Matchday 2: Results Of UEFA Champions League

Sheriff Defeat Real Madrid, Benfica Beats Barcelona, And Messi Gets first PSG goal

Night One

The biggest story from night one of matchday 2 in the UEFA Champions League is one of the biggest footballing stories all year. Sheriff Tiraspol, the Moldovan champions run by two former KGB agents secured a 2-1 victory over footballing royalty Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Not bad for a side that doesn't even have a shirt sponsor.

When attacking midfielder Sebastien Thill thumped home the late winner from outside the box, it gave the Moldovans a perfect start to this year's group stage with 2 wins from 2 fixtures. This placed them at the top of Group D after Shakhtar and Inter Milan played out a bore draw in the group's other matchday 2 fixture.

The other big story came in Group A where PSG got a decisive 2-0 victory over Manchester City. The English side probably had the better of the play - but suffered from not having a true number 9 to drive home their advantage.

At the other end, however, PSG had no such issues. Their first goal coming from midfielder Idrissa Gueye, continuing his current hot streak after scoring against Montpellier in Ligue 1 at the weekend.

The second goal was the one fans of Le Parisiens had been waiting for. La Pulga drove at the City defense from midfield, played a one-two with Kylian Mbappe, and scored with a sweet left-foot shot past Ederson in the City goal into the top right corner. Messi was ecstatic and the Parc des Princes exploded as the Argentinian superstar opened his account for the French side.

Other notable results from night one of MD2 included Liverpool predictably scoring a hat full of goals as they once again defeated FC Porto, This time the scoreline was 5-1. In Italy, AC Milan gave up an early lead against Atletico Madrid in the same group.

The Spaniards left it late, but goals from Antoine Griezzman and Luis Suarez in the 84th and 97th minute respectively secured the three points. At least one part of Madrid had something to celebrate.

Night 1 Results

Ajax 2-0 Besiktas

Shakhtar Donesk 0-0 Inter Milan

PSG 2-0 Manchester City

RB Leipzig 1-2 Club Brugge

FC Porto 1-5 Liverpool

AC Milan 1-2 Atletico Madrid

B.Dortmund 1-0 Sporting Lisbon

Real Madrid 1-2 Sheriff Tiraspol

Night Two

Night two of MD2 had two massive stories also. The first of which contained more pain for Spanish footballing royalty as Portuguese side Benfica handed Barcelona a hefty 3-0 defeat.

In what is turning into a nightmare season for the Blaugrana, they just couldn't seem to convert a litany of chances into anything of substance. Frenkie de Jong would set up golden opportunity after golden opportunity only to see wayward finishing or splendid goalkeeping prevent the Catalan side from scoring.

Benfica on the other hand had no such worries. Despite having substantially less of the ball, their finishing was on point. Darwin Nunez leading the way with two goals, the other scored by Rafa Silva. It was a landmark night for the Portuguese and a famous victory that will be talked about for some time to come.

Speaking of Portuguese. Over at Old Trafford, the Cristiano Ronaldo investment is starting to pay off. To the surprise of absolutely nobody.

Things didn't start off well for the Red Devils as Villareal had less of the ball but created much better chances in the first half. They finally managed to put one away early in the second half when Paco Alcacer made no mistake from close range to put the Yellow Submarine ahead.

United managed to equalize via a sublime volley from beleaguered left-back Alex Telles. It was a training drill from a free-kick delivered by Bruno Fernandes and the home fans were rapturous. The game looked like it was going to end in a draw heading into the final minute of time added on.

Enter Cristiano Ronaldo.

When Fred bundled the ball into the box, it seemed like a 'Hail Mary' play from Manchester United. A deft one-two between Jesse Lingard and the Portuguese superstar afforded Ronaldo with enough room to bury the ball home to give United their first victory of this Champions League campaign.

In other results on night two, Bayern put on a five-star show defeating Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv 5-0. Robert Lewandowski scored a brace, and if you haven't seen Leroy Sanes' goal from this fixture, you simply have to check it out. Elsewhere Juventus handed Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea their second loss inside a week with a 1-0 victory thanks to a Federico Chiesa goal.

Night 2 Results

Atalanta 1-0 Young Boys

Zenit St Petersburg 4-0 Malmo FF

Juventus 1-0 Chelsea

Bayern Munich 5-0 Dynamo Kyiv

Benfica 3-0 Barcelona

Manchester United 2-1 Villarreal

RB Salzburg 2-1 Lille

VfL Wolfsburg 1-1 Sevilla

In summary, matchday 2 of the Champions League was one to remember for Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Not so memorable for Real Madrid & Barcelona.

Sign of the times.

Standings

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

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