The Champions League returned on Tuesday with a plethora of action across Europe.
Here is what went down.
Milan beat holders in Spain
Scorer: Thiaw 12′, Morata 40′, Reijnders 75′ ; Vinicius 21′
The biggest clash saw Milan enter the home of reigning champions Real Madrid and win 3-1.
It was a fiery game right from the first while, and the visitors grabbed the lead when Malick Thiaw rose highest to meet a Christian Pulisic corner kick.
However, that lead didn’t last long as the referee pointed to the spot, and Vinicius Junior’s penalty turned things level.
The Santiago Bernabeu was eventually silenced again when Alvaro Morata returned to haunt his former club after pouncing on an initially saved shot.
Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Rodrygo failed to impress, while an impressive and unified Milan constantly exploited Madrid’s poor defence to decide this one.
The visitors then jumped at the chance to strike against the giants, and an eventual run from Rafael Leao sent the ball to Tijjani Reijnders, who put the game to bed.
Diaz delivers the goods for Liverpool
Scorer: Diaz 61′, 83′, 90+2′, Gakpo 63′
Xabi Alonso’s return to Anfield was one to forget as Liverpool dug deep for a 4-0 win over Leverkusen.
There was not much to report on in the first half, and things remained goalless as a result. The hosts thought they had opened the scoring through Jeremie Frimpong, but a handball ruled out the attempt.
Much more firepower would be required after the break and whatever was said by manager Arne Slot clearly worked.
The responsibility to get Anfield rocking was then seized by Luis Diaz who brilliantly chipped home a ball from Curtis Jones.
And in quick succession, Leverkusen conceded a second when an in-form Cody Gakpo headed home a cross from Mohamed Salah.
Known to strike late, the German champions ultimately saw the comeback opportunity fade when Diaz continued his fine form with two more goals and his first Liverpool hat-trick.
Sporting humble Man City
Scorer: Gyokeres 38′, 49′ (P), 80′ (P), Araujo 46′ ; Foden 4′
Manchester City’s unbeaten run was rocked by an impressive Sporting side who rallied for a 4-1 win.
The visitors grabbed an early lead after Phil Foden won the ball up high and smashed home the opener. He now has 18 goals in the competition, the same as Ronaldinho.
Sporting, however, then clicked into gear, and it was one-way traffic.
Ever-present striker Viktor Gyokeres did what he does best and split two centre-backs before beating them for pace to provide the equaliser.
Manchester City were then stunned in quick succession only 20 seconds after the break.
Maximiliano Araujo cruised through the visiting defence and snuck home the ball to turn things 2-1 before Sporting added a third via Gyokeres’ penalty.
Erling Haaland had a chance to make things interesting but saw his penalty hit off the crossbar. Minutes later, Gyokeres secured a hat-trick with another spot kick of his own to pile on the humiliation.
It is the first time Manchester City have suffered three consecutive defeats across all competitions since 2018.
Lille and Juve share spoils
Scorers: David 27′; Vlahovic 60′ (P)
Giant killers Lille were denied another remarkable feat as Juve rallied for a 1-1 draw in France.
As usual, the hosts relied on in-form striker Jonathan David to open the scoring. The Canadian split defenders down the right and slammed home into the opposite side of the net.
Coming out after the break, however, Juventus must have had a pep talk and also had a bit of luck go their way.
Their improvement in attack saw Dusan Vlahovic slot home a penalty at the hour mark to ensure things remained 1-1 by full-time.
BVB eventually prevail
Scorer: Malen 85′
Borussia Dortmund had to hold their breath before pulling out a 1-0 win over Sturm Graz.
The hosts dominated the opening 45 minutes of action at Signal Iduna Park, with Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy both seeing attempts hit the woodwork.
The same could be said in the second half as BVB registered 21 attempts to seven and 67% possession of the ball but things remained goalless as the visitors remained a compact side.
Donyell Malen was ultimately the hero in front of home fans when he rifled home from the right side of the box near full-time.
Famous comeback for Celtic
Scorers: Kuhn 35′, 45+1′, Hatate 72′; Baumgartner 23′
Celtic had a night to remember after rallying to complete a 3-1 comeback over RB Leipzig
The hosts grabbed the lead, having been more decisive in front of goal as Christoph Baumgartner headed home the opener.
Celtic, however, eventually found their touch when Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn cut in from the right and curled home into the left side of the net.
His luck then continued with a second just before half-time. Kuhn found himself in the right place at the right time to slot home from point-blank range.
Unfortunately for RB Leipzig, they failed to find some confidence after the break to suggest a comeback.
A rocking Celtic Park, meanwhile, then saw a third find the net via Reo Hatate to all but secure the win.
Monaco claim Bologna
Scorer: Kehrer 86′
Over in Italy, Bologna welcomed a Monaco side who have the most different goal scorers in the competition.
However, their attacking firepower was largely contained thanks to the efforts of goalkeeper Łukasz Skorupski.
It appeared as though things would remain goalless until Thilo Kehrer headed home for 1-0 to hand Bologna their first European loss at home in 28 games.
From earlier…
PSV run riot over 10-man Girona
Scorers: Flamingo 16′, Tillman 33′, Bakayoko 83′, Krejčí (OG)
PSV Eindhoven registered their first win of the Champions League this season with a 4-0 victory over 10-man Girona.
Ryan Flamingo put them in the driver’s seat after bundling home Malik Tillman’s long throw-in. It was his first competition goal, arriving from his first shot on target.
The American then put his name on the scoresheet after driving into the box. Girona allowed him the space to do so on a night where they failed to have a clear game plan, and he rifled home a right-footed shot from the left side.
The night turned more miserable for Girona as defender Arnau Martinez was sent off with a second yellow for a harsh challenge on Noa Lang.
Johan Bakayoko ensured a comeback was off the table with a strike from outside the box, adding a third for the visitors, and an own-goal at the death from Ladislav Krejčí piled on the misery.
Looking at the table, PSV sit 19th and Girona 26th.
Dinamo Zagreb complete comeback
Scorers: Strelec 5′; Špikić 10′, Sučić 30′, Kulenović 54′, 72′
Over in Slovakia, Dinamo Zagreb dug deep to complete a 4-1 comeback over Slovan Bratislava.
Despite having zero points to their name, the hosts got off to a flying start when David Strelec pounced from point-blank range after the visitors failed to clear a saved attempt.
Minutes later, however, Dario Špikić squeezed home the equaliser at the near post and there was no looking back for the visitors.
After narrowly conceding a penalty, Petar Sučić headed home a curling cross to turn the game around and then Dinamo Zagreb’s star found his touch.
In-form Sandro Kulenović had his say with a brace after the break to secure the win. He was left unmarked at the back post and tapped home his 13th goal in 18 games this season before securing a brace.
Dinamo Zagreb sit 10th in the table and Slovan Bratislava are bottom of the table.
Don’t you just love European football?
📸 FILIPE AMORIM – AFP or licensors
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