Sensation in Tiraspol, poker in Lisbon and nine goals in Manchester: how the first round of the Champions League ended

Gole Feast in Manchester

The most productive match of the day took place in England, where Manchester City together with Leipzig staged a real extravaganza. The teams scored nine goals for two, and six of them flew into the net of the German team. And this is not counting the canceled due to offside goals of Andre Silva and Ferran Torres. As part of the hosts, one of the main characters was the recruit Jack Grilish, who not only distinguished himself, but also assisted Nathan Ake. Among the guests, Christopher Nkunku took on the role of leader, having issued the first hat-trick of his career. And this is especially valuable, because besides the Frenchman, only one player, Lionel Messi, managed to hit the gates of the “townspeople” in the Champions League three times.

Not without funny and controversial episodes.

So, in the 28th minute, Nordi Mukiele cut the ball into his own goal, although the rivals did not put any pressure on him.

In the first stoppage minute by the first half, Lucas Klostermann played with a hand in the course of a horse fight, giving Riyad Marez the opportunity to convert the 11-meter.

And in the 79th minute, former Manchester City defender Angelinho knocked João Cansela in midfield and received a second yellow card.

He did not see how Gabriel Jesus sets the final score on the scoreboard.

Irresistible Alla

If you look exclusively at the total number of goals, then Sporting and Ajax did not show themselves as brightly as the previous teams, and the struggle was not as fierce. Ruben Amorim's wards conceded twice already by the ninth minute, and in the period from 39th to 63rd they allowed the opponent to score three more times. Only Paulinho managed to break the score. His hit was not the most powerful and accurate, but Remco Pasver made a gross mistake and let the ball slip between his hand and the body.

But all this remained in the shadow of Sebastian Allé's speech.

The Frenchman made his debut in the Champions League at the age of 27 and immediately scored four goals into the opponent's goal.

Yes, all of them turned out to be not the most elegant and were decorated in the classic style for a center forward, but this does not detract from the player's merits.

Indeed, besides him, only ex-Milan striker Marco Van Basten managed to score poker in the first meeting in the main European Cup.

In 1992, he single-handedly dealt with Gothenburg.

Liverpool comeback

Mohammed Salah also wrote his name in history. In the match against Milan, the Egyptian left Mike Menyan out of work and for the 14th time scored at Anfield in the Champions League. On this indicator, he caught up with the record holder and legend of Liverpool Steven Gerrard. But the attacker could have become the sole leaders if he had converted the penalty in the 14th minute. But in that episode, the French goalkeeper played beyond all praise and fished the ball out of the lower right corner.

One way or another, Mohammed's goal came in handy.

At this point, Liverpool were 1: 2 behind, conceding twice within 110 seconds - Ante Rebic and Braim Diaz lit their names on the scoreboard.

And already in the end, Jurgen Klopp's wards completed their comeback and took three points.

Jordan Henderson, in the style of the same Stevie G., “shot” from outside the penalty area.

Milan lost the opening match of the group stage, which has not happened to them since September 1996.

Then the Rossoneri lost to Porto.

Unsuccessful voyage of "Shakhtar"

But if Milan's defeat cannot be called unexpected, then in Tiraspol one of the main sensations of the game day took place. Sheriff took over Shakhtar Donetsk in his field and not only started playing in the Champions League with a victory, but also extended the unbeaten run in European competitions to ten matches. True, the meeting of the qualifying round of the Europa League with Dundalk can be considered as such conditionally. Regular time ended in a draw, while the Irish took over on penalties.

The meeting between the teams from Moldova and Ukraine became remarkable also because only two representatives of the national teams of their countries were in the starting lineups of both teams.

And both of Shakhtar - Andriy Pyatov and Nikolay Matvienko.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the legionnaires decided the outcome of the confrontation.

Brazilian Cristiano alternately assisted first Malian Adam Traore, and then Guinean Momo Yansane.

PSG misfire in Belgium

But if both the fans and the bookmakers believed in Sheriff at least a little, then the chances of Club Brugge to take points away from the superstar Paris Saint-Germain were assessed as extremely low. And especially after the starting lineup of the guests became known, which simultaneously included Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar. It seemed that the Belgian team could not avoid defeat, but the meeting ended in a draw. Hans Vanaken responded to Ander Herrera's accurate strike with his own.

As for the trio of PSG forwards, their trip to Brussels was extremely unfortunate. Mbappe, although he was marked with an assist, but already in the 51st minute was replaced due to injury. Messi had several good chances, but alternately shot first at the crossbar, then at the goalkeeper, and to top it off received a yellow card - not the best reason to celebrate the 150th appearance on the field in the Champions League. And Neymar never bothered Simon Mignolet at all.