Lionel Messi made history last night, becoming the first player to score 39 times in the UCL from his goal during PSG’s victory over Maccabi Haifa. Erling Haaland made a magical goal prowess that helped City triumph over Dortmund at the Etihad. Sloppy Chewas were refuted by resilient Salzburg.
Chelsea 1-1 Salzburg.
Noah Okafor’s close-range finish denied Graham Potter a winning start to his Chelsea career. The Blues dominated the first half but were unable to force Philipp Köhn into a save. Raheem Sterling put the Londoners ahead shortly after the restart with a fine curling effort, but Salzburg grew into the game and Okafor converted Junior Adamu’s centre with 15 minutes remaining. Substitutes Hakim Ziyech and ArmBorjaBroja went close as the hosts pushed for a winner, but the Austrian champions held firm.
Key stats: Raheem Sterling becomes the first English player to score a UCL goal with three English teams.
Real Madrid 2-0 RB Leipzig
Federico Valverde and Marco Asensio scored eye-catching late goals as the holders edged out Leipzig. The home side appeared vulnerable early on, Christopher Nkunku going close on three occasions. Madrid, who lacked fluency, looked set to fail to score in a Champions League group game for just the second time in 41 outings. Yet, Valverde collected a Vinicius Júnior pass and curled in before substitute Asensio fired a superb second in added time.
Key stat: Real Madrihasve won eight out of eight in all competitions this season.
Manchester City 2-1 Dortmund.
Two stunning late goals helped Manchester City come from behind to beat Dortmund. After a laboured first half, the visitors took the lead when Jude Bellingham stole in to head in Marco Reus’ driven cross. City struggled to break the resilient visitors down, and it took a fine strike from John Stones from outside the box to level. That set the stage for Haaland’s spectacular winner against the side he departed this summer, converting a no-less stunning cross from João Cancelo.
Key stat: Manchester City Has equalled Chelsea’s record of 21 home Champions League games without defeat.
Other results are:
Rangers 0-3 Napoli
Copenhagen 0-0 Sevilla
Maccabi Haifa 1-3 PSG
Milan 2-0 Zagreb
