Madrid, 1-1
Despite being a draw, the game itself was not boring by any means with a goal by Pablo Barrios in the 29’ minute, it looked to be a victory for Atlético; however, in the last seconds of the match, a distracted Atlético let a cross fly into the grasps of Lazio’s hero and Goalkeeper. Ivan Provedel becoming the fourth ever keeper to score in the Champions League!
Group F:
Newcastle vs AC Milan, 0-0
During this game AC Milan dominated Newcastle with over 50% possession; 25 shots with 9 on target and 337 completed passes. Too bad no one taught the boys in red how to shoot! Anyways due to the heroics of Newcastle’s keeper Pope, Newcastle managed to survive 0-0!.
PSG vs Dortmund, 2-0
After a frustrating first half; PSG star Kylian Mbappe successfully converted a penalty in the 4’ minute of the second half, slotting it in Sule’s net. Dortmund would quickly find themselves battered just 9 minutes later as Hakimi sealed their defeat with a cool and controlled finish.
Group G:
Young Boys vs RB Leipzig, 1-3
RB Leipzig silenced the home fans in just 3’ minutes, and Mohamed Simakan slotted it in rapidly which was later followed by a supposed equalizer by Young Boys. Not wanting to end this match with just a sloppy one point; the Germans continued their assault, gaining two more goals in the 73’ minute and 90+2’ minute, so thank you Xaver and Benjamin for not making me watch another draw!
Manchester City vs Crvena zvezda, 3-1
The most surprising part of this match was that Pep Guardiola’s side conceded an early goal first in the 45’ minute; however, Crvena’s fantasy was instantly crushed as Julian Alvarez scored two goals in rapid fire and Rodi’s final goal in the 73’ minute beat Crvena zvezda.
Group H:
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Porto, 1-3
All the scoring action happened in just the first half of this match; Porto scored in the 8’ minute but Shakhtar quickly replied just minutes later! One would think it would’ve been a back-and-forth game, similar to Man U vs Bayern Munich; however, that was clearly not the case. Porto dominated the entire match as just minutes after Shakhtar equalized, they scored two goals! All I can say to the disappointed Shakhtar fans is “Game is Game.”
Barcelona vs Antwerp, 5-0
An absolute stellar performance within the Catalan capital! Antwerp were expected to lose against the reigning La Liga Champions but not by this much! They have been royally embarrassed, absolutely bamboozled, by the intricate style of play Barcelona employs! Joa Felix has totally found his home here in Barcelona!