Key events
That’s all from me. Here are our initial match reports. We will also have something on Barcelona 1-2 PSG. Keep an eye out for that. Thank you for reading and for your emails. Until next time!
Here is some reaction from Liverpool’s defeat at Galatasaray on Tuesday night.
Erling Haaland speaks to the cameras. He has a face of thunder as he speaks to the reporter.
Of course, I don’t feel good. We didn’t play well. We need more energy. We dominated in the first half, but not the second. It’s not good enough.
On his lack of touches:
I still think I’m involved, doing movements, creating space for others. But I didn’t play well in the second half, I didn’t score.
Arsenal 2-0 Olympiakos: David Hytner’s match report
Monaco 2-2 Manchester City: Will Unwin’s match report
Here is the table for the league phase of Champions League. We are only a quarter of the way through, a long way to go. Qarabag have two wins from two, though!
Here is what those four Championship results have done to the table. Coventry are two off leaders Middlesbrough.
In case you are catching up on Newcastle’s result: they played Union Saint Gilloise in the early kick-off and were thoroughly impressive.
Meanwhile, at the Emirates.
“Young Rasmus Højlund with a lovely brace tonight. Antony similarly got a goal & an assist last week in the Europa League against Forest,” emails Steven Grundy. “I hope that, one day, our Prime Minister orders a full enquiry into Manchester United in order to understand how this great weeping ghost ship was able to wreck so many careers.”
Full-time! All the results are in, both in the Champions League and the Championship!
Some initial thoughts!
What a win for PSG!
Monaco were well worth their draw with Manchester City, although Tijjani Reijnders did hit the bar for the visitors.
Rasmus Højlund, two goals for the Napoli striker on loan from Manchester United (and two assists from Kevin De Bruyne).
Coventry City are good at football, pass it on.
GOAL! Barcelona 1-2 PSG (Ramos 90)
PSG have won it at the death! Barcelona play a suicidally high line and they are punished! Hakimi runs from deep to break the offside trap, canters down the right and curls a brilliant, low cross to Ramos. The Portuguese striker sidefoots past Szczesny – PSG have surely won the game in Catalonia. Hansi Flick, the Barcelona manager, is absolutely furious on the sideline, although it looks like it is with his own team!
GOAL! Villarreal 2-2 Juventus (Renato Veiga 90)
Another brilliant game! Villarreal have found an equaliser, with Renato Veiga scoring direct from a corner.
GOAL! Monaco 2-2 Manchester City (Dier 90 pen)
Dier sends Donnarumma the wrong way! Monaco are level!
PENALTY TO MONACO! They have a chance to equalise against Manchester City!
Eric Dier has taken a whack to the face in City’s box. Initially, nothing is awarded but the referee is called by VAR to the monitor. It is bedlam on the sidelines with the referee sending off two on the team benches, while Bernardo Silva is also given a yellow card for dissent, but the penalty is finally awarded!
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Athletic Bilbao (Guirassy 82)
Guirassy surely makes things safe for Dortmund, inadvertently diverting Sabitzer’s shot into the net. A very lucky goal, but Dortmund won’t care.
“Too right Rashford should be England’s left winger, but only if Thomas Tuchel believes in him,” emails Rick Harris. “Marcus needs to have a manager 100% behind him which he never had with Southgate, or Ten Hag or Amorim. Now at Barcelona Flick knows he has a special player on his hands and now Rashford is getting regular starts and decent game time when he is on the bench you are seeing the real player re-emerge.”
Full-time results in the Championship
Three out of four matches have now finished.
Millwall 0-4 Coventry
Norwich 0-1 West Brom
Portsmouth 2-2 Watford
QPR v Oxford United is still goalless with 86 minutes played.
GOAL! Napoli 2-1 Sporting (Højlund 79)
Højlund with his second of the game, and De Bruyne’s second assist! I mentioned this pairing before the game and the two combine for another brilliant goal. De Bruyne whips a trademark cross into the ‘Corridor of Uncertainty’ and Højlund is super brave in winning a header, beating Sporting keeper Rui Silva to the punch.
