Champions League 2018/19: Top 5 results from Matchday 1

There is a mystic charm to midweek European days that makes football even more enticing. The excitement and the buzz can be felt around the stadium, but it is not restricted to the stands alone.

Millions around the world leave aside their work in various parts of the day or night, depending on the time zone and tune in to their television sets to drown in the essence that is the UEFA Champions League. It is not just a tournament that pits the best of Europe among each other, it is a showcase of the diversity of football.

The various styles and tactics employed in the beautiful game all around Europe merge in arguably the greatest club competition in the world, adding to its legacy. The UEFA Champions League 2018/19 kicked off to a fabulous start this week as 32 teams faced each other and lit up the midweek for football fans all over the world.

There was a bit of everything – goals, red cards, last minute winners and moments of controversies. There were 16 matches played in Matchday 1, with the back of the net being found on 45 occasions, which meant that approximately one goal was scored every 33 minutes!

Only one match ended 0-0, between Red Star Belgrade and Napoli and there were only 4 draws, which highlighted the amount of entertainment on display. Even though there were a lot of good games, we zeroed in on these 5 results which caused the most stir in the week:

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#5 Valencia 0-2 Juventus

Ronaldo's sending off was the big talking point of the game

By the time Cristiano Ronaldo took to the field for his Champions League debut for Juventus at the Mestalla, Lionel Messi had already scored a hattrick. Ronaldo started the game well, attempting 12 passes and completing 11 of them.

The Portuguese international attempted 2 crosses and even had a shot blocked. He was yet to have a shot on target before the unthinkable happened in the 29th minute. The Portuguese superstar looked like he pulled Valencia defender Jeison Murillo’s hair and was shown a straight red by German referee Felix Brych.

It resulted in Ronaldo being a part of history himself, but not the one he would be proud of – it was his first red card in the UEFA Champions League. As the Portuguese left the field in tears, Juve were in a fix. 60 minutes of the game left, in an away match, with a man down. Things were not looking bright. However, Miralem Pjanic had other ideas.

The Bosnian midfielder scored his first goal from the penalty spot in the 45th minute and sent Juventus into the break with a slender 1-0 lead. He then scored another penalty 6 minutes into the second half, as Juventus held on with ten men to earn 3 points and a precious away clean sheet.

They had 45% possession in the game and had attempted 425 passes with 86% accuracy. However, they still managed 10 shots, 6 of which were on target and were, in the end, the deserved winners.

#4 Barcelona 4-0 PSV

Messi has already laid the marker for this season

This was the game that kicked off the new Champions League season and if the morning shows the day, we are in for a fabulous season of football. Barcelona went into the game unbeaten and leading in La Liga, but Valverde did not underestimate PSV, putting out his strongest available team to face the Dutch Champions.

The game started with PSV looking the better side, however, it did not take long for Barcelona to stamp their authority on the evening and the first goal of the new Champions League season will certainly be one of the best goals of the year. Lionel Messi, the magician, crafted the perfect free kick to send Barcelona 1-0 up. The score would remain the same at the break, but there was a lot more to come in the second half.

The first talking point came from Dembele, who, with a turn curled in an incredible goal in the 74th minute, doubling Barcelona’s lead. 3 minutes later, Messi latched on to Rakitic’s pass and finished first time, his second of the night.

In the 79th minute, Umtiti saw his second yellow of the night, got his marching orders and put Barcelona in a little bit of trouble. Messi brushed those troubles aside in the 87th minute, receiving Suarez’s ball and completing his hattrick. The game ended 4-0 to Barcelona and saw two new records set by Lionel Messi – the most hattricks in the Champions League and the most goals scored in the group stages of the Champions League.

#3 Inter Milan 2-1 Tottenham

Inter completed a late show against Spurs on matchday 1

Tottenham had suffered back to back defeats in the Premier League in the build-up to their first game of the new Champions League season. They visited San Siro to face an Inter side who were languishing in the 15 position in the Serie A, winning just one of their opening 4 games.

