Week two of action in this season’s UEFA Champions League is over, with all four English sides picking up three points each to see them all sit top of their respective groups.
Manchester United were emphatic in a 5-0 win against German side RB Leipzig in Group H.
Mason Greenwood was on the right side of a controversial VAR decision to open the scoring with a fine first-half finish.
National hero Marcus Rashford proved to be an inspired substitute, coming on to score a hat-trick and seal victory along with Anthony Martial’s first of the season from the penalty spot.
In the other Group H game, Paris Saint-Germain cruised to a 2-0 win away at Istanbul Basaksehir. On-loan Everton youngster Moise Kean scored his second consecutive brace as the Turkish champions were swept aside.
FC Krasnodar’s first-ever Champions League home game ended in disappointment as Callum Hudson-Odoi scored his maiden goal in the competition for Chelsea as they won the Group E encounter 4-0.
Hudson-Odoi slotted home in the first half before a late flurry of goals from Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and a first Blues goal for Hakim Ziyech confirmed the victory.
Sevilla also dominated against Rennes, with Luuk de Jong scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win to see the Spanish side go second in the group.
On Merseyside, Diogo Jota netted Liverpool’s 10,000th goal in their 128-year history as they recorded a 2-0 triumph against Danish club FC Midtjylland.
Roberto Firmino’s horror miss was rectified by Mohamed Salah who scored a 93rd minute penalty to maintain Liverpool’s 100 per cent record in Group D.
Salah was brought down late on and made no mistake in sending the keeper the wrong way to secure three points.
Elsewhere in Group D, Atalanta and Ajax played out an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Dusan Tadic netted a penalty and Lassina Traore doubled the Dutch side’s lead, however Duvan Zapata was at the double to ensure Atalanta came back and stole a point. Zapata’s second was particularly impressive – as his shot cannoned past Andre Onana and hit the net before the goalkeeper could even react.
In France, Manchester City thrashed Marseille 3-0 without a recognised striker on the pitch.
Ferran Torres made it two in two in the Champions League and City eventually capitalised on their possession with more goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling to stay top of Group C. Those three also happen to be the same three players who scored for them last time out against FC Porto.
This week, Porto were better in a 2-0 win against Greek champions Olympiacos.
A first-ever Champions League goal for 20-year-old Fabio Viera was added to by Sergio Oliveira as Porto cruised to victory.
Away from the groups with English sides, the ‘glamour tie’ in the competition this week was settled as Barcelona beat Juventus 2-0 away from home in Group G.
Ousmane Dembele scored via a huge deflection to put his side ahead, and a late penalty from Lionel Messi finished off the Italian giants. Defender Merih Demiral was sent off for Juventus, after picking up two yellow cards which means he misses their next European game.
The other tie in the group took place in Hungary and finished 2-2, with hosts Ferencvaros coming from behind against Dynamo Kiev.
Real Madrid’s European struggles continued, as they scraped to a 2-2 draw at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Marcus Thuram, son of France legend Lilian, scored a brace for Gladbach after some terrible defending from Madrid.
The Spanish champions got back into the game thanks to an inventive finish from Karim Benzema before Casemiro popped up in injury time to steer home and nick a point for his side.
The other Group B game was a 0-0 draw between Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan.
Inter dominated the game, in particular when Romelu Lukaku forced a fantastic save from young goalkeeper Antanolii Trubin, but they didn’t do enough to break the Ukrainian side who remain top of the group.
In Group A, Atletico Madrid edged out Salzburg in a 3-2 victory.
Marcos Llorente opened the scoring; however, Salzburg came back and went ahead thanks to a fine finish from wonderkid Dominik Szoboszlai and an own goal by Felipe.
The other wonderkid on the pitch, Joao Félix, bagged a brace to put Atletico back in front and get them their first points of the tournament.
Bayern Munich also kept up their form, beating Lokomotiv Moscow 2-1 away from home.
Dynamic Bayern midfield duo Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich both got on the scoresheet either side of Anton Miranchuk’s goal.
The Germans remain top of Group A, maintaining their 100 per cent record in the competition.
Finally, Borussia Dortmund left it late in Group F but goals from Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland were enough to beat Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0.
However, it is Lazio who top the group despite drawing 1-1 with Club Brugge. Joaquin Correa had his goal cancelled out by a Hans Vanaken penalty, as the points were shared in Belgium.
By Alistair Pollock