GOAL! Portsmouth 2-2 Watford (Segecic 79)
Segecic has been so impressive for Pompey since his move from the A-League and the Australian has equalised for the home side, ending a scrappy move with a fierce drive which caught Selvik cold at the near post! Potentially a very big goal down at the bottom of the Championship.
GOALS! Millwall 0-4 Coventry
Ellis Simms gave Coventry a 3-0 lead after pouncing on a rebound off the bar, while Kaine Kesler-Hayden’s deflected finish – his first for Cov following his £3.5m move from Aston Villa – has made it 4-0! Frank Lampard is doing an amazing job with the Sky Blues.
GOALS! Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 PSV
Two quick-fire goals to tell you about in Germany. It was the home side that took the lead through teenager Kofane after a dismal defensive mix up. But PSV have just drawn level through Saibari, who has curled a beautiful finish into the far corner.
“Noteworthy that a number of British players are playing prominent roles for non-British teams across tonight’s matches,” emails Edward Ricketts. “Burgess, Jobe Bellingham, McTominay, Rashford, Dier – looks like a greater adventurousness these days in players finding opportunities abroad, or was this always the case (obviously we’re not talking of a mass exodus here)? And Carney Chukwuemeka!”
Rashford is playing out of his skin for Barcelona. He has just nutmegged Warren Zaïre-Emery and put Barcola on his arse. Rashford is frightening when he wants to be. There is increasingly an argument that he should be England’s left winger.
GOAL! Napoli 1-1 Sporting (Suárez 62 pen)
Politano dangles a clumsy leg, Maximiliano Araújo took a tumble in the box and from the penalty spot, Sporting half-time sub Luis Suárez sent the 6ft7in Milinkovic-Savic the wrong way from 12 yards.
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Athletic Bilbao (Guruzeta 61)
A terrible mix-up between Waldemar Anton and Niklas Süle gives Gorka Guruzeta an easy finish from just six yards out! Athletic Club are back in this! Game on!
GOAL! Villarreal 1-2 Juventus (Conceição 56)
One-nil down at half-time, Juventus now lead! Parejo, who normally never gives the ball away, gifts possession to Francisco Conceição and the Portuguese drives straight through the middle of Villarreal before finishes past Tenas. Great goal!
A correction! A described Rocco Vata as a ‘Scot’ earlier. He is a Republic of Ireland international!
“Despite Rocco Vata being the son of former Albanian captain Rudi Vata and being born and raised in Scotland with an Scottish mother, he is actually an Irish international,” emails John Brennan. “We are a little sensitive about this kind of stuff considering our experiences with other players who are qualified for more than one nation.”
This is probably not a good time to tell you that Declan Rice has just come on for Arsenal.
GOAL! Millwall 0-2 Coventry (Wright 66 pen)
Coventry score their 20th goal of the season from the penalty spot. Haji Wright scoring from 12 yards, his second of the game and eighth of the season. The USMNT striker is on fire.
An email from Colum Fordham:
“Here in Naples, the focus, strangely, is on Napoli-Benfica at the Maradona. De Bruyne got a lot of stick for his performance against Inter on Sunday, despite a well-taken penalty and some insidious corners. But I was delighted to seem him ride off a tackle or two and dribble through three Sporting Lisbon players to set up a great finish from another former Man Utd reject Hojlund who has suddenly turned into a star forward.”
GOAL! Villarreal 1-1 Juventus (Gatti 50)
Somebody sound the Bicycle Kick Klaxon! PLEASE SOMEONE SOUND THE JUVENTUS-BICYCLE-KICK KLAXON! Up from the back, centre-back Federico Gatti has improvised brilliantly in reacting to a near-post flick on, scissor-kicking a finish into the corner. Arnau Tenas should probably do better in the Villarreal but take nothing away from Gatti, that was a sensational strike. There is a quick check by VAR for dangerous play, with Gatti swiping his bicycle kick around head height, but the goal stands!
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Athletic Bilbao (Chukwuemeka 50)
Former Chelsea midfielder Chukwuemeka gets his first Champions League goal, squeezing in a left-footed finish just inside the near post. Keeper (Unai Simón, of all people!) should not be beaten there, etc, so on.
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