However, Inter Milan had the pedigree in the Champions League which Spurs lacked, and it was something that made them dangerous. Pochettino knew this and sent out a strong line-up to face the 3 times Champions League winners.

The first half ended 0-0 and Spurs deservedly took the lead in the 53rd minute, when their midfield maestro Christian Eriksen was set up by Erik Lamela and the Dane scored a deflected goal. It was Eriksen’s first goal in the new season and his 5th goal in the Champions League overall.

Spurs looked certain for a well deserved away win before tragedy struck 5 minutes from time. Mauro Icardi put in a piece of genius for the world to admire. Asamoah sent a delightful cross to the Argentinean who was waiting at the edge of the penalty area and Icardi hit a first-time volley to send the ball into the back of the net. Inter were level, Tottenham devastated, but the game was not over.

In the second minute of injury time, Inter won a corner kick. The out swinging corner was sent back in by de Vrij towards Vecino, who headed the ball into the net and broke Tottenham hearts. Football can be cruel sometimes, but Inter deserved the win on the night.

#2 Manchester City 1-2 Lyon

The biggest upset of matchday 1!

Manchester City welcomed Lyon at the Etihad desperate to better their Champions League record. Last season, City under Pep Guardiola won the Premier League with a record-breaking 100 points, yet were ousted from the Champions League by Premier League rivals Liverpool with a 5-1 aggregate loss.

City had lost both legs of the quarter-final and surrendered their Champions League aspirations for the season. As such, Guardiola, who has not been able to replicate his Champions League success story from Barcelona since leaving the club, was desperate to start the new season on the front foot. However, City were about to learn a hard lesson.

In the 26th minute of the game, Nabil Fekir set up Cornet to give Lyon the lead. Things got worse for City in the 43rd minute, when former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay rubbed further salt on city’s wounds by setting up Fekir to score Lyon’s second of the game. The first half ended with Lyon comfortably leading 2-0.

In the second half, Guardiola tried to shuffle his tactics by first introducing Leroy Sane in the 55th minute and then Aguero in the 63rd minute and his prayers were answered in the 67th minute when Sane set up Bernardo Silva to get a goal back. However, it was the closest that City could get all night.

Guardiola’s side had 70% possession and had attempted 712 passes with 89% accuracy. They had 22 shots, 8 of which were on target. Lyon, in contrast, had only attempted 316 passes with 75% accuracy and had registered 11 shots, with 4 of those on target. Yet, they had stuck gold where it mattered and had jeopardized Guardiola’s plans for the night.

#1 Liverpool 3-2 PSG

The game of the tournament thus far!

Liverpool welcomed PSG to Anfield to kick-start their Champions League season after a fabulous start to the Premier League. The Merseyside club had won all 5 of their games in the league and were second in the league only on goal difference.

They had scored 11 goals and conceded just twice. PSG were not lagging behind in Ligue 1 either – they had also won all 5 of their games and were sitting pretty in the top of the table. They had scored 17 goals and conceded only 4. The game promised to be a cracker and it did not disappoint.

Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 30th minute, when he was set up by Andrew Robertson. In the 36th minute, Milner scored from the spot to take Liverpool 2-0 up. PSG looked stunned and Liverpool were dominating on the night.

But in the 42nd minute, Meunier found himself at the end of a fortuitous deflection from a Di Maria cross and the Belgian hit a wonderful first-time left-footed volley to bring PSG back into the game. The first half ended 2-1 with Liverpool still in control of the game.

However, in the 83rd minute, a Salah misplaced pass caused the ball to end up in Neymar’s feet and the Brazilian zigzagged this way through the Liverpool defence before setting up Mbappe to level the scores. It looked like PSG had earned a hard-fought away draw, but there was still some late drama left in the game.

In the 93rd minute, Firmino took the ball from van Dijk and smashed home the winner that sent the Anfield crowd into delirium. PSG had come close but were undone by a fantastic finish from Liverpool’s Brazilian striker